stopped eating and drinking!

[sharingchickens]

I have a 5 month old red silkie rooster that has been vaccinated for marek's virus as a chick, and he has stopped eating and drinking. I treated for coccidia, checked for mites and poultry lice. It appears he may have been bullied when I put him and his siblings into my juvenile coop with a few other birds. I found him withdrawn with his head down in the corner of the coop. I have been tube feeding him for several days now, and he is doing ok. Preens, chatters but still not eating or drinking on his own. I have in his tube feeding food, electrolytes, water, nutridrench, vitamin E with selenium, pumpkin, yogurt and nutrena chicken feed. At a total loss as to what caused this as there were no outward signs of illness as would be seen with upper respiratory or parasites. Has anyone else had this happen? And how did you treat?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a 5 month old red silkie rooster that has been vaccinated for marek's virus as a chick, and he has stopped eating and drinking. I treated for coccidia, checked for mites and poultry lice. It appears he may have been bullied when I put him and his siblings into my juvenile coop with a few other birds. I found him withdrawn with his head down in the corner of the coop. I have been tube feeding him for several days now, and he is doing ok. Preens, chatters but still not eating or drinking on his own. I have in his tube feeding food, electrolytes, water, nutridrench, vitamin E with selenium, pumpkin, yogurt and nutrena chicken feed. At a total loss as to what caused this as there were no outward signs of illness as would be seen with upper respiratory or parasites. Has anyone else had this happen? And how did you treat?

Do you have photos or a video of his actions?

It sounds like you are treating as most of us would recommend. If he was bullied, he could have suffered some type of head trauma, which can be fairly common in Silkies.

Is he pooping and does the crop empty of what you tube into him?

You can try giving him more protein like egg mixed in his food to see if this helps.

Keep us posted.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I have a 5 month old red silkie rooster that has been vaccinated for marek's virus as a chick, and he has stopped eating and drinking. I treated for coccidia, checked for mites and poultry lice. It appears he may have been bullied when I put him and his siblings into my juvenile coop with a few other birds. I found him withdrawn with his head down in the corner of the coop. I have been tube feeding him for several days now, and he is doing ok. Preens, chatters but still not eating or drinking on his own. I have in his tube feeding food, electrolytes, water, nutridrench, vitamin E with selenium, pumpkin, yogurt and nutrena chicken feed. At a total loss as to what caused this as there were no outward signs of illness as would be seen with upper respiratory or parasites. Has anyone else had this happen? And how did you treat?

Many of times over the years----well not as many now because I watch/check the flock a lot. About everyone that this was happening to was bony--very light----so I wormed with a wormer that also kills Tape worms. Most all started getting better and added a lot of weight in a few weeks. Might not be your problem, might??

 

[sharingchickens]

I used safeguard goat wormer as well just in case he may have had either round or tape and I saw no expelling of them in his poop, but good idea! He was not bony, but is light as he is only 5 months old.

 

[sharingchickens]

I forgot to mention raw egg in his tube feeding mixture, I have been putting that in each time as well. As far as head trauma, I did not see any visible damage or feather pulling that would indicate that. He is pooping and his crop is emptying each time I feed him. For the first couple of days he seemed bewildered or not sure where he was. Now he is preening and moving around a bit more.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I used safeguard goat wormer as well just in case he may have had either round or tape and I saw no expelling of them in his poop, but good idea! He was not bony, but is light as he is only 5 months old.

What type of feed are you feeding - layer feed, chick starter, all flock/grower?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I forgot to mention raw egg in his tube feeding mixture, I have been putting that in each time as well. As far as head trauma, I did not see any visible damage or feather pulling that would indicate that. He is pooping and his crop is emptying each time I feed him. For the first couple of days he seemed bewildered or not sure where he was. Now he is preening and moving around a bit more.

I'm not a Silkie expert by any means, but Silkies can suffer head trauma/injury from just a hard peck on the head - most of them have a "vaulted skull" and have a hole in the top of the skull. A well placed peck/bump on the head could cause serious damage, but leave no outward wounds/sign of injury. This was my first thought when you mentioned that he may have been bullied.
Of course, without testing, or being seen by a vet, there is no way to know exactly what is wrong.

If he has symptoms of Wry Neck (Torticollis) this can be caused by numerous things. Head trauma/injury, Vitamin E and Selenium deficiency, diseases like Marek's, Avian Lymphoid Leukosis or Newcastle's. FWIW Even if he was vaccinated for Marek's he can still develop symptoms from the virus. The vaccine only prevents the formation of tumors, but does not prevent other symptoms.

Hopefully with keeping him well hydrated with a slurry of chick starter or flock raiser (18-20% protein), poultry vitamins that contain Vitamin E and Selnium - he will begin to show signs of improvement. Wry neck is sometimes hard to overcome and can be a slow process of healing. If it is from injury, then he may never fully recover.

Problems with silkies:
https://poultrykeeper.com/blog/diseases-common-to-silkies/

http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html You will need to select from the article lists on the left hand side of the site - they have a lot of information on Silkies. Look at "silkie skull" and various other articles may be helpful.

MAREKS
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[sharingchickens]

Nutrena Layer feed

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Quote: @sharingchickens you asked if I would recommend chick starter. Yes, personally I would give him either chick starter or an all flock/flock raiser formula poultry feed. These usually have a higher protein content (18-20%) and contain less calcium. Since he is young and a male, he doesn't need the extra calcium, but he does need the extra protein.

I prefer a Flock Raiser feed for my flock - this is just a personal preference - I like the extra protein and offer oyster shell free choice for my layers. There is nothing necessarily wrong with layer feed - it is most of the time lower in protein - and formulated for actively laying hens. The formula I purchase (Purina) contains probiotics and prebiotics as well as other vitamins/minerals. But I do on occasion give Poultry Nutri-Drench to individuals that I feel need a boost - like during molt.

I do hope he improves.

 

[sharingchickens]

Do you have photos or a video of his actions?

It sounds like you are treating as most of us would recommend.  If he was bullied, he could have suffered some type of head trauma, which can be fairly common in Silkies.

Is he pooping and does the crop empty of what you tube into him?

You can try giving him more protein like egg mixed in his food to see if this helps. 

Keep us posted.