UPDATE My Little Silkie is not doing very well

[Granny Hoffman]

I rescued a little silkie from a chicken auction yesterday and today she is not doing very well. I'm not sure how old she is so I took a pic so you could see her size with my hand in the pic. She is skin and bones and will not eat or drink. We did get some vitamin water in her, she wouldn't even eat any yogurt. Her butt was goopy so I gave her a bath and now she is in a box with a heating pad on low. She is now peeping which she wasn't doing before. She is shivering but i'm not sure if that is because she has a fever (if chickens do have fevers) or she is just scared. She has coughed a couple of times but I don't think she is having trouble breathing. I am worried she won't make it through the night and i'm not sure what else to do for her, any help would be greatly appreciated. I hope I have given you enough information, if you need any more info PLEASE let me know.

Thank you

 

[water4two]

Make sure she is completely dry. Silkies chill very quickly.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

If you have a heat lamp, that might be better to keep her warm. If you can keep trying to get some liquids in her with an eye dropper, that would be good. Careful not to force it or she could aspirate. Check her poos to see if they look normal. Can you take a fecal sample into a vet? Have you checked her for mites and lice? If she feels skinny it could be any number of things, some things you can't do anything about. Why, oh why do people take sick animals to an auction?

If you can get food into her, the best would be a parrot baby formula. It comes in a can, is a powder you mix up. It has lots of vitamins and minerals and would be the best thing for her. Barring that, hard boiled eggs chopped up is good. Maybe mix some chicken feed with warm water? Poor thing, she looks tiny.

 

[drdoolittle]

I hope your chick is going to be o.k. I think others already gave good advice. I really hate it when people take sick animals to those auctions and sell them. The dogs/puppies are the hardest for me to see.

I'm glad you saved the chick, though. Let us know how she's doing.

 

[Granny Hoffman]

Thank you for your help. I don't have a heat lamp so the best I could come up with was a heating pad. If she survives the night I will get her some of what you suggested tomorrow, depending on what stores are open, being the holiday. I did not see any lice or mites on her, I check her thoroughly when I gave her her bath. This is not the first time I have gotten a sick chicken at the animal auction, the other one I pulled through, hopefully I can with this one.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i wish you the best of luck. i hope she pulls through. It might be she was in a bad situation before, forced away from the food by more dominant chickens. Hopefully she just needs some TLC and good nutrition.

 

[Qi Chicken]

good luck.

 

[Granny Hoffman]

My little silkie was really struggling this morning. Couldn't get food or water in her, she had a horrible cough but her lungs were clear. During the day I tried to give her water but was unable to. I ended her suffering for her and she is in chickie heaven now. Broke my heart but she is a better place now. RIP lil silkie.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i am so very sorry. At least she was loved and cared for in her final hours. Bless you for giving her a chance.