Possible nerve damage from a roo attack & possibly blindness

[ChickieHomesteader]

My silkie hen has been attacked twice by our bresse rooster. My hen has now developed quite a "head-wobble" & "head-bobbing" kind of movement. I also suspect she is now blind. I brought her and her close friend, a silkie rooster, into our house after the second attack & have been observing her for a week now. The head-weaving has very slightly diminished (maybe) but I noticed she has trouble finding the half apple I give each of them every morning. She pecks all around it until she hits on it. The same with her breakfast, I give them sliced tomatoes, lettuce and corn on the cob, they also have a mix of crumble & cracked corn 24/7. Can a bird become blind from nerve damage or head/brain trauma from a rooster attack? Luckily my husband was right there and shooed him away and brought the silkie hen in the house along with her silkie buddy where the 2 of them remain. My heart breaks for her. She's eating & drinking well but I'm not sure of her prognosis. See attached TikTok video. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM6dtqR7Y/

 

[nuthatched]

She likely has wry neck, a vitamin deficiency. Silkies are prone to it, stress can trigger it and what you're feeding isn't great for them, as its mostly treats.
Give 400i.u vitamin E capsule and about a third of a B complex tablet every day for a few weeks. Any brand from the grocery store, just pull down on her wattle and put it in the beak.
Also cut out the veggies and corn, they can have a little bit once or twice aweek, about half a tablespoon per bird.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My silkie hen has been attacked twice by our bresse rooster. My hen has now developed quite a "head-wobble" & "head-bobbing" kind of movement. I also suspect she is now blind. I brought her and her close friend, a silkie rooster, into our house after the second attack & have been observing her for a week now. The head-weaving has very slightly diminished (maybe) but I noticed she has trouble finding the half apple I give each of them every morning. She pecks all around it until she hits on it. The same with her breakfast, I give them sliced tomatoes, lettuce and corn on the cob, they also have a mix of crumble & cracked corn 24/7. Can a bird become blind from nerve damage or head/brain trauma from a rooster attack? Luckily my husband was right there and shooed him away and brought the silkie hen in the house along with her silkie buddy where the 2 of them remain. My heart breaks for her. She's eating & drinking well but I'm not sure of her prognosis. See attached TikTok video. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM6dtqR7Y/

Welcome To BYC

Yes, Silkies especially can suffer neurological damage when attacked and have head trauma. They have a hole in their skull, so a sharp peck to the head can cause problems.

I'd focus on her eating a nutritionally balanced poultry feed. An all flock type feed or chick starter would be good (18-20%).
Cut out some of the extras for now and see that her main source of nutrition is feed.

Get her started on vitamins 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex along with a bit of egg daily.

Vitamin E helps with nerve damage, B-Complex supports E and the egg helps with the uptake E.

Take a look at her eyes, if you can get photos of them, that may help. See if you note any changes like a change in eye color.

If she has a lot of feathers around her eyes, she may benefit from a trim too.

 

[ChickieHomesteader]

Welcome To BYC

Yes, Silkies especially can suffer neurological damage when attacked and have head trauma. They have a hole in their skull, so a sharp peck to the head can cause problems.

I'd focus on her eating a nutritionally balanced poultry feed. An all flock type feed or chick starter would be good (18-20%).
Cut out some of the extras for now and see that her main source of nutrition is feed.

Get her started on vitamins 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex along with a bit of egg daily.

Vitamin E helps with nerve damage, B-Complex supports E and the egg helps with the uptake E.

Take a look at her eyes, if you can get photos of them, that may help. See if you note any changes like a change in eye color.

If she has a lot of feathers around her eyes, she may benefit from a trim too.

Thank you so much for your kind advice and knowledge. I'll hold off on the treats and continue with the 20% all flock crumble that she's on now. Should I also cut out the cracked corn? I'm not sure if that's more of a treat or a requirement. I'll try to get pix of her eyes as well. My husband suggested a "hair cut" as well, so we'll attempt that today, she does have a pretty good hairdo going on so she would probably benefit from a trim.
That's horrible news about silkies having a hole in their skull .. I had no idea. I'll keep you posted on any developments. Thanks again!

