[TashaH]

Hi, its me again lol!

my young silkie has for the last 3 days had her eye shut and her head tilting so she can use her good eye. I have checked it, and rinsed with saline solution daily, and I cannot see anything lodged in or around her eyeball. There is no puss or anything oozing, she has not been in combat, so I am bewildered as to the problem. She is eating and drinking as normal, but it is affecting her balance poor thing

Any ideas?

Thanks

[Helenaj]

A stroke maybe? Unlikley if she is eating normally. My other thought would be an ear infection.

[TashaH]

A stroke maybe? Unlikley if she is eating normally. My other thought would be an ear infection.

I am inclined towards the ear now also, with the balance thing. How in the world could I check for this?

[TashaH]

Ok, I have checked her ears, and the one she is dipping down does not look as clear as her other one. There is no gunk as such, but the I can see more of her natural skin colour all the way down her good ear. The left one looks dusty. What can I treat it with? Warm veg oil to smother anything living in there? I have scaly leg cream also... or is that a no no to put down the ear?

Thanks muchly!

[New shoot]

I'm not sure about using scaly leg cream in the ear.  If you can't see an excessive build up of wax, it could be lice that have got into there.  If that was the case, you should find them elsewhere like the back of the neck, under the wings or around the vent.

If it is not that, my guess would be bacterial infection and you need a vet for that.  Sorry, I know you won't be thrilled to hear that as your vet is not that helpful 

We do have a list of poultry friendly vets on here.  I don't know if any are near you, but it might be worth a look 

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=26140.0

[TashaH]

After oodles of searching the net, it is possible she is suffering from a condition called crook/wry neck, which is common in silkies and polish. She needs a vit E boost which will help her over time and keep her vit levels up. She has tonic water every other day, but I guess she needs more. She is managing to eat bless her, currently on some mealworms, so hopefully I will see an improvement over the next few days    these adorable chooks are turning my hair grey lol!

[ghost61]

I am amazed that you have been able to look in her ear!  Mine are like little kids and shake their heads like mad when I want to inspect them.  What is your secret?   

[Helenaj]

After oodles of searching the net, it is possible she is suffering from a condition called crook/wry neck, which is common in silkies and polish. She needs a vit E boost which will help her over time and keep her vit levels up. She has tonic water every other day, but I guess she needs more. She is managing to eat bless her, currently on some mealworms, so hopefully I will see an improvement over the next few days    these adorable chooks are turning my hair grey lol!

Wry neck is quite rare in anything other than chicks and the neck is pulled right back, almost as if she is looking up and backwards. Try her on vitamin E liquid capsules (feed it to her either by piercing the capsule or use a baby medicine syringe). The effect is very quick. If she doesn't come around within a couple of hours, then I'm more inclines towards ear mite or bacterial problems. Use a magnifying glass if you can when examining the ear you may see the mites or possibly a foreign body, such as a grass seed or bedding particle. Let us know how you get on - good luck!

[TashaH]

I am amazed that you have been able to look in her ear!  Mine are like little kids and shake their heads like mad when I want to inspect them.  What is your secret?   

Hehe... The young ones have been handled a lot which helps  she is very laid back also, so I just plopped her on her side on my lap, holding a small lightweight torch in my mouth and had a rummage 

[TashaH]

Well I found Armondo had fallen over in her "hospital" basket over night and had not been able to get up. She was managing to eat and drink last night when I put her to bed but obviously her condition was more severe than I thought, and after spending the day trying to syringe feed and water her carefully, she gave up this evening 

2 babies gone in 2 weeks... What an awful start to the new year!! Another ailment to add to the learning curve list 

[ghost61]

Sorry to hear your news.  Sometimes you feel completely useless - if only they could tell you what was wrong.  Take care.