Wasting Silkies

[casportpony]

Ok here are the weight totals:

Lucia-(just started laying) 1 pound 13 oz
Boy George (rooster) 2 pounds 12 oz
Snowcone (rooster-the one acting funny) 2 pounds 5 oz
Pompette- (2 year old hen) 1 pound 14 oz


I just dusted Snowcone and he's in the box for an hour. I'll let you know on that. They're due for the second dose of the wormer on Wednesday.

I dusted snowcone and I just checked on him and it looks as though there was some sort of bug that died with the dusting. they were a tan color and small, sort of shaped like a sesame seed.

also, he had 2 poops in the box and they were bright green.

Okay, let's start over...

You've dusted and found that you do have lice, so now you'll need to dust the rest and dust/spray your coop, perches etc.

You've also weighed everyone. I don't have any Silkie hens, but I do have two roos and one of them weighs 1500 grams, but feels a little thin to me.

Lucia-(just started laying) 1 pound 13 oz is 822 grams
Boy George (rooster) 2 pounds 12 oz is 1275 grams
Snowcone 2 pounds 5 oz is 1050 grams
Pompette- (2 year old hen) 1 pound 14 oz is 850 grams

Based on the numbers above, this is how much Safeguard (fendbendazole 10% = 100mg/ml) *mine* would get orally. The doses are calculated at 50mg/kg:
Lucia - 822 grams - .41ml
Boy George - 1275 grams - .68ml
Snowcone - 1050 grams - .5ml
Pompette - 850 grams - .42ml

So tell me, how much wormer did you give each of them and when did you give it?

Now you need to do a thorough exam:

• Check for lumps, cuts, bruising, etc.
• Palpate crop, is it empty, full, squishy, etc.
• Look closely in mouth and throat
• Smell in mouth and facial area
• Look at vent - in hens, check inside vent with well lubed, gloved finger
• Inspect several poop samples.

Since Pompette Snowcone is so thin and has abnormal poop (bright green means probably means that he hasn't been eating), he should be in a warm place in your house with access to food and water that he can't drown in. If he were mine, I would tube feed him fluids to correct his hydration status, then tube feed him baby bird food.

Based on their weights, the rest also seem a little on the light side, so if they were mine, I would start feeding them foods higher in protein and weigh them again in a week.

 

[sheeshshe]

I assume you mean Snowcone so he's not really eating you think? ugh.

I'll go out there now and dust everything with the stuff. how many days until I re-dust?? I'm leaving on vacation in one week from today.

The safeguard I gave a peasized amount, which was recommended to me this fall for silkies. when I lost one and I thought it might be worms.

 

[casportpony]

I assume you mean Snowcone so he's not really eating you think? ugh.

I'll go out there now and dust everything with the stuff. how many days until I re-dust?? I'm leaving on vacation in one week from today.

The safeguard I gave a peasized amount, which was recommended to me this fall for silkies. when I lost one and I thought it might be worms.

Yes, lol, I meant Snowcone, my bad!

This is why it's important to understand how much your bird weighs and how many mg/kg your bird should get. Giving too little worming medication can cause resistance to wormers. Do you have any idea how many mg's of wormer are in a "pea size" amount? Well I was curious, so I measured it.

From left to right:
Small = 10mg ( .1cc) = enough for a 200 gram (7 ounce) bird at 50mg/kg
Medium = 25mg (.25cc) = enough for a 500 gram (17 ounce) bird at 50mg/kg
Large = 50mg ( .5cc) = enough for a 1000 gram (35 ounce) bird at 50mg/kg
50 mg/kg is at the high end of the recommended dose for birds, but it is what my vets recommended.

 

[casportpony]

FWIW, I just noticed one of my Silkies was off, so I dusted and weighed him (1350 grams). Then I looked in his mouth and I think he has canker. This is what I found:

 

[sheeshshe]

thanks! Ok, I'll go back and look in his mouth. I tried to give him food and he didn't look interested. I just dusted them all and dusted the coop. can lice get in on the chicks who aren't fully feathered yet? is it enough for them to just be in the coop with it dusted, they'll roll in it right?

 

[casportpony]

thanks! Ok, I'll go back and look in his mouth. I tried to give him food and he didn't look interested. I just dusted them all and dusted the coop. can lice get in on the chicks who aren't fully feathered yet? is it enough for them to just be in the coop with it dusted, they'll roll in it right?

Yes they can get lice, too. Put a little dust one them as well.

 

[sheeshshe]

I was only able to get dust on one of them. one of them kept running under the LF coop and wouldn't come out, it ended up being a big ordeal. UGH! I'll have to try again tomorrow I guess?? or maybe when it gets dark here or something.

how long do I wait before I dust a second time?

 

[casportpony]

You do understand that lice are *not* the reason your birds are are thin, right? I hope I didn't give you that impression. Snowcone needs to be watched very closely or he will probably die. If he were mine, he would be inside getting tubed and I would worm him again with the larger dose of wormer, although I seriously doubt that's the problem.

 

[sheeshshe]

right. but what IS the problem and how do I figure it out? if his mouth looks ok, what else can it be?? I mean, when I put the wormer in his mouth it looked ok then. I didn't notice anything unusual.

I don't know how to tube feed. I can't bring him inside if he has a potential virus though, I have a parrot that I just newly got. do you think this is a virus? I'm really perplexed at what this could be.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry I can't tell you what it is or how to treat it, I can only share with you how I would deal with him. This is a copy and paste from another post of mine:

When mine get sick, this is what I do:

• Thorough exam check for cuts, bruising lumps etc.
• Look and smell inside mouth.
• Palpate crop - Is it full, empty, squishy, hard, etc.
• Dust for mites/lice with poultry dust even if I cannot see any. DE does not work.
• Weigh on digital kitchen scale (see avatar), record weight and weigh daily. any weight loss is bad.
• Place bird in a warm, quiet place on towel with food and water that it can't drown in.
• De-worm with Safeguard or Panacur, liquid or paste 50mg/kg by mouth and repeat in 10 days. Warning - Safeguard/Panacur (fenbendazole should not be used during a molt).
• Once warm, if not drinking, and crop is empty, hydrate with warmed Pedialyte or lactated ringers with a feeding tube - 30ml/kg every 6-8 hours.
• If not eating after 24 hours and crop is empty, tube feed baby bird food mixed with Pedialyte
• Inspect poop for 24 hours.
• If I suspect a stuck egg, treat for egg binding.
• If I suspect a bacterial infection, treat with oral or injectable antibiotics like Clavamox, Amoxicillin or Baytril.
• If I suspect a fungal infection, treat with oral antifungal like Nystatin.
• If I suspect blackhead (Histomoniasis), treat with metronidazole 30mg/kg for five days.
• If I suspect canker (Trichomoniasis), treat with metronidazole 30mg/kg for five days.
• If I suspect coccidiosis, treat with Corid.