Silkie thread!

[ihavechickens2]

one of my younger roos is feeling out more and more each day!

and him flapping around

 

[Suzierd]

My remaining pair of silkies.

Very pretty birds, are they healthy?

 

[Jharper]

Very pretty birds, are they healthy?

These two are! Thankfully! My non bearded rooster that died went through a depression and got really skinny and died because his girls died. One choked on something and one got really sick. My paint pullet we had put down because she got something in her eye and it got infected and the infection was getting to her brain.

 

[chickieluver26]

I have a newbie silkie owner question, my partridge girl is 4 months old and she is about 3.5 pounds. how big will she get? she has her full crest and all her silkied feathers and her gold leakage.

 

[PaintedFeathers]

I have a newbie silkie owner question, my partridge girl is 4 months old and she is about 3.5 pounds. how big will she get? she has her full crest and all her silkied feathers and her gold leakage.

Holy Crap! She must not be a full silkie, the roosters don't even get that big! Do you have a picture? Are you sure she's a 4 month old PULLET too? Sounds more like a rooster to me...

 

[hokankai]

I am in need of...I don't know. Assistance? Guidance? Encouragement? Affirmation?

My little 5 month old porcelain silkie pullet got pecked on the head by my bantam BR during introductions, and has been pretty much down n' out since. That was a week ago. I have been feeding her around 3-4 times a day, and finally got to the point where she's maintaining weight (hoping that'll change and she'll add weight).

She does not exhibit the normal "wry neck" symptoms besides a drifting head as I like to call it. She doesn't move her head in weird positions, tuck, flip over, etc. All she does is sit and stand around all day, moving her head slightly. Our major problem is that she will not eat and drink on her own. She hasn't pecked at anything since she was hit. I was hand feeding her with tweezers and a syringe until yesterday when my vet helped me jerry-rig a feeding tube out of a large syringe and a catheter. She is currently being fed pellets and baby bird formula (powder+water). Tonight I added some pellets to her slurry to try and get more nutrients in her.

At this point, I don't know what to do. I am tired, and my efforts seem futile. However it seems like every day she fights me harder at each feeding, keeps her eyes open for longer periods of time, seems more aware...I dunno. I just picked up some prednisone from a friend and gave her her first dose tonight.

Anyone know how long it takes for head injuries to heal, or if this sounds like something that will heal? I can't tell if this is brain damage or something that will heal. I just don't know how long I should continue what I'm doing, but I am very exhausted. She comes to work with me and gets fed on my breaks.

Thanks, and here's a pic of my baby before her head injury

 

[Fancychooklady]

Oh what a terrible situation for you to be in. She is such a lovely girl and I can see why you have committed yourself to seeing her well again. I think that you are on the right track with the prednisone . Just remember to wean her off them at the other end. I know that it is exhausting, but she is obviously important to you or you would not have chosen this road in the first place. Give the drugs time to take effect and see if you can find someone to share the load.

 

[drumstick diva]

Sikies are very prone to head injuries- the ones with the huge vaulted skulls are at highest risk. The skull hasn't fully closed over.

I know billions of people probably keep silkies along with other chicken breeds and they do fine. For the reason in my first sentence, I would not. This doesn't mean silkies won't injure each other but, other breeds usually single them out for pecking & bullying because they look so different. The same also applies to polish.

I think it's a good sign she is fighting you, it means she is feeling stronger. If there is inflammation, the prednisone should make a difference. But it should be directed by a vet who decides how much and for how long and and how to taper off.

Have you tried to tempt her with treats a chicken would like, watermelon, sliced grapes, boiled mashed egg moistened with some plain yoqurt, etc.

Try to get her to take Polyvisol pediatric drops 3 drops 3 X a day, and 2-3 drops of vit.E ( squeezed from a capsule). I think it's worth the time and effort to try and save her. But, that is up to you.

 

[hokankai]

My banty flock already has two silkies and I have never had this problem before. I think this was just one of those moments of bad luck, bad hit in a bad spot. If she recovers I will wait until she is 6 months old to introduce her, and she can live with the other two silkies until then.

She isn't interested in any type of food or water. She will shake her head and kind of sip water if I put her beak in it, but she totally ignores all forms of food. Half the time she even spits out the pellets I put in her mouth -_-. Very frustrating. I really hope she starts attempting to feed/water herself soon.

 

[K Epp]

It sounds like she is slowly coming out of it. Give her time and keep us posted.