silkie shaking her head :(

[Frost Homestead]

my 8 week old silkie is shaking her head. she doesn't normally do this at all. when I say shaking I mean that it's like she has something on her head and she's trying to get it off, she's doing it so often that it's making me think something is wrong. she's eating and drinking fine, only other symptom is that her mouth is open a little. no panting or anything but I'm taking this as a sign that she's congested? I'm worried about her, what do you all think is wrong? what should I do for her?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Could be respiratory problem as they try to clear the passages I have read.

It also sometimes happens when they have mites crawling on them. You might want to check around her vent and under her wings to see if you see bugs. When that happened to my chickens I just felt and saw the bugs on ME, not the chickens, even though I was looking for them daily as part of my routine care.

When my chickens were doing that, it was every 5-15 seconds or so. All of them. I thought I would worry myself to death. Then after the Sevin dust, it stopped. I recommend retreating at 10 days or they will come back.

Poultry dust sold at the feed store works, too. Here's a link:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

Sorry if it is a respiratory problem I don't know what to tell you. Silkies also are prone to brain swelling from head injuries, so always be on the lookout for protecting them from bullying. This often leads to strange behavior, sometimes curable with some certain vitamins.

 

[Frost Homestead]

thanks

she's mite free. I dust her regularly, she's actually a house chicken

she lives in my sun room so she's not exposed to any of my other birds. I think she just has a head cold/respiratory infection.

we gave her some vitamins, oatmeal, and raw garlic. she's eating & drinking fine, nice and alert, eyes clear and bright. not really showing any other symptoms. I think she was keep her mouth slightly open because it was hot in my bedroom. she's back in her room and she's not doing that anymore. just shaking her head. I'm just going to keep a close eye on her, if she starts getting worse or shows any signs that she's not fighting it off I'll get some tylan 50 and treat her. I would just like to avoid giving her antibiotics if her immune system can stave it off without it.

 

[stoopid]

Maybe she has some fuzz tickling her in her ear?
All my silkies have way crazy fuzz on their heads.

 

[Beth G.]

Chickens can get ear infections. Have you inspected her earlobes well? I've also noticed dusting frequently can cause upper respitory problems if they inhale the dust

Good Luck and I hope she feels better soon!
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[Frost Homestead]

Hmm I didn't know that. she seems to be bring her foot up and kind of brushing at her face when she shakes her head so I figured she was trying to clear her nostrils. I'll check her ears. how would I treat an ear infection? I'm really careful when I dust the birds to keep them from breathing anything in, as long as the don't start flapping or struggling it usually goes well. Pippin my silkie is especially tame and doesn't resist at all

 

[Beth G.]

Ear infections are treated like an upper respitory infection. I would inject her with Tylan or add antibiotics to her water for 7-10 days. Rememeber when treating chickens its much like humans, don't stop using the antibiotics once they seem better. They need to stay on it for the length of time to be sure its done the job

Ususally you will see a crudy build up much like ear wax arount the lobe.

Best of luck!
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[Frost Homestead]

alright, I checked her ears and they appear normal

 

[Hrhchazman]

So here it is five and a half years later, and having a similar problem with one of our girls, I'm wondering, what was the outcome?

Thank you,

Charlie

 

[karint]

So here it is five and a half years later, and having a similar problem with one of our girls, I'm wondering, what was the outcome?

Thank you,

Charlie

Did you figure anything out. I’m finding the same thing with my silkie.