Hi there,
I’ve read dozens of threads about silkies with similar issues and lots of different outcomes. Feeling nervous and had to start yet another one...
This is a 7.5 week old silkie. She (I think it’s a she) has never been outside my house or interacted with chickens other than the chicks who hatched with her. As of this morning, all the others are fine.
After I changed their bedding yesterday, I noticed this one was unusually still, puffy, and making a weird neck movement (droopy, with sort of a tick or small seizure-like movement, and also the one where it looks like they’re nodding off and they catch themselves). I have treated wry neck successfully before in another batch of chicks, and though her head wasn’t hanging all the way down, it did seem like it could be the beginning of wry neck?
Yesterday she only wanted to sit, although she could stand and walk (she would do so to walk a bit to get to her crumbles or scrambled eggs, and she would climb up from my lap to my shoulder or my neck.) She is eating and drinking, can flap her wings, and can perch on my arm (although she won’t hop off even just inches from the ground).
I put her in her own warm box and started her on the wry neck protocol I found here and used successfully before (vitamin E with selenium, vitamin B drops, and prednisone — just 1 mg because she’s small). This morning she is better, choosing to stand rather than sit, and I haven’t seen the neck motion, but she’s still standing in that sick chick position, puffy, and like she’s sleeping standing up.
Poops are normal, no signs of respiratory infection. I immediately started freaking out about Marek’s when I saw the head thing and the sitting. It would have had to come in on my clothes from the feed store or the older chicken’s pen (which is in another town, and where no chickens have shown any weird symptoms). I have read enough about Marek’s to know both of those are entirely possible, though. Hoping it’s something else.
The chicks get medicated start and grow, egg yolks every few days, spinach leaves to chomp on occasionally, and chick grit is available. Every other day’s water bowl has a few drops of Nutridrench, ACV, or a probiotic supplement rotated in.
She is small with a vaulted skull, and definitely lower on the chick pecking order, so a peck to the head is entirely possible.
I know I’m possibly going too far using the prednisone, but I have also experienced how much easier it is to catch wry neck early rather than late, so I went for it.
I was planning to move the chicks to an outdoor coop (with a heat lamp since I’m in the northeast) this weekend, but now I’m thinking I should wait another week. This one, at least, needs to stay inside.
Am I missing anything? Anything else I should try? If you even read this far, thank you, I appreciate any advice
or moral support!
I’ve read dozens of threads about silkies with similar issues and lots of different outcomes. Feeling nervous and had to start yet another one...
This is a 7.5 week old silkie. She (I think it’s a she) has never been outside my house or interacted with chickens other than the chicks who hatched with her. As of this morning, all the others are fine.
After I changed their bedding yesterday, I noticed this one was unusually still, puffy, and making a weird neck movement (droopy, with sort of a tick or small seizure-like movement, and also the one where it looks like they’re nodding off and they catch themselves). I have treated wry neck successfully before in another batch of chicks, and though her head wasn’t hanging all the way down, it did seem like it could be the beginning of wry neck?
Yesterday she only wanted to sit, although she could stand and walk (she would do so to walk a bit to get to her crumbles or scrambled eggs, and she would climb up from my lap to my shoulder or my neck.) She is eating and drinking, can flap her wings, and can perch on my arm (although she won’t hop off even just inches from the ground).
I put her in her own warm box and started her on the wry neck protocol I found here and used successfully before (vitamin E with selenium, vitamin B drops, and prednisone — just 1 mg because she’s small). This morning she is better, choosing to stand rather than sit, and I haven’t seen the neck motion, but she’s still standing in that sick chick position, puffy, and like she’s sleeping standing up.
Poops are normal, no signs of respiratory infection. I immediately started freaking out about Marek’s when I saw the head thing and the sitting. It would have had to come in on my clothes from the feed store or the older chicken’s pen (which is in another town, and where no chickens have shown any weird symptoms). I have read enough about Marek’s to know both of those are entirely possible, though. Hoping it’s something else.
The chicks get medicated start and grow, egg yolks every few days, spinach leaves to chomp on occasionally, and chick grit is available. Every other day’s water bowl has a few drops of Nutridrench, ACV, or a probiotic supplement rotated in.
She is small with a vaulted skull, and definitely lower on the chick pecking order, so a peck to the head is entirely possible.
I know I’m possibly going too far using the prednisone, but I have also experienced how much easier it is to catch wry neck early rather than late, so I went for it.
I was planning to move the chicks to an outdoor coop (with a heat lamp since I’m in the northeast) this weekend, but now I’m thinking I should wait another week. This one, at least, needs to stay inside.
Am I missing anything? Anything else I should try? If you even read this far, thank you, I appreciate any advice
