Help - our Silkies keep dying

Karen_H · **Posted:** Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:59 pm

We don't seem to be having much luck with our Silkies. The last batch we got towards the end of May were between 6 weeks and 12 weeks old - of 16 chooks we have lost ten over the last few months. A couple we thought had 'fallen' and broken their necks as we found them under a tree they had been climbing or under perches. We removed things for them to climb on and when we have found them dead, they appear to have broken necks - they are curled up on funny angles.

We know the chooks were not vaccinated when we bought them so I realise it could be anything! For the majority, they appear to be healthy and suddenly 'drop dead' - although we have had a couple that looked a bit off before they died.

We use straw for bedding, they are in an enclosed yard with a shed to go into of a night time, they get mixed chook seed as well as crumble and food scraps. The food scraps they get are lettuce, spinach, carrot peel, apple (cut up), bread, corn and grass cuttings. We never feed them potato peel. My mum also feeds them weeds out of the garden - I wonder if it is something like that making them sick although I would think it would affect all of them then including the other chooks.

I will be talking to our vet tomorrow to get some ideas and find out what it would cost to get an autopsy done as I would like to have one checked if we lose another one. It is quite difficult on me and the kids losing so many.

We have 3 silkie cross roosters that are fit and healthy (in another pen on the other side of the yard) and another pen of mixed chooks next to the silkie pen which also seem to be okay (although we did lose a young one - 6 months old about a month ago in a similar manner - appeared to have a broken neck).

We live about 15kms out of town on a 25 acre bush block so we are not near any other houses etc.

I am at a loss on what to do for my chooks!

Cheers
Karen

Karen_H · **Posted:** Wed Sep 09, 2009 1:41 pm

Spoke to the vet this morning and after doing some reading and discussing symptoms etc the vet suspects it might be Marek's Disease. If we lose another one, we will need to get a post mortem done and get pathology sent off to confirm etc. When I asked the cost, the vet said they weren't sure as they hadn't done one for a chicken before! Probably $50 for the post mortem and between $50 to $200 for the pathology!

Fingers crossed we won't need too but I have a horrible feeling...........

Cheers
Karen :cry:

julie at serenity · **Posted:** Wed Sep 09, 2009 7:03 pm

bad luck helen,

could be Marek's, from what you've described....

why don't you try googling Marek's,you would probably find a pic of an affected (dead) chick

regards

Sebducks · **Joined:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:41 pm **Posts:** 812

http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/We ... PTVYH?open

http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dpi/h ... A_HTML.htm

hope these links help and you have no further losses.

maisyfleur · **Posted:** Thu Sep 10, 2009 11:18 am

Hi Karen

Sorry to hear of your losses. I too have lost silkies (Four in two years) - I have consulted vets who have suggested that Mareks was to blame.

All my silkies have been around the 8 mth old mark when they have contracted this disease. I swear now that I will only buy old silkies over a year old or vaccinated chicks.

I have been keeping chooks for two years now and my flock is 25 made up of all different breeds. All the other breeds have been fine it is just the silkies that seem to have a low resilience to this disease.

I think when you mention that they look like they have broken necks might be just that they are all tucked up before they die. The only thing I would mention is that I have always known for some time before they die that they are very sick as they are huddled up and do not eat anything. They then get very bad diarrhoa from the lack of food.

The fact that your chooks are dying so quickly and do not appear to be sick for a period beforehand makes me think it may be more of a poison or something they have eaten.

Hope you don't lose anymore

Regards

Sue

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