Silkie chicken, won't eat/drink please help

[small56]

I have a silkie, about 6 maybe 7 months. She weighs maybe 2 lbs. Two days ago (toward the afternoon) she was lethargic and I separated her from the other chickens . She had no other obvious symptoms or signs. By evening she seemed to be eating and feeling better so I put her back in the chicken pen/coop.

The next morning I checked on her and she was lethargic (again) so I brought her back inside. I looked at the poop in the cage I had her in the day before , but it was just green and runny. Her butt also has some runny poop on it.

I read the forums and her crop felt full even though she had nothing to eat and it was morning. So I gave her some oil and massaged her crop. Later in the afternoon the crop seemed smaller and she began occasionally pooping. Her poop came out (a little) in a solid mass of grass. She ate a little on her own (egg yolks) off/on yesterday morning/afternoon, but by evening stopped eating. I have also not seen her drink anything. So we have been giving her water (with electrolytes) through a syringe. My first question how much water do we need to give her throughout the day while she is not drinking on her own? I have looked everywhere and have found no answer. How much food? I read egg yolks and yogurt were good. Plus it might be easiest to get down her little beak.

There are no other obvious signs- no nasal dripping, no dropping wings, wheezing, coughing etc. She won't lay down (unless I'm holding her) if this means anything. She tends to stay in one place. She moves her mouth quite often even though she hasn't drank or ate anything. Her head droops , but it seems to do this because she is sleeping standing up- alot. She hasn't laid any eggs (to our knowledge) we did feel around for any eggs on her backside, but not in her vent.

Not sure what else to do for her. Thought maybe we would get her some plain yogurt. Not sure if we should get medication or what kind since her symptoms don't seem to match alot of the other things i have read about.

We switched the chickens to layer pellets about a month ago. Before this they were getting the medicated chicken feed. The other 5 chickens seem just fine.

Any suggestions or help would greatly be appreciated. We live in a rural area so am hoping I will know what to do ASAP so I can drive to town to the store to get what we need.

Thanks!

 

[<3ChickenForever]

Maybe instead of egg yolks feed her oyster shells and gravel, gravel helps with the digestion. I don't really know why she's not eating or drinking. I really hope someone will help you. Good luck.

 

[stargirl]

Poor little poppet!

I'm really not sure how much water a silkie should take, sorry

Can you work it out from what your others are drinking, maybe?
If she's had runny poo she's probably quite dehydrated.

Scrambled egg is really good, and yoghurt too. Good choices! Anything you can get her to eat is good, really!

How does her crop feel now?
Has she ever been wormed?

I'll do some searching for you and see if I can come up with any other ideas!

 

[stargirl]

Im still at a loss

I think I'd give her a nice warm bath and blow dry, just in case she's egg-bound.

If you're going towards the store, pick up an antibiotic to have on hand, and a vitamin supplement you can add to the water.
I think its just about covering your bases for now, until more symptoms appear and give you a better idea of what's happening. Sorry I can't be more help!

 

[small56]

Thanks! Her crop was smaller by the next day. Gave her a bath. She didn't like it very much, but we got through it. We finally put her back out with the other chickens and she began drinking. Inside she refused to eat/drink, would stand on her food and pout, and threw a fit whenever we tried to put her back in the cage or gave her water /food mix through syringe. Yesterday evening was the first time she came near us since we put her back.

. After putting her out she still wouldn't move around much and was doing alot of movement with her mouth. I read up- gaping and gapeworms. So we wormed her yesterday and by evening she was eating like crazy and coming up to the door with the other little peeps. She has not presented with any further symptoms.

We have a second chicken (polish) around the same age who is presenting rattle in her chest, occasional sneeze (with clear snot) and the movement with her mouth. Pooh same as others, normal. The polish has not stopped eating/drinking. Presents no other symptoms.


None of the other chickens have any symptoms of anything. Not sure how long the wormer's take? The silkie eating and coming around seems like progress so maybe we are on the right path. Just not sure why the polish chicken has more of a respitory issue wheras the silkie presented with digestion issues. The only similar symptom is the gaping, and what looked like them trying to catch a breath or dislodge something from inside.

We decided to dose all the chickens with wormer, ivomec. They are all drinking water with the electrolytes.Not sure if we should also get an antibotic or even which one. We went to the feed store and farmer's co-op but both places have limited chicken supplies. So thought we might need to look at the farmer/tractor store. Is there a broad spectrum antibotic we should have on hand or use, if so which one? it seems to get difficult to figure out a specific antibotic when clear symptoms aren't present. Maybe I have missed something to look for, if so let me know.

Thank you again for your support and help!!!

 

[hdipadova]

If you get this please let me know if you found anything. My baby is going through the exact same thing. I don't know what to do.