Silkie chickens are quite beautiful and mesmerizing birds so seeing these birds become ill or suffer is quite saddening. You may think that a silkie that is not walking or eating is ill.
This article explores why your silkie chicken is not walking or eating.
Table of Contents
Silkie not walking or eating:
Your silkie chickens may normally have a very calm personality but this doesn’t mean that they don’t walk around and interact with other birds.
These birds are quite active and will walk around and run around looking for food. If your bird is not doing this then reasons for this include:
Illnesses:
One of the reasons why your silkie chicken may have stopped walking and eating may be that the bird is suffering from an illness.
There are a variety of illnesses that can cause your bird to stop walking. An ill bird will not want to eat because its body is using its energy to recover from the illness.
Illnesses and conditions that may be plaguing your bird include Marek disease, Stargazing, curly toe paralysis, necrotic dermatitis, arthritis, and osteoporosis to name a few.
If your bird is sick then the lack of appetite and lameness will also be accompanied by other symbtombs, your bird will be in distress overall.
What to do:
There are a variety of ailments that can cause your bird to become lame and not want to eat.
Figuring out what your bird is suffering from may be time-consuming and you may not figure it out in the end. This is why it is recommended that you take your bird to the vet for an examination and treatment.
The vet will examine the bird and look for other signs of disease to determine what is wrong with the bird, the vet may also run tests on your chicken to help diagnose the bird.
Once the reason why your bird is not eating and not walking is determined then your vet will medicate appropriately.
Your bird’s condition may be contagious so it is recommended that you isolate the bird to keep it from spreading the illness until you know what your bird has and have treated the bird.
Exposure to toxins:
Another reason why your chicken may have stopped walking and eating may be because the bird has been exposed to toxins.
Toxins that can cause this behavior include household chemicals, bacteria, molds, heavy metals, and poisonous plants. Toxins will affect your silkies nervous system and its ability to move.
In addition to the toxins causing your bird to stop moving and lose its appetite, other signs of poisoning include convulsions, weight loss, and depression.
What to do:
If you think that your bird has been exposed to a toxin then it is advised that you take the bird to the vet for an examination. Once examined your bird will be given the appropriate treatments for the toxin.
If your silkie is suffering from food poisoning, and you can’t immediately get the bird to the vet, then you can flush the bird’s system using a laxative. Laxatives help to remove the toxins from the bird’s body.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Silkie Chicken Walking Backwards, Silkie Chicken Not Walking, Silkie Chicken Not Walking Or Moving, Silkie Chicken Not Walking And Shaking,