Sick Silkie....stumbling, stands on her knees for 5 days now!! HELP!

[daddysgirlz]

Posted last saturday...have been giving vitamins and electrolytes in water, she is eating great, drinking great and has the best looking perfect poop ever. Eyes look good, she has been in the basement where it is cool as it has been very hot and humid here lately. I did give her mollasses in her water the other day to flush her...no change? Every so often she and the other three hens have runny poop...
If I knew chickens got sick every other day I would have continued with buying eggs from the store. Frustrated!!! Help...I want her out of the basement and out with her friends...Coop is covered and stay pretty dry...ground is run is sand...pine shavings in hen house. Silkies are 18 weeks old, We do let them out into the yard to eat grass too.

 

[daddysgirlz]

Really??!!!! Everytime I post here I get no replies!!! Then...someone posts about their chickens getting poison ivy and they get 14 replies...Really....BTW...you dont get poison ivy rash from POLLEN!!! It's the OIL on the leaves and YES it can easily be transfered from clothes or chickens to human skin even days after first contact!!! Best to wash it off your hands or anywhere you think it contacted you with windex with ammonia....the ammonia raises it off your skin to be easily wiped away!!! Lets get back to really sick chickens!!

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Daddysgirlz... sorry your hen is sick, but sounds like you are doing everything right... sometimes it just takes time and sometimes you never know what went wrong.

I have gone years without problems and then something happens, sometimes our best efforts are not enough... but... they are worth it... not just for the eggs but for the pleasure they give us.
The rest of us on this forum are just people who love our birds and we don't have all the solutions... sorry I don't have an answer for you... but I wish the best for your bird... just keep on keepin' on.
I have a hen right now that no one on here has a solution for, so I am where you are just doing what I can until she gets better or not.
Again, good luck with yours.
dmb/mm
ps: I'm subscribing to this thread, so please let us know what is going on with your girl.

 

[daddysgirlz]

NO changes as of yet...she just walks around on her knees and stumbles about. Eating good and drinking good as well! I just don't get it?? I want her back outside with the others....she seems lonely down in the basement by herself....does anyone think it is safe for her to go back to the coop??

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Do you have a cat crate with a wire door (so she can see through)? or a wire dog crate? I place an injured bird in that and place it out somewhere close to the other birds... less lonely but protected.

The hen I spoke about earlier is in a wire crate just out next to the pen.

The risk is though, is that if she has something contagious, well...

 

[flowerchicks]

I am sorry your little silkie is sick. I don't really have any idea what could be wrong, but it sounds like you are doing all you know how to do at this time. If I were you, I would keep her in my basement until she is walking normally, or if a cat carrier or box, or something you can keep her in to be nearby so she wont be lonely. Did she seem to start walking on one "knee" before the other, or did she just start walking funning all at once? Did you look up Mareks disease? I don't know if that is what she has but there doesn't seem to be lot of illnesses that cause a chicken to have trouble walking but appear fine in every other way. Botulism seems to be another illness, but it sounds like she has been walking funny for almost a week with no other signs of illness.

Until somebody with some actual knowledge posts, I would just keep her quite and confined with as little activity as possible. Who knows, maybe she injured her legs? I really hope she is ok, I have 2 little house silkies the same age and I REALLY do feel for you

 

[mmaddie's mom]

let's bump this back up

 

[mmaddie's mom]

How goes it?

 

[henney penny]

I have a silkie hen that I think is an older hen,and she has trouble with one foot that curl under so she limps.When I firt noticed it a few months ago I brought her in and did the vitimins and rest for a week and nothing changed in her foot so I put her back out with the other silkies and none bothers her and she never did get any better but is happier with her buddies,I have one rooster and four hens and five babies all togather.Hope someone can help you and then maybe I will know what is wrong with mine,I thought it might be her age,She was given to me.

 

[kingdr85]

I had a chicken that did the same thing (long time ago) and my mom's recipe for everything is olive oil (we got some Italian in us). I gave her some and she came back!!!
We also put some gingseng vitamin thing in the water.

Hope it helps!

I am in WI too and also have Silkies...only 3 (about 2 months old) but i think 2 of them are boys so I will have to get rid of them. Did you get yours sexed? from where?