Silkies dieing

[Lpalmer]

Hello. I have two batches of silkies I got from two different breeders. They are all about 4-5 months old. One day we went outside and noticed one of them dead in our lot. Then now a month later we noticed one of them unable to walk. We would try to stand up him and he would just scramble like his legs wouldn’t work and then eventually to where he wouldn’t move his legs at all. Then he eventually would just lay on his back or side and not move at all. When he sit him up he will use his neck and head a little bit. We used electrolytes and poultry cell for a few days with no improvement then he died. We had to give it to him in a syringe because he wouldn’t eat or drink. What could be the cause of this? Both babies that died came from the same breeder. What should I do for my other babies?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sounds like possibly Mareks. Not much you can do about it. Some develop immunity and others don't. It's entirely possible the other ones brought it and gave it to these. Mareks can even be brought in on the wind. Here we see it occasionally and cull when necessary.

It's always possible it's from a deficiency, so trying some poultry vitamins may or may not help, but it's worth a shot.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello. I have two batches of silkies I got from two different breeders. They are all about 4-5 months old. One day we went outside and noticed one of them dead in our lot. Then now a month later we noticed one of them unable to walk. We would try to stand up him and he would just scramble like his legs wouldn’t work and then eventually to where he wouldn’t move his legs at all. Then he eventually would just lay on his back or side and not move at all. When he sit him up he will use his neck and head a little bit. We used electrolytes and poultry cell for a few days with no improvement then he died. We had to give it to him in a syringe because he wouldn’t eat or drink. What could be the cause of this? Both babies that died came from the same breeder. What should I do for my other babies?

Welcome To BYC
Are any of your other chicks showing any signs of illness?
What do you feed including treats?
What's your housing like?

The symptoms you describe are generally neurological unless there's something else obvious like poor nutrition, exposure to molds (feed/housing) or ingesting something toxic.
I agree, Marek's disease comes to mind. Without necropsy there's no way to fully diagnosis it. If you happen to lose another, then sending the body to your state lab for testing will give you the best info. You can look up your lab here https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Moving forward with your chicks, get a fecal float to see if Coccidiosis is a problem, if it is, then treat with Corid or what the vet recommends. See that they are eating a nutritionally balanced chick starter, limit treat to no more than 10% of their daily intake. They may also benefit from being given B-Complex once a week. I'd give each chick 1/4 tablet each. Check them frequently for lice and mites.