SILKIE;; Need some good info, our little feathered one passed

[toffies1]

Our 10 month old feathery one recently passed and were not sure why???? Very sudden.. I hear the silkie breed is very good at hiding ailments.. weve had here since she was 2 weeks old, got her from a farm, not a breeder.. grew up in our house with 2 small dogs-- would stay in a fenced off area in yard during day, inside at night.. EXTREMELY friendly and smart... she did get crook neck once but vitamin E and B took care of it pretty fast.. we came home the other day and she couldnt stand up and head pretty limp, labored breathing etc... 40 min later was gone????? trying to fig out why?? we did notice her egg laying went from everyday to 3-4 days sometimes and did lay a nickel size egg once. other than that we didnt notice anything else, no mites no worms.. but the wild birds did love to go in her pen & eat her food \ water... any insight anyone?? were bummed

only other thing we could think of is one of the dogs "maybe" bit her when she was in the house but its never happened before

 

[mustang56]

It could be any number of reasons why a bird just dies.... It happens all the time.
You said she had crook neck before, (and do you know why..?) it can be
caused from injury. Could your dog have been playing with the chicken, it's very
possible even if you've never seen it happen before...? I'm very sorry for your loss,
I know it's painful to lose a pet... I just also wanted to mention, that I don't know
that I would allow wild birds feed in the same place as my chicken.
Birds carry all kinds of diseases... I know birds fly all day long leaving droppings
around the yard and such... But right by your chickens food, may not be a good idea...?

 

[toffies1]

Thanks for the reply! yah were bummed out... not sure why she had crook neck, thought just a vitamin issue. i agree about the wild birds, they would swoop in uninvited for freebies all the time - UGH, lots of doves \pidgeons here in hawaii.. guess were gonna wait a little while to get another 1 or 2 silkies.. thanks again

 

[mustang56]

I'm so sorry...
The thing I wonder about is that you saw no symptoms, and just all of a sudden she's hanging her head, sounds like
it was just recently hurt.. If it were a disease I think you would of seen more signs that something was wrong, before
the bird just dropped dead. I'm probably wrong....!! Maybe it was a heart , breathing problem or something.... =(
I hope you do decided to get a couple more, silkies are just so adorable.... For the wild birds, get some netting or something
to try to keep them out .... Good luck..!