VIDEO Strange Silkie behavior

[BlossomSilkies]

I have this little silky she’s about seven or eight weeks old. Mostly she’s acting normal but if you watch these two videos you’ll see her kind of look like she’s got her head way down under her tummy walking backwards, and one of them she even does a complete somersault. And when I pick her up she puts her head way down underneath. Otherwise she’s acting completely normal, she’s not doing that all the time. Thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looks like you figured it out.
Neurological symptoms, which includes Wry Neck.

Give her 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily along with a little egg for the uptake of E. Make sure she's drinking and eating well!

I see your last posting was in 2015, so Welcome Back

It has been about six years since I’ve had chickens, you’ll note in my profile that I’ve been a member here for 11 years, when I had 5 1/2 acres I had 92 chickens and two turkeys.

 

[BlossomSilkies]

My little girl is worse today. Actually last night I brought her and a friend inside for the night because she kept backing herself down the ramp. This morning I did some research because now I actually do think this is wry neck. It said to give selenium and vitamin E.. I crushed the selenium into a fine powder and put it into a little glass jar. I’m adding the powder to a little bit of water and snipping the top off of the vitamin E and putting a few drops of that in the mixture and then putting it into a syringe, and giving it to her that way. She does not like this she jerks around terrible. I hope she improves.

 

[BlossomSilkies]

Yes it’s been a while. So happy to have chickens again.
I just gave her her second dose of vitamin E and selenium she’s still having some symptoms but is definitely improved from this morning. She is eating and drinking fine.

I will add egg to her diet as well as the B complex.

I’m wondering since this seems to be common in Silkies, and I have opted to have all silkies this time because my space is smaller and I just thought it would be cute this time around. But my question is I wonder if I should be adding these vitamins to their diet on a regular basis.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes it’s been a while. So happy to have chickens again.
I just gave her her second dose of vitamin E and selenium she’s still having some symptoms but is definitely improved from this morning. She is eating and drinking fine.

I will add egg to her diet as well as the B complex.

I’m wondering since this seems to be common in Silkies, and I have opted to have all silkies this time because my space is smaller and I just thought it would be cute this time around. But my question is I wonder if I should be adding these vitamins to their diet on a regular basis.

It does seem to be more common in Silkies.
Giving extra vitamins routinely may be helpful, but you may want to research the amounts.

I know @EggSighted4Life doesn't breed Silkies anymore, but she may be able to chime in here with some care tips.

I do believe that @LadiesAndJane does keep Silkies, so maybe some tips from them too!

I know this site is a bit older, but you may find some useful info about Silkie care here too. Seems like most of the article section deals with various things related to Silkies. I'm not sure if there's more up to date info elsewhere, but it's a good starting point. https://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html

I wish you luck with your little Sweeties, they are cute! Keep me posted on how this little one is getting along.

 

[BlossomSilkies]

Our little girl is much improved today. I’m actually amazed how quickly those vitamins worked. I have not seen her do her backwards walk and when I picked her up today to give her her vitamins she kept her head up.

Also, use a dropper rather than a syringe. I changed from a syringe, which seemed to shoot the liquid down her throat to a dropper that was a lot more gentle.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's doing better!

I'd keep up the vitamins for a little while, you don't want her to relapse.
Hopefully she's over this hump and will continue to recover.

If I were you, I do think I would give them extra vitamins once a week to help maintain their levels. I'm not nutritionist at all, so do your research.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

It does seem to be more common in Silkies.
Giving extra vitamins routinely may be helpful, but you may want to research the amounts.

I know @EggSighted4Life doesn't breed Silkies anymore, but she may be able to chime in here with some care tips.

I do believe that @LadiesAndJane does keep Silkies, so maybe some tips from them too!

I know this site is a bit older, but you may find some useful info about Silkie care here too. Seems like most of the article section deals with various things related to Silkies. I'm not sure if there's more up to date info elsewhere, but it's a good starting point. https://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html

I wish you luck with your little Sweeties, they are cute! Keep me posted on how this little one is getting along.

I have Silkies but I have never actually run into this problem. I have heard also that
Wry neck is common in Silkies. They usually respond well to the vitamin treatment as far as I understand. I hope your little one improves.

 

[Anime2lover]

I have this little silky she’s about seven or eight weeks old. Mostly she’s acting normal but if you watch these two videos you’ll see her kind of look like she’s got her head way down under her tummy walking backwards, and one of them she even does a complete somersault. And when I pick her up she puts her head way down underneath. Otherwise she’s acting completely normal, she’s not doing that all the time. Thoughts?

@Eggcessive @casportpony

Any ideas??

 

[BlossomSilkies]

Hmm no ideas? No replies. Well, to me it doesn’t seem like wry neck because they are on vitamins and electrolytes. Also, when she is walking around normally, her neck isn’t turned to one side or the other, it looks completely normal. It has been about six years since I’ve had chickens, you’ll note in my profile that I’ve been a member here for 11 years, when I had 5 1/2 acres I had 92 chickens and two turkeys. I have never encountered this before. I will not give up hope that someone here will look at the videos and be led to reply. Now, back to your regularly scheduled crickets.