Silkie Mystery

[kjack]

Hi all, hope i am doing this correctly.
Where to start, the beginning might be a good place

About three and a half weeks ago one of my beloved silkies died (Delilah). Before she passed, she would take naps quiet frequently and seemed lethargic from the day i got her. I assumed it was just her personality, she was very friendly and just a all round awesome hen (there was tears

). About two weeks before she passed her head pom pom gave a wet appearance and didn't seem to dry. I trimmed the very front of it for her so she could see to make her way around to food and water etc, but then it started to fall out altogether. Then sadly she died.
Now three and a half weeks on i went up to my chickens today and it seems that another has the same wet pom pom effect. She is pretty much camping herself next to the water bowl and is drinking frequently and wont roam too far. This particular hen has a gummed up eye. It looks like a feather has gotten caught in her eye (whilst still attached to her head) it has also gathered a bit of dirt. I will mention we have had a large amount of rain.
So this afternoon after making the discovery i attempted to clean her eye as best i could, as well as her pom pom. I am just worried that her fate is headed towards the same as Delilahs. I have quarantined her and made her as comfy as i could. I have also done a major clean out of the hen house as best i could fearing that it is contagious. Clean hay, water, food, their outside yard (which is extremely muddy due to the large amount of rain) was rake and shoveled and hay laid.
What i am wondering is, has anyone had this issue before or does anyone know how i can help my hen? Or what maybe is causing this? I'm feeling a bit lost and worried for my girls.

Thanks everyone KJ

 

[Fancychooklady]

Oh sorry for your loss. Silkies don't like getting wet, they have no water repellency . Are you hearing any breathing difficulties ? What kind of feed are they on? What does their poop look like?
A pic may help us to help you.

 

[kjack]

Thank you for the such quick reply I'm in tassie too ;-)
My girls have a hen house that is water proof, so only get wet when they go for a wander, but my current sick hen doesn't seem to have any breathing difficulties. A few of the poops are a little bit on the runny side. I have them on a bit of a mixture, i have some free range mix, layer pellets and i also give them some wheat pollard with warm water on the colder days. I have recently been mixing in a bit of chick starter because i had an issue with possums entering and camping out in the hen house at night. The chick starter had medication to stop the hens getting a disease that could be passed on by possum poop. Plus they are also free range for half of each day. I'll see what i can do about a pic asap for you.

 

[kjack]

This is how it looks, then it starts to fall out. Washing my poor girls head very gently didn't work either. When it happened to my first hen i originally thought she had stuck her head into something. i will point out we live in the bush too.

 

[Fancychooklady]

If your chickens have coccocidiosis giving them medicated chick starter won't help. You would need to give them amprolium at treatment dosage. If they are lethargic and not eating much this could be your problem . Cocci is in the soil and more prevalent in wet warm areas. With all the moisture and warm weather we have been having its a definite possibility. The pic looks just like mine when they get wet. You don't think the possums could be peeing on them?
You say that the sick one is hanging around the waterer. Excessive thirst can be as a result of salmonella . Make sure that there is no old wet food laying around.
I'll find some links for you to read.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Here's one on coccocidiosis .

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html

 

[kjack]

Thank you for all your help

No the possums just walk around on the floor of the hen house and my hens outside yard looking for scraps. Now that i have her isolated its easier to see exactly what she eats and drinks and acts. Her poops are normal, i did wash her head again this time with the tiniest amount of washing detergent and her pom pom now looks amazing. She is still lethargic but eating, so my next step is to lice and mite EVERYTHING. i have even had my poor husband place a semi roof over there outside area for the winter (For the days it rains or when i dont let them free range. Due to predators). I also put a small amount of canola oil on her head to protect her skin which looked dry and flaky.