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you so much for your kind advice and knowledge. I'll hold off on the treats and continue with the 20% all flock crumble that she's on now. Should I also cut out the cracked corn? I'm not sure if that's more of a treat or a requirement. I'll try to get pix of her eyes as well. My husband suggested a "hair cut" as well, so we'll attempt that today, she does have a pretty good hairdo going on so she would probably benefit from a trim.
That's horrible news about silkies having a hole in their skull .. I had no idea. I'll keep you posted on any developments. Thanks again!

Yes, Cut out the corn, it's a treat, not a requirement. Do they get oyster shell?

 

[ChickieHomesteader]

No I have never given them oyster shells. I went to drug store today & got the vitamin E 400 IU & the Complex B. I'm hoping she can swallow the Vit E .. the only ones they have are Gel Caps. I'll also get oyster shells .. we have a feed store in town. She's not laying yet but I'll get them anyway. Thanks again (her name is Pearl btw, she's about 6 months old. She wasn't getting a whole bunch of treats, just a handful in the mornings but no more after today & no more cracked corn, only the crumble) thank you

 

[Eggcessive]

She can take the softgel and tablet directly in her beak to swallow. You can also hide them in some cooked egg or wet chicken feed if she will eat it all. Give it orally if that is a problem,,since she needs the full dosage. Hopefully, you will see some improvement soon. Corn, apples, tomatoes, and lettuce do not have the proper nutrition. She needs the chicken feed which is well balanced, and a little scrambled egg for selenium daily.

 

[ChickieHomesteader]

She can take the softgel and tablet directly in her beak to swallow. You can also hide them in some cooked egg or wet chicken feed if she will eat it all. Give it orally if that is a problem,,since she needs the full dosage. Hopefully, you will see some improvement soon. Corn, apples, tomatoes, and lettuce do not have the proper nutrition. She needs the chicken feed which is well balanced, and a little scrambled egg for selenium daily.

Thank you so much for your reply. We have given her the vitamin E and complex B also at another member's advice, thank you. It seems to be the general opinion for this type of damage from our bresse rooster. The corn, lettuce etc we were offering was only very small amounts, a small percentage of their daily diet .. they've all been getting excellent quality chicken feed since we got them at 4 days old, that's available 24/7. We have discontinued the treats since today though. This neurological problem is 100% from an attack from a much larger rooster, our 2 little silkies are in our house now where he can't inflict any more damage to her. We'll build them a separate run when spring comes. We're very much hoping that the nerves will regenerate but are not holding our breathes. They're such darling little things, it's sad to see her struggle. Thanks again for all the great advice .. we're certainly learning everything we can from people such as you. I'll let you know if any improvement in the next few wks.

 

[ChickieHomesteader]

She likely has wry neck, a vitamin deficiency. Silkies are prone to it, stress can trigger it and what you're feeding isn't great for them, as its mostly treats.
Give 400i.u vitamin E capsule and about a third of a B complex tablet every day for a few weeks. Any brand from the grocery store, just pull down on her wattle and put it in the beak.
Also cut out the veggies and corn, they can have a little bit once or twice aweek, about half a tablespoon per bird.

Thank you for your reply. Our little silkie was attacked by a much larger bresse rooster, prior to that she was a very healthy girl. The treats of tomatoes and lettuce was very minimal, 1 thin slice of tomato between the 2 silkies and a handful of shredded lettuce, but we have cut that out totally now. They are getting good quality feed with 20% protein since they were 4 days old. We have learned though that your vitamin suggestion is great to aid in her healing from the attack. We went to get the Vit E & Complex B & began that regime today. Fingers crossed she'll pull through this, it's also a concern for possible blindness, poor thing. They're in the house now & away from the bresse so I guess time will tell. Thanks again .. your advice is invaluable.

 

[ChickieHomesteader]

Yes, Cut out the corn, it's a treat, not a requirement. Do they get oyster shell?