Sick Silkie

[mc79]

When I got home from work today, the first thing I noticed was one of my silkies laying motionless. When I picked her up, she moved a little and made some cries. I knew she was in a bad way. When I brought her inside, my wife and I looked her over thoroughly and couldn't find any injuries. Her head kind of swayed around in circles, but she wasn't moving her body. I feared that she had broken her neck or something. We rested her on some towels and took some time to love on her and observe her. After a while she finally moved her body a bit and even flapped her wings a couple of times (so I ruled out a neck injury) It's been almost 3 hours and she hasn't moved from the spot we put her in. When she tries to sit up, she just sways back and forth like she intoxicated, and lays back down. She tucked her head under a wing and went to sleep. Side note: the rest of my flock are perfectly fine. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Debbi H]

Obviously, I'm just guessing, but here are a couple of my experiences with hens that acted like this.
For one of them: Our vet thought that one of them had eaten something that made her very sick. If they get into any rotting fruit or vegetables, it upsets their system like food poisoning does to people. You want to make sure that they never get any moldy food either, which is why it's very important to keep their feed dry. Also make sure to keep the feeds tightly closed so that rodents can't contaminate the feed.
The other one had an impacted crop. You can tell by feeling the crop and if it's very hard (and stays that way for several hours), it means the food has "jammed up". I brought this bird in, put her in a box with shavings, and per the vet, would use a dropper to give her a small dropper full of olive oil several times a day. I'd follow this with a massage of her crop to help break up the compaction. We gave her water, but very little food until it broke up and her crop softened again. She actually seemed to enjoy the massaging and she was up and around in three days. She's been fine ever since.
Of course, much of the time, as you know, it's a guessing game.

 

[shaggythehen]

Hello! I have been dealing with a sick hen for the last 3 days. She was completely fine and then bam overnight her comb was flopped over and discolored with no interest in eating and would not stand or walk. She was breathing very heavy(panting!)Every time I pick her up and placed her on her feet she just takes a few steps and falls to the side and lays down. The first 24 hrs all she wanted to do was sleep. I have had a ton of great advice and here is what Seems to be helping: I brought her in and put her on some soft towels then mixed vitamins and electrolyte mixture into her water along with oxytetracycline antibiotics mixed in her water. I have to hand feed her this with a small medicine cup as she won't stand to get it herself. After 36 hrs I finally got her to eat a scrambled egg!! She is much more alert and is not panting any longer. Still doesn't want to stand but there is definite improvement! Hope this helps! The not standing is very concerning however if she is ill she may just be weak? So sorry for your situation.Good luck!

 

[Debbi H]

Oh, my son reminded me of one other thing. Are your sick hens still laying eggs? If not, they could also have an impacted egg. My son was able to help out one of his hens who was impacted by giving her warm baths. But there is other good info right here on Backyard Chickens. Look up Egg Binding: Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention.

 

[shaggythehen]

http://www.raising-chickens.org/chicken-wont-stand.html

 

[Eggcessive]

When I got home from work today, the first thing I noticed was one of my silkies laying motionless. When I picked her up, she moved a little and made some cries. I knew she was in a bad way. When I brought her inside, my wife and I looked her over thoroughly and couldn't find any injuries. Her head kind of swayed around in circles, but she wasn't moving her body. I feared that she had broken her neck or something. We rested her on some towels and took some time to love on her and observe her. After a while she finally moved her body a bit and even flapped her wings a couple of times (so I ruled out a neck injury) It's been almost 3 hours and she hasn't moved from the spot we put her in. When she tries to sit up, she just sways back and forth like she intoxicated, and lays back down. She tucked her head under a wing and went to sleep. Side note: the rest of my flock are perfectly fine. Anyone have any ideas?

Is it very hot where you live? Could she be dehydrated and weak from being kept from food and water by others? What do her droppings look like? Could she have been injured? How old is she? Was she vaccinated for Mareks disease? I would get some chick electrolytes with vitamins to put in her water. NutriDrench 1 ml daily or baby vitamins like PolyVisol 3 drops daily can be given by mouth instead. Pedialyte or Gatorade can be sustituted for electrolytes. Mix a small bowl of chicken feed with a lot of water, and offer that with some chopped egg to get her eating, but only after she drinks. It may take some time to figure out her problem. I hope you can help her, and if a vet familiar with chickens is possible, that might be best.

 

[mc79]

Debbi-- Thank you for the advice! She didn't have any rotting or moldy food. I tried to feel her crop but I can't really tell if it's impacted or not. I'm going to try the olive oil starting this morning, just in case. She won't eat or drink at all, so we're making her drink by forcing her mouth open and using a dropper to put water there. Just scrambled up an egg, waiting on it to cool down as I type this and going to try to feed her. As for your second post, she is 16 weeks old, so still too young for an impacted egg?

 

[mc79]

Shaggy--Thank you! She didn't have any panting, but everything else seems the same. I'm giving her water through a dropper. I mixed a probiotic packet and an electrolyte packet to a gallon of water, and that's what I'm using. She's not doing the "waving back and forth like she's drunk" thing that she did yesterday, so I'd say that's an improvement. I guess I'm going to keep her good and hydrated, hopefully getting her to eat too...and play the waiting game.

 

[mc79]

Eggcessive--She is 16 weeks old. I live in Tennessee, and it's been in the 80's during the day, but I've seen her eating and drinking normally up until I got home from work and saw her the way she was. We have her out of the heat, inside on some towels. I got her and her sister a couple of days after she was born from a local farm one county over. I don't know whether or not they were vaccinated. (I was so wrapped up in the cuteness of them, and trying to pick the two that I wanted, that I didn't think to ask). My main focus right now is keeping her hydrated, which is a task. I have to force her mouth open and give her water through a dropper, but she fights me every step of the way. Still getting it done, though. While she still isn't moving from the spot I put her in, she looks *slightly better than yesterday.

 

[mc79]

So I've been giving her water with electrolytes and probiotic in it, through a dropper, since everything happened. Now, after 2 days, she is actually eating on her own again! She still isn't walking anywhere, but sits up attentively. The fact that she started eating on her own this morning is a big step (and a HUGE relief!). Still keeping her inside until she starts acting completely normal again. Thank you @Debbi H , @shaggythehen , and @Eggcessive for your help and advice!