Silkie hen acting weird

[Ylva]

I have a 1,5 year old silkie hen (hatched from eggs I bought from another breeder). She has acted weird for most of her adult life. She seems weak, and she hasn’t started laying eggs again after her ‘winter break’.

Her behaviour/symptoms are the following:
* No eggs
* She only lifts her head when scared/alerted, and keeps it low most of the time. She isn’t standing straight either, and she usually walks with her body close to the ground.
* She seems tired and weak all the time, but not lethargic.
* She eats and drinks, but if she is far away from the food (more than 5 meters), I sometimes need to carry her over to the food station to make her eat. She then eats happily. She is maybe a little underweight, but not much.
* She roosts with her head hanging down.
* She seems to be well integrated in the flock; at least she doesn’t bother anyone, and they don’t bother her, though they don’t seem very interested in her either. She is the only hen the rooster doesn’t breed.

Her only sister got wry neck as a chick. Despite two weeks of syringe feeding and extra vitamins she didn’t get any better, and I had to cull her. I am wondering if my hen might have the same health issues as her sister, though to a lesser extent. I have given her extra vitamins for a long time now, but she doesn’t seem to improve.

I’ve hatched more than 150 chicks over the last 2-3 years (about 25 of them were silkies) and I’ve only had to cull two of them due to health issues, so I don’t think I’m doing anything “wrong”. It just seems like bad genetics in this case.

So - she acts like a very fragile, weird old lady, and my whole family loves her so much, but I am worried she is in pain or in distress. I will obviously never hatch any eggs from her, but we want to keep her as a pet, as long as it’s ethical from an animal welfare perspective. What do you think, should I let her go?

 

[Tookie]

I say it's probably genetic due to her being like this most of her life, and not getting worse, or any better.
It wouldn't hurt to give her vitamin E 400IU, 1/3 of a B complex tablet, and eggs for selenium. Give all that daily for a couple weeks and see how she is by then.

 

[Ylva]

I say it's probably genetic due to her being like this most of her life, and not getting worse, or any better.
It wouldn't hurt to give her vitamin E 400IU, 1/3 of a B complex tablet, and eggs for selenium. Give all that daily for a couple weeks and see how she is by then.

I’ve tried to give her vitamins for several months now, though in lower doses than I gave her sister with wry neck. They get eggs a couple of times every week as well. I can try to give her more vitamins and eggs for a week or two.

 

[Tookie]

How is she doing?

 

[Ylva]

How is she doing?

She is acting just as weird, but she actually seems to have a bit more energy. My chickens are free roaming every day, and I think the sun and the warm weather has been good for her. I also use to cut some my silkies’ “hair”, and I cut all of hers this summer, to make sure she can see with her head pointing downwards as well.
The picture is of Hufsa before her last haircut.

 

[Tookie]

She is acting just as weird, but she actually seems to have a bit more energy. My chickens are free roaming every day, and I think the sun and the warm weather has been good for her. I also use to cut some my silkies’ “hair”, and I cut all of hers this summer, to make sure she can see with her head pointing downwards as well.
The picture is of Hufsa before her last haircut. View attachment 3628672

Aw, glad she's doing well!