Update on silkie roo

[fuzzyangelbear]

I had pred at home from my yorkie, had B-12 at home from rabbits and also had vitamen E for my quaker parrot. I did start him on this coctail of goodies along with making sure he is eating/drinking and being quiet.

This morning his head was being held up a bit easier and ate like a pig when I wet down some food with water and electrolytes/vitamens.

The question I now have... is this extemely common in silkies? I did research before deciding on silkies and nothing I pulled up said anything about only having part of a skull. I know there were tips on giving cat food and eggs. Is there other things I should be doing?

This is what I feed... egg layer with treats of scratch every once in awhile. They get scraps of fruit and veggies along with some eggs, but not alot.

Well... I also tried to put a picture of my lively roo in here, but of course I could not figure it out!

 

[Frozen Feathers]

Silkies are very prone to head injuries. The have a vaulted skull, like the "Coneheads" (don't know if you know who they are) and their crest tends to attract more pecking from other birds then non-crested birds would.

Layer feed on it's own should be the the only feed you need, it has the right combination of vitamins, minerals and protein for adult birds, but a little extra vitamins never hurt, sometimes they can use the extra boost. I think you are doing what you can, he was most likely pecked on the head and we all know we can't watch them 24/7.

It's a good sign he's eating and drinking on his own.

Good luck with him.

 

[dlhunicorn]

In the following link you can read and see (photos) that silkies have a "hole-in-the-head" ... vault or no vault ... polish have this too but to a lesser extent usually. This means that there often is no "skull" to protect their brain when pecked or such... (you will also see in this long thread that Penn state is conducting an ongoing research study into this anomaly.)
Please try and get the combination vit.E and selenium (make sure it is selenomethionine or yeast form and not the selenite or selenate form>the human geltabs are usually the correct form...Do not exceed 50 MICROgrams selenium) as the two are interdependent on each other and vitE at therapeutic levels will need the selenium in order to utilize the extra you are giving it. Here are the links:
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=casestudiesemergencies&action=display&num=1160927052

http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/ind...actorsnutrition&action=display&num=1190452285

 

[SpottedCrow]

Ewww. but informative...Thanks, Diana.