Sick Silkie

[ChickStavie]

My Silkie did not come out of the coop this morning and apears to be acting very lethargic with no obvious signs on the exterior.
Slow head movements with no energy to walk put her head in water bowl and she took some sips
Her sister has started laying about a week and half ago so maybe egg bound any help would be appreciated uploading picture when phone charged

 

[azygous]

When you wake up feeling lousy, you will try to figure out why you feel sick by trying to recall what you ate the day before or if you were out in a crowd where you noticed someone sneezing and coughing.

The same is true when a chicken suddenly acts sick. You need to find clues by recalling what she was doing or eating yesterday. Then you need to examine her for physical clues.

Check her crop for fullness. It should be empty first thing in the morning before she eats. If it's full, she could have sour crop or impacted crop. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Next, check her eyes, nares, ears, and look into her throat for signs of respiratory illness - discharge, plaque lesions, bubbling eyes, crust in nares and ears, swelling around eyes. How about her vent? Any discharge? What does her poop look like?

Recall what she was doing yesterday. What was in proximity? Compost? Long grass stems? Leaky machinery? Moldy food? Dirty rain puddles? Any new chickens?

 

[ChickStavie]

https://imgur.com/sxLXOdL
https://imgur.com/53lnTsV

 

[ronkonkoma]

I think this is the time of year to check for respiratory as well. Listen super careful to her breathing. Look at the eyes. If there’s swelling around them she may be ill. Check for mites closely especially in the crest area. Give vitamins and electrolytes and in my opinion when in doubt separate from the flock. If it spreads you could end up with many I’ll chickens. I just lost one of my favorite blacks suddenly the other day. No signs, respiratory. 1 day gone.

 

[ChickStavie]

she was dead in the morning with puke all over her mouth i supected the sour crop so anything i can learn from this to prevent other flock deaths

 

[Mrsjdavis]

I have a 3 month old silkie hen who is not feeling well. I've isolated her the past couple days. She's weak, will occasionally stand, does this weird head movement thing, (kind of like she's reading? ) .. I've given her antibiotics, and water with a syringe. What can I push thru a syringe to feed her? I've tried mixing reg food with water, but that didn't go well... maybe mashed peas? Any ideas? Suggestions? All help is appreciated!!

 

[LaFleche]

She's weak, will occasionally stand, does this weird head movement thing, (kind of like she's reading? )

Did you feel her crop, is it bloated and squishy or rather like a hard ball? By moving her head and neck this way she is trying to pass whatever might be obstructing her crop.

What does her poop look like, diarrhea?

 

[Mrsjdavis]

I have not seen any diarrhea, but also she hasn't eaten in a couple days so....

 

[Mrsjdavis]

Crop feels hard, also when I got home today, her breathing is labored

 

[LaFleche]

Crop feels hard, also when I got home today, her breathing is labored

This seems to be an impacted crop and needs immediate treatment as this is a life threatening condition. As a first aid to prevent a circulatory collapse you could give her some sugar water or Coca-Cola.

Here are two methods I use with good results:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/help-how-do-i-suture-chicken’s-impacted-crop.1378235/post-22647214