ZagstHomestead
In the Brooder
- Jul 15, 2019
- 6
- 2
- 39
Hi fellow chicken keepers--sorry this is long, just trying to include all relevant information.
I have a silkie mix hen (lets call her silkie A) that has strange neurological symptoms. I've read the big Marek's post and just about every other post I could find on here about paralysis, wry neck, vitamin deficiencies, etc.
Some background:
We took a couple silkies from a friend last summer, so I'm unsure of their age. She said she got them from a private breeder, so they are likely not vaccinated. I keep them in a flock of about a dozen chickens, all the others are larger meat/egg laying breeds. The two silkies in question are the lowest chickens in the pecking order. They have free access to about 1/10 of an acre which includes a coop, fenced run, under a shed, and compost area.
Here's the story:
4 weeks ago: found silkie A feet up pinned under a stick under a tree. Because this chicken is low in the pecking order and gets picked on, I thought maybe she had been chased and pinned. When I got her upright she ran away just fine, but I separated her from the others as she was being picked on quite a bit. She was limping, and after checking her over with no sign of bumblefoot or injury I chalked it up to some mild atrophy as she is broody often and has spent a lot of time sitting in the nest box literally for months.
A few days later another silkie mix hen (silkie B) of ours was acting lethargic, so I put her with silkie A to buddy up.
Silkie A and B happily foraging the backyard together, both were eating and drinking, roosting in the dog crate together. Silkie A was even jumping up onto the higher roosts with no problem.
Within a week Silkie B could not stand, could not eat or drink, was holding her head weird, watery-type poops. I tried to syringe feed her food, electrolytes, supplements, but she went down hill quickly and we had to put her down.
Silkie A remained. But soon started showing signs of limping again. Then I'd find her just laying in the middle of the lawn. When she moved she ran and toppled forward like she was off balance. Her legs stuck straight out in front of her and pretty soon she was falling to the side and couldn't sit upright.
Brought her inside. Fed her a multivitamin supplement, vitamin E, watermelon, and her regular layer pellet. She could eat and drink just fine if I held her body up. Her legs would shake if I tried to stand her up on them and she couldn't balance. Her wings would shake when I extended them.
Currently:
A week after being indoors with supplements she now can balance sitting on her feet, but not standing. She manages to scoot around or she'll get up onto her feet and run and crash into where ever she's going. She managed to get herself between some planters and the deck so I figured she was mobile enough to let her stay outside in the dog crate again.
Her appetite is fine. She goes after bugs (though is not coordinated enough to get them). She preens herself. Her poops are normal, brown with a little white, no sign of worms, blood, or infection. Eyes--irises are normal, pupils responsive, BUT it does sometimes look like her left eyelid is drooping a little bit. Her small comb is either red or sometimes pale/dry looking. To make matters worse I think she is molting as she has lost a lot of feathers and new ones are growing back. She had a mild case of lice, but I dusted her and that seems to have taken care of most of them. No lumps, bumps, swelling. Crop and abdomen feel normal. Vent looks normal. No wheezing. No discharge from eyes or nostrils.
I had thought perhaps this was heat stroke, as it's been hot here in North Carolina, but neither of these two silkies were showing signs of overheating and silkie A never acted lethargic or malnourished.
Has anyone else ever seen symptoms like this?
Does this sound like Marek's? Newcastle?
Any other suggestions for what to do? (I am limited as I'm actually home on maternity leaving caring for my newborn, so I can spend maybe a half an hour per day tending to this chicken)
Thank you for any insight you might have!
I have a silkie mix hen (lets call her silkie A) that has strange neurological symptoms. I've read the big Marek's post and just about every other post I could find on here about paralysis, wry neck, vitamin deficiencies, etc.
Some background:
We took a couple silkies from a friend last summer, so I'm unsure of their age. She said she got them from a private breeder, so they are likely not vaccinated. I keep them in a flock of about a dozen chickens, all the others are larger meat/egg laying breeds. The two silkies in question are the lowest chickens in the pecking order. They have free access to about 1/10 of an acre which includes a coop, fenced run, under a shed, and compost area.
Here's the story:
4 weeks ago: found silkie A feet up pinned under a stick under a tree. Because this chicken is low in the pecking order and gets picked on, I thought maybe she had been chased and pinned. When I got her upright she ran away just fine, but I separated her from the others as she was being picked on quite a bit. She was limping, and after checking her over with no sign of bumblefoot or injury I chalked it up to some mild atrophy as she is broody often and has spent a lot of time sitting in the nest box literally for months.
A few days later another silkie mix hen (silkie B) of ours was acting lethargic, so I put her with silkie A to buddy up.
Silkie A and B happily foraging the backyard together, both were eating and drinking, roosting in the dog crate together. Silkie A was even jumping up onto the higher roosts with no problem.
Within a week Silkie B could not stand, could not eat or drink, was holding her head weird, watery-type poops. I tried to syringe feed her food, electrolytes, supplements, but she went down hill quickly and we had to put her down.
Silkie A remained. But soon started showing signs of limping again. Then I'd find her just laying in the middle of the lawn. When she moved she ran and toppled forward like she was off balance. Her legs stuck straight out in front of her and pretty soon she was falling to the side and couldn't sit upright.
Brought her inside. Fed her a multivitamin supplement, vitamin E, watermelon, and her regular layer pellet. She could eat and drink just fine if I held her body up. Her legs would shake if I tried to stand her up on them and she couldn't balance. Her wings would shake when I extended them.
Currently:
A week after being indoors with supplements she now can balance sitting on her feet, but not standing. She manages to scoot around or she'll get up onto her feet and run and crash into where ever she's going. She managed to get herself between some planters and the deck so I figured she was mobile enough to let her stay outside in the dog crate again.
Her appetite is fine. She goes after bugs (though is not coordinated enough to get them). She preens herself. Her poops are normal, brown with a little white, no sign of worms, blood, or infection. Eyes--irises are normal, pupils responsive, BUT it does sometimes look like her left eyelid is drooping a little bit. Her small comb is either red or sometimes pale/dry looking. To make matters worse I think she is molting as she has lost a lot of feathers and new ones are growing back. She had a mild case of lice, but I dusted her and that seems to have taken care of most of them. No lumps, bumps, swelling. Crop and abdomen feel normal. Vent looks normal. No wheezing. No discharge from eyes or nostrils.
I had thought perhaps this was heat stroke, as it's been hot here in North Carolina, but neither of these two silkies were showing signs of overheating and silkie A never acted lethargic or malnourished.
Has anyone else ever seen symptoms like this?
Does this sound like Marek's? Newcastle?
Any other suggestions for what to do? (I am limited as I'm actually home on maternity leaving caring for my newborn, so I can spend maybe a half an hour per day tending to this chicken)
Thank you for any insight you might have!
