silkie chicken limping and shaking her head strangely

[hipphopanimal]

I am a new chicken owner, very very new. A friend of mine was taking care of them while I finished the coop. When I picked them up I noticed that my silkie was acting strange. First I noticed the limping, then I noticed head shaking as if she were trying to shake something off of her head. Since I'm new I had a feeling that something was wrong but I didn't know what. I researched and researched then asked my friend, she told me to check her joints....and so I did. When I checked her leg joint it was larger on her right leg then her left. I worry because I know that chickens can pick on each other, but most of all I am worried because for the run I know the ramp is a little steep and she did get stuck down there one time- I don't know if it was due to the fact that she just got into the coop for the first time, or her foot. I need some help, I really am worried about her, should I splint it? Wrap it? I've heard about mites ect. I just want my chickens to be healthy and I don't want it to be something viral or that the other chickens can catch. Any ideas??

Thank you and anything helps!

 

[Judy]

Sorry you didn't get a response. I'm not sure what is going on, or how best to handle, and I imagine no one else was, either.

One thing you might do is simply separate her for a day or two to confine her so she will rest, on the chance it is something like a sprain or strain. I wouldn't even insist on this with her if it upsets her badly.

Mareks is a disease with a lot of different symptoms, many neurological. Some cases can be helped with vitamins. I don't know a lot about it. I do have some links that you might find helpful, though, including a good one about leg and foot problems. Silkies seem to be particularly prone to lice/mites, and they can certainly get on their head and cause head shaking, as well.

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-injuries-diseases-how-to-diagnose-treat-your-chickens

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mareks-disease-how-to-prevent-mereks-disease-treat-your-chickens

 

[realsis]

hi I have silkies as well. sometimes the head shaking can be a nervous habit or silkies seem prone to vitamin deficiency. you can try and give a good mix of B vitamins also E. I got some great vitamins for mine from first state vet supply. they have a excellent mixture of vitamins minerals and amino acids. you can give it a try and see if the vitamins help. mine were head shaking a lot and after the vitamins its gotten better. although not stopped completely. you can try vitamins and see if its a deficiency that's causing the symptoms. good luck and best wishes

 

[hipphopanimal]

Hi sorry that I didn't respond I didn't know I had any responses. I appreciate it and I did notice she was doing it at certain times. I will try these! Thank you so much for responding