Young pullet very light, head turned to the side

[PigeonLady]

Hi. Last night I noticed a young (not laying yet) Silkie hen not moving very well and keeping her head turned to the side.
Picked her up and she is very light.
Brought her in the house. Poops look normal but very small (probably not eating.)
I made up some vitamin water and filled her crop with that.
She appears the same this morning.
I have had chickens with wryneck before, but not recently.
I can keep her in the house and feed her blenderized food with a syringe. She is still on chick grower crumbles.
I really can't afford to take my chickens to an avian vet. Any other suggestions?
And what is the name of that vitamin you get for wryneck? No iron right?
Will get pics up this afternoon.
Thanks!

 

[BuffOrpington567]

Hi,
If I was you I would get your pullet looked at by a Vet. Theses symptoms normally indicate that something is wrong with the hen and for now I would try and get her to eat and drink as much as you can.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi. Last night I noticed a young (not laying yet) Silkie hen not moving very well and keeping her head turned to the side.
Picked her up and she is very light.
Brought her in the house. Poops look normal but very small (probably not eating.)
I made up some vitamin water and filled her crop with that.
She appears the same this morning.
I have had chickens with wryneck before, but not recently.
I can keep her in the house and feed her blenderized food with a syringe. She is still on chick grower crumbles.
I really can't afford to take my chickens to an avian vet. Any other suggestions?
And what is the name of that vitamin you get for wryneck? No iron right?
Will get pics up this afternoon.
Thanks!

Can you post some photos of her?

From your description, it sounds like she has Wry Neck which is a neurological symptom caused by vitamin E and/or B1 deficiency, injury to the neck or head and disease like Marek's.

You can try supportive vitamin therapy to see if it makes a difference. Give 400IU daily of Vitamin E and 1/2 tablet of human B-Complex vitamins along with egg or tuna for Selenium.

I would also check to make sure her crop is empty in the morning before she has had anything to eat/drink.

With Silkies, Marek's can also be the cause, so if she does not improve or you if you lose her, getting a necropsy by your state lab would be a good idea.

 

[PigeonLady]

These pics show how she appears, with her head turned to the left. She doesn't appear to be able to straighten her neck out.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

These pics show how she appears, with her head turned to the left. She doesn't appear to be able to straighten her neck out.

It looks like she has Wry Neck. Try the vitamin therapy as described in my previous post to see if that helps.
She may need some assistance eating/drinking as well - here's a good video that may help

 

[BuffOrpington567]

If the vitamins dont work, take her to the vet for better treament.

 

[MelissaRose]

What happened to the silkie?

 

[PigeonLady]

Why, how nice of you to ask . I did leave the thread hanging...
The hen appears to be just fine now. She is sitting on about 50 eggs LOL. I am watching her carefully though. Thanks again!

 

[PigeonLady]

Oh- I used Polyvisol, a vitamin sold for human babies. I took quite a while for her to recover and be able to eat and drink. I use vitamins regularly in their water now.