Silkie Smarts, do they have some?

[Emily26]

I have a little Silkie called Cher and she just seems super dim. She's smaller than her hatch mate and has a lil tilt in her neck, I'm currently giving a vitamin supplement. She's very cute but boy is she thick. She doesn't tend to peck about in the same way the others do and you can hold a handful of oats in front of her face and she won't do anything unless another chicken shows her first. Is it common for silkies to be a bit slow or should I be giving her more care?

 

[Tonyroo]

Maybe she's not seeing too well.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Their little head poofs can obscure their vision. Have you tried trimming it back around/above the eyes, or tying it back, to see if that improves her reactions?

 

[Emily26]

Their little head poofs can obscure their vision. Have you tried trimming it back around/above the eyes, or tying it back, to see if that improves her reactions?

None of her fluff covers her eyes yet, she's 4 weeks old, it just goes straight up.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hmm, have you tried testing her vision to ensure she can see out of both eyes?

 

[Emily26]

Hmm, have you tried testing her vision to ensure she can see out of both eyes?

Thankyou, good idea, what's the best way to carry out a chicken eye test? She's a bit of a dilemma because she can definitely see well enough to run away from me!

 

[rosemarythyme]

You can try holding a treat (or anything to get her attention really) on one side of her head, to see if her eye is tracking it/reacting to it, and then try the other side. Might help to have someone else pick her up and hold on to her while doing this. Do this away from the other birds, so they're not getting in the way or distracting her.