Showgirl, 20 weeks, with large squishy crop..

[leadwolf1]

The little showgirl, Mae West, didn't make it. She was tucked in and must have passed in her sleep

She was doing so much better last night....

RIP little Mae...

 

[NewToFarming]

Oh my! I am so very sorry! You did everything you could for her.

 

[leadwolf1]

Thanks. I don't know how I could have caught it sooner...but, I wish I had. With the rain every day, we aren't spending as much time with the chickens. I do observe them everyday and I'm angry that I didn't see anything amiss before yesterday. She was my only showgirl and I will miss her....

 

[NewToFarming]

Oh I know this rain was horrible and I too wasn't able to be out as much as I would have liked to be. I lost my blind silkie hen in this mess and I have no idea what had happened to her. I don't know if she wandered off in the storm or if something got her but there is no trace of her anywhere and the rain made it even more difficult to look for her outside. She was in the coop only a couple of hours before she went missing. She of course was my favorite. I am afraid if she got down into the fields she might have been swept away in water.
She didn't usually wander far and there are 2 roo's that kept tabs on her.

For your silkie with the neuro damage, I am not sure what you are giving her now but B vitamins along with vitamin E & selenium is good to try to help with neuro repair. I am glad your boy is doing better and I hope your girl will do the same.

 

[leadwolf1]

So sorry to hear about your blind girl. She probably got turned around in all the rain and got lost, poor thing

I am giving the silkie with the neuro damage poly vi sol. I will try and get out to get vitamin b and selenium. Can I find both at Walmart? How do you dose?

Seems you live less than 2 hours NW of us so you really have been getting hit hard by rain! Enough is enough already. My chicken yard is nasty...I used to let my guys free range but a hawk got one of them...he was a 19 week old Buff polish! I couldn't believe it. The hawk actually killed and started eating him in the yard. It's fenced. Ole was so big that the hawk couldn't carry him away. Unfortunately, I was out picking up silkie chicks (they are so cute) and managed to chase the hawk off after the damage was done

Now, I have to be out there to watch them free range. With school starting that isn't as often as I would like.

 

[NewToFarming]

I know she probably did and I feel horrible I didn't get back out sooner. I have my coop as a converted stall in the barn and most of mine free range. I have been very fortunate to not have predators around and have never lost any at all free ranging. I do have a "silkie playpen" for the more meeker ones that tend to get bullied around so they have some peace from the others and it does work well. They do have a doghouse as well as tarps for cover in rain but the blind girl as well as some others do not know enough to take cover under there so I chose to keep everyone in the coop and barn because of the rain and that is how she wandered off.

We did get alot of rain and we really can't get out of our area yet. I am just glad I stocked up on all the chicken feed and treats before this came! But thankfully how the barn is situated on a slope the chickens stayed nice and dry in the barn and they still had space to run around and not feel so cooped up during this.

I would think the poly vi sol would have enough of the B vitamins. I would add the vitamin E & selenium though. I had a silkie girl that had wry neck and I gave her the vitamin E & poly vi sol and she did recover. It was later I had seen to also add selenium. I also gave her metacam which is an anti-inflammatory I had on hand that was prescribed by a vet for another chicken. I do see it can be safe to give prednisone to a chicken to help decrease any swelling if you would happen to have any or if a vet can write a script for you. I do know the prednisone is one of the cheaper meds at walmart and you can also get the vitamins there too. The vitamin E comes in a liquid capsule and I just cut the tip of it off and squirted it in some mash I had made up for her which was just chicken feed moistened with water with the added vitamins. I make it slightly on the runny side to help get liquids into also. I gave her one capsule in a days worth of mash.

Here is some dosage information I had found for you from another post and I hope it helps.

Twice a day
2.5 mg of prednisone
400 IU of vitamin E

Once a day
A piece of human vitamin B complex pill or a squirt of human liquid vitamins
Selenium (50 micrograms/day for half size juvenile for 3 days)

For the second week I give

Once a day
2.5 mg of prednisone
400 IU of vitamin E
A piece of human vitamin B complex pill or a squirt of human liquid vitamins

Every other day
Selenium (50 micrograms/day for half size juvenile for 3 days)

For the following weeks I give

Once a day
2.5 mg of prednisone
400 IU of vitamin E
A piece of human vitamin B complex pill or a squirt of human liquid vitamins

Every third day
Selenium (50 micrograms/day for half size juvenile for 3 days)

Do not abruptly stop prednisone, the swelling rebounds, decrease dose
gradually.
Vitamin E recovery can be slow; continue the vitamin E for several weeks at
least.

You can get the prednisone from a vet; just describe the problem of
swelling in
the brain probably due to injury. Yes Silkies' brains do stick out through a
hole on the top of the skull.

You can get the vitamin E, selenium, and vitamin B complex or liquid
vitamins at
any pharmacy.

To get prednisone, print the pictures at
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/HoleInHead.html
and take them to a vet. (for those unable to access this article, Alan has generously given his permission to repost the article/photos below)

 

[leadwolf1]

Thanks so much, Lisa! I will get the rest of the meds tonight. I will probably have to wait on the pred till next week though. Unless, I have some lurking in my cabinet from my dogs allergies...
My vet has been my vet since I was 3...I am dreading the day that he retires. I can call him up and he gives me free advice and I can get any meds that I need without a hassle.

The sun is out! Yippee...the chickens may get a dry day afterall.

I was shocked by the hawk attack. I have three akitas and a shiba that frequent that yard. Not at the same time as the chickens

but their smell is very prominent. I have 2 unfixed male akitas and you can tell where their territory is....

BTW...I just love your NNs...been following them on the turken thread

 

[NewToFarming]

You are lucky to have a good vet like that. I had found one like that for my dogs but he doesn't do chickens at all also I have to travel to Lancaster if I need anything for my chickens.

I think you are right about having the male dogs around and I believe that is why predators don't come too close here. I have an English Bulldog and a Chow. I love the shiba's too and they remind me of a not as furry chow. My chow loves the chickens, surprisingly especially the chicks. He will kiss them! It really shocked me to see him do that but he has really mellowed out as he got older. He just turned 11. Since it did clear up here right now (although we are still supposed to get rain) I am going to take him out with me to see if there is any chance he can find my blind girl. I know it has been alot of days and her chances are very slim but I am going to give it one more time here. My English Bulldog is oblivious to the fact there are even chickens here. He is such a goofball!

I unfortunately had to sell some of my NN's. I had to thin out the flock because we are looking to move south when we find something we like and I had too many to try to take with me. I still have some though. I really like the NN's too. I will probably have to downsize some more but I am putting that off as long as possible!

Too bad we aren't closer or I could give you some prednisone!

 

[NewToFarming]

That didn't take long. He found her and she didn't survive the storm.

 

[leadwolf1]

I'm so sorry to hear that

at least you know that she isn't out that lost, scared and alone.

I just love my NNs! They are such goofy chickens