OK, this is a new one for me. I posted about Tweety our Silkie roo in another post. He started acting odd about a week ago, just avoiding the flock, and kind of hiding. I didn't give it a lot of thought as he's low on the pecking order. I finally put him in a pen when I noticed our peahens harassing him, and saw that he was very weak and underweight. I fed him up, and put him in the sun in his pen. He perked up, his tail came up, and he ate ravenously and drank. He seemed fine that evening so I left him in the barn in his pen, with straw for warmth. I thought maybe he'd just been harassed by the peahens to the point where he hadn't been able to get enough to eat. He also seemed to have a little problem swallowing but we checked his mouth for Canker, and saw nothing. Next morning (yesterday) he was a little quiet, but ate breakfast. Day was much cooler, and damp. I left him in the barn in his pen. Put a heat light on him later as it was so cool and damp. By evening feeding I noticed he was not eating, was hyper-preening and scratching, and had a little respiratory issue. I dusted him with Sevin dust, being careful not to make any dust clouds or get any in his respiratory system. Less than an hour later he was having serious breathing problems. We brought him in the house, and figured he'd be dead by morning. But by morning, he was standing up, ready for breakfast, no breathing problems at all. He is out enjoying the sun today in his pen. Still very weak, but eating and drinking. We plan on bringing him back in the house overnight again. I noticed he is still preening a lot, I will look more closely, but I didn't SEE any mites, that doesn't mean there aren't any, of course. He rarely dustbathes.
I am worried about using the Sevindust again, although I don't think that was the cause of his breathing problems. I do think he needs another treatment, with something. It did seem to help quite a bit, but he just needs another treatment.
Suggestions??? what the heck is this? Would lice cause all these weird symptoms? He's seven years old, we've had him since a cockerel, he's always battled scaly leg mites but right now his feet and legs are clean and normal. Although he's low on the pecking order, he's a tough little guy and holds his own, normally manages to maintain a place so that he can at least mingle with the flock.
I am worried about using the Sevindust again, although I don't think that was the cause of his breathing problems. I do think he needs another treatment, with something. It did seem to help quite a bit, but he just needs another treatment.
Suggestions??? what the heck is this? Would lice cause all these weird symptoms? He's seven years old, we've had him since a cockerel, he's always battled scaly leg mites but right now his feet and legs are clean and normal. Although he's low on the pecking order, he's a tough little guy and holds his own, normally manages to maintain a place so that he can at least mingle with the flock.
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I have not seen ANY parasites on him, I've looked and looked. But, he's a Silkie and has dense feathers, and honestly I'd be surprised if he didn't have any, I've noticed the others dustbathing a lot. 
