Sick silkie hen

Mannybeanrooster

Hatching
Sep 6, 2025
3
2
7
I found my 2.5 year old silkie hen sitting in the grass not moving brought her inside she was having trouble holding her head up but was still eating and drinking now she is cold and is just closing her eyes I've been feeding her baby food from a syringe but I dont know what else to do
 
Welcome to BYC

How is she doing now?
How long has she been like this?
Do you have photos of her and her poop?
Does she lay eggs? When was the last one?
Is she pooping?

With her having trouble holding her head up, she may have Wry Neck(?).
You can try vitamin therapy to see if helps. Give her 400IU Vitamin E along with 1/4tablet B-Complex daily.

If she seems cold, you can provide her with a little extra warmth. A heating pad set on low, just make sure she can get away from the heat if she gets too hot.
 
She has been like this over a week her body is stiff and cold like she is dead but if I touch her she will move her head a little bit I've been giving her baby food and electrolytes from a syringe her poop is normal she hasn't played for a while cause she was broody
 

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She has been like this over a week her body is stiff and cold like she is dead but if I touch her she will move her head a little bit I've been giving her baby food and electrolytes from a syringe her poop is normal she hasn't played for a while cause she was broody
Poor thing!

Have you tried providing her some supplemental heat to see if she will perk up a little?

I'd give her the vitamins as suggested in Post#2.

Are you giving human baby food or a Baby Bird Formula? It may be better to give a Baby bird formula if you can get that, otherwise, do what you need to to get nutrition into her.

I'm sorry that she's like this I wonder if she's suffering from disease like Marek's, it's hard to know unless you lose one and have a necropsy.

I'll tag in @Debbie292d to see if she has any suggestions since this is a Silkie.
 
Sadly she passed like an hour ago but ty for the help
I am so sorry. :hugs I've found two in my yard like that, and one didn't recover; the other did. Both were caused by a rooster going ballistic and pecking her in the head. I didn't know what happened to the first one until a couple of weeks later, when I saw it in action, then I knew. That rooster was eliminated.

You mentioned she was recently broody. It could be she was already weak, and then a rooster being too rough on her could have done it.

The next time you're in a pet store, pick up some baby parrot food. It's powder. I mix some of that with raw egg yolk and a couple of drops of Poultry Cell, then form balls the size of peas, and feed a sick bird by opening their beak and putting one at a time in.

Regardless of how it happened, I'm sorry. Sometimes we can't save them. She knew you tried though. At least she was comfortable until the end, and you did what you could. :hugs
 

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