Taking Care of Swirls, the Wry Neck Silkie

[NubbyRyuu]

Yes, I agree with @Birds of a Feather that is a chicken and it's a Cornish Cross.
They are meat birds, so...really they are meant to be processed at somewhere around 8-10 weeks.

Some people do keep Cornish Cross as pets and IF the feed is limited and IF they do get exercise they can live for a while. Can't say how long, there's too many variables, some have had a few live 2-3 yrs....BUT Cornish Cross are prone to have heart issues (failure) and leg problems since they gain weight so quickly (this is what they are bred for).

From what I understand they are fairly sweet birds so Swirly may have found herself a friend! Not sure how long it will last, but she seems to be doing o.k. for now

Yeah, I saw when I googled. Poor things, they have a rat's lifespan. I think the confusion set in because she got so big so fast, didn't really chirp much, and her feathers were really slow growing. But she is in good health and seems to get along with others. I know Cin has one other meat breed chicken who's a bigger, paler version of the Orpington she has.

 

[NubbyRyuu]

Hey guys, can Wry Neck relapse if the sufferer's head has been struck? While a few of the chickens have only lightly pecked her (which I'd consider "warnings" or "pecking order pecks"), a couple were nastier in their pecks, always aiming for Swirly's head. Though today's been pretty stormy so she mostly slept the day away, I've noticed her head has been tilting like before (not to the point it's twisted upside-down), but like she's having trouble holding it up strongly.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes, they can relapse. Stress can cause symptoms to reappear, a peck to the head on a Silkie can be damaging.
Chickens for the most part do aim for the head when giving a peck. See how she is today.

 

[NubbyRyuu]

She's sleeping on my neck pillow. STOP BEING CUTE!!

 

[NubbyRyuu]

Swirly has now become a permanent member of the household. Poor Cin's been suffering from bad fibro flare ups, so I talked it over with her husband. With things feeling a bit more confirmed (even though accidental, haha), Swirly's become mine. That being said, I can move forward with the other plans: making her own run off the side of the barn so I can stop using the puppy kennel (well, it can still be used for the bad days), and converting my husky's old kennel into her own indoor abode. 'Course, the conversion is gonna be trickier than making a run, unless you guys have some cost-effective ideas.

I don't have too many plans for the run yet, as my focus will be on preparation and getting it built first. But the dog kennel is probably gonna be a bigger focus. My plans for it are:
•Creating a bottom wire like in a regular bird cage to go over the tray
•Possibly creating a second floor to the crate to make use of the extra room
•Find or Make a Side Door for easier access

I want to make sure she is comfy and happy when in the house. In addition, I plan on getting one or two of those small animal play pens so I can allow her to run around the room without running into anything, or finding the door. As said, the run is gonna be a long WiP, though any tips for a proper build would be nice (wood and/or steel beams). I have a couple different size ideas that I'll need to talk with the folks about (since dad knows how to build things), so I can update later on that one.

As you saw with the papers lining the tray earlier...yeah, she moved them all, exposing the tray.

I've also observed some new behaviors coming from her siblings and brood mates. After work and a quick errand, I brought her to the flock until the rain came about an hour later. While most of her Silkie Sisters don't seem to care much, save for one or both of the Buff ones, the fluffy white one seems to be dominant. She goes after Swirly pretty roughly until I intervene, and then just goes with it. The Cornish Cross, however, seemed to be on the aggressive side today. While she doesn't do a lot of running, often lying down soon after, she did chase Swirly. At one point, McLovin the Ayam Cemani chick, was over visiting Swirly, when the Cornish Cross started to charge at Swirly. McLovin basically went, "oh HELL NAW", and did that "I'm bigger than you" stance, stopping the Cross in her tracks. McLovin actually protected Swirly! I thought that was really interesting after only meeting her once.

Swirly too is starting to exhibit more chicken behaviors. She's "pecking" at others (mostly the chest or neck, sometimes the tail), and is trying to learn that "I'm bigger than you" stance, though she doesn't have the balance for it, lol. She's still lost on who to follow and where to go, since most of the adults ignore her (guess no one's broody). The Buff Orpington though doesn't seem to care either way, as she mostly comes over to see me. I make sure though to keep an eye out for two Hens that I know will become aggressive: Boomer and Flora (Swedish Flower Hen Mix). Boomer got puffy that time, and Flora will just peck at Swirly hard enough for a screech. At least her sisters and brood mates are good with her. But I don't think I could leave her in the coop, even if she is placed in the brooder with the younger chicks.

 

[IceHax]

wow, very cute! glad yours was able to recover that well! i am dealing with a similar situation, the only problem is my silkie has wry neck because she hurt herself while sticking her head out of the wire mesh, all i can do is wait, but she seems to be quickly recovering. meanwhile i had isolated her, and tonight when i went to check on her i saw her sister laying on top of her cage, she felt lonely and decided to escape to try to reach her sister ahaha, so damn cute, now they live together again while she recovers

 

[Ekck]

How is Swirly doing?