Sick Silkie...not sure what it is& having a hard time pin-pointing it?

[Smokin Silkies]

Ok, I've been searching diseases etc & I can't pinpoint what my Silkies have exactly so I'm going to post to see if I can get some help. As I look at the illnesses, she seems to have some, but not others so I can't tell what exactly she has. Hopefully I'll get some help! These birds have been quarentined in their own coop since I received them & have not been around any of my other birds. I've never had problems like this before with my birds. However I did bring them into my house in the same room as my chicks. At first I just thought the smaller chick wasn't "allowed" access to the food & was losing weight--stressed out. I found out very soon after he was sick. I put him in another room immediately. The other Silkies (all shipped together from same breeder) don't seem to be affected at this point. They all look, feel and act healthy. I don't want to treat until I know for sure what I'm dealing with. I have a pure Lav Roo with Lav/splits and would hate to cull....but will if I have too. I don't want my whole flock infected. Oh and I also have a heat lamp in there coop too if that matters? Thanks so much!!!

1) What type of bird , age and weight. Silkie, ?sometime last fall? (I just had these shipped in beginning of Feb) don't have a scale, but shes very boney...no weight to her
2) What is the behavior, exactly. Doesn't walk well, crust around eyes--1 eye was crusted shut, won't eat but will drink, looks very droopy. Very little wheezing, no sneezing couging
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? Couple of days
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? Yes, I had a smaller chick with much worse symptoms and died
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No signs of any of this (stress from shipping???)
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. Not sure....again-maybe shipping..stress?
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Not eating but drinking fine. We force fed her some scrambled egg and also gave Polyvisol no iron. refuse to eat crumble
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. Poop was a Maple brown color, not normal but not diahhrea either (in between) today poop has been like water. no blood
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? No meds were given yet. Polyvisol was given & a little Vitamin E & B as suggested by somebody
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? Want to try & treat myself if possible
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use They are all on shavings from TSC

 

[allmypeeps]

i am not sure if this is anything like what I experienced, but i had 3 young birds just a couple mo.old i took home from a private flock (one was a silkie) and noticed right away they were thin and as weeks went on the head feathers on the silkie never sprouted and the rest of the coat never came in. It just looked stunted. They all acted fine though were getting thinner and thinner I noticed worms in their stools one day andf treated, thinking that it did the trick until two fell ill, listless, gave up on eating, could barely stand, watery poos.

I brought them to the vet and he said they could have an intestinal infection due to trauma and scaring of the intestines from the internal parasites (internal parasites are detrimental to very young birds!) He put them on antibiotics, probiotics and wormer but told me flat out prognosis was not good. I lost the 2 ill ones the next day

The third bird, i caught in time before she fell ill. I used a series of several wormers and immediately her comb and wattles sprouted and turned a bright healthy red. She has also been slowly gaining weight.

Not sure if parasites could be your problem.....???

Best luck

 

[Smokin Silkies]

Are you able to see the worms in there poop? Or would I have to take a sample to the vet?

 

[Smokin Silkies]

Poor thing is just sitting on her butt now, won't move...won't drink. I keep trying to force some water and a little crumble mixed with some water in her. Not looking good

 

[Smokin Silkies]

She died

 

[allmypeeps]

you will only see worms in their droppings if it is a severe infestation....as generally worms prefer to stay inside attatched to intestinal lining where they absorb nutrients.

I saw white thin spaghetti like worms, later I saw the new worms....very very tiny, almost invisible, transparent and threadliek I only noticed as they were squirming vigorously- SO disgusting....u won't always see them....stool sample can help and should show the passing eggs...though if the worms are not shedding eggs the sample will be pointless.

Sorry to hear your bird didnt make it, once sick- birds dont usually last long.

How old are your birds? any other sickies?

You could always just worm to be on the safe side. Worms can spread thru the flock, parasite eggs can live in soil exposed to droppings.

 

[Smokin Silkies]

The cockerel hatched early summer and the rest last fall sometime. None of them seem to be sick....doesn't mean they are not sick though. I wish I knew exactly what was wrong with them. I hate to treat when I'm unsure. From what I've read on here, its not good to treat if not sure. If they don't have worms, will the wormer meds hurt them in any way? I haven't looked too much into worms but am going to right now. Thanks