Poorly Silkie :(

[purplekat]

Hi,
Thought it was just the heat/broodyness at first but now have an obviously unwell Silkie.

Trying to get into vets but want to know if there's anything I can do now. She's been sitting around a lot for the past few days, was able to walk but now doesn't seem to be able to put weight on one leg. Chest seems puffed out more on that side.

She's sat in cat carrier inside (where it's cooler) with her head down. If she tries to stand up, her head is dropping backwards to the opposite side. She is very placid and quiet (normally quit flighty), no obvious breathing difficulties or gaping. I don't know where to start, my hens have always been healthy so not had to deal with anything like this before. Any ideas?

Edit - no obvious dodgy poo's anywhere, no obvious discharge or watery eyes/beak other 3 seem fine

[Chris11]

I'm not a vet, and obviously you need expert advice or treatment for the bird.

But one of the possibilities is that your bird has had a stroke / TIA?

[purplekat]

Update: now thinking it's an impacted crop. Offered her some water in a really shallow dish which she drank (couldn't reach to drink from normal bowl) and is now standing on both legs - I think she was dehydrated. Still very quiet but looking much better than earlier

[Scarlet]

Can you feel an enlarged crop? If so can you massage it to break it up?

[purplekat]

Ok - not an impacted crop. The lump I could feel was actually her neck bone from the way she's holding it back (you can tell I've not had this problem before). She's very up and down, she'll come round and walk about almost normally for a bit, then later can't stand, with her neck lolling back. She can peck off a spoon to eat and drink but seems uncoordinated. Vet doesn't it's think anything infectious and more likely to be some kind of balance/inner ear issue, mentioned botulism can affect the neck. She's had some Baytril to see if that does anything, but it's not looking good for her unfortunately.

[Scarlet]

Wry neck maybe? What do you feed her on?

[purplekat]

Wry neck maybe? What do you feed her on?

I just saw this. She was fed on layer's pellets with odd allotment scraps/sunflower seeds so shouldn't have been deficient, died a week later sadly. I just read a bit on wry neck and it seems to be common in Silkies so possibly, the videos on youtube do look similar to how she was. Good to know what treatment to try if I get any more in the future though, thanks

[Nicos]

Sorry to hear you lost her.