# Silkies dying one by one



## eqstrnathlete (Dec 9, 2012)

They are about 5 months old. I started with 20 and now have only 9. They are free ranged and get medicated starter. They are fine one day and weak the next and die within a few hours. I don't know why, they couldn't receive better care. Any ideas?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

They should not still be on medicated feed. The amprollium in chick starter blocks the absorption of Thiamine a B vitamin.

More information is needed though to be certain about what is going on. A blanket statement of great care and dying gives no insight in to what might be going on.


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## eqstrnathlete (Dec 9, 2012)

Really? I was told they needed to be on medicated until a year of age. Could this be the issue?


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

It might be. What symptoms is any are they showing?

Beyond 18 weeks they don't need medicated feed. Beyond what Robin said about the absorption - Laying fed doesn't come medicated as the eggs will have trace amounts in it, as well.


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## OldBrickHouseFarm (Sep 30, 2014)

You were told wrong. It's possible it's the issue but there's no telling unless you get a necropsy of a freshly dead bird.
Properly managed, they don't need medicated feed at all. I've only used it for 1 batch of chicks in half a century. Keep the bedding dry and feeders full.
First tactic is to switch to a non-medicated grower or a layer feed if all are laying. Give a vitamin supplement to replace the B vitamins they've been deprived of.
There are so many things it could be and without other symptoms or lab work it's a guess at best.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

A year? I don't know how told you that but it might be wise to ask for other opinions when it comes to their care.

As stated above, you don't have to use medicated feed. I haven't used it since the very beginning and never lost any chicks to cocci.


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## OldBrickHouseFarm (Sep 30, 2014)

X2
Getting chicken care information from the feed store isn't the best tactic.

As Robin said, blanket statements to the effect "they couldn't receive better care" tells us nothing.
No offense, but if we're to be of assistance, we need comprehensive information on feed intake, housing, ventilation, bedding, etc..
If one loses many birds in short order or over half of their flock, it means that there is a virulent disease that needs to be determined immediately and definitively or that there is a management problem.


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## profwirick (Jan 24, 2013)

ow! sad story. Did they all come from one place? 


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

How are they dying? Do they get thin? Do they get paralyzed? Do they have any behavioral changes? Do they stop eating? Do they drink eat any more or less than usual? How does their poop look? It could be so many things. Last time I had a rash of deaths it ended up because they were eating beetles that had just eaten an infected carcass in the woods somewhere, effectively giving them Botulism. Four went paralyzed and despite supportive care only one survived. Took me a LOT of investigative work to figure that one out! So yes... you're going to have to dig a little deeper in finding a reason. Luckily there's a lot of great knowledgeable people here if you give them better clues. Good luck!


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## littlelimabean (Oct 21, 2014)

That is so sad, I am sorry you have lost so very many. I myself have never ever used medicated feeder; its like when a doctor gives an antibiotic as a prophylactic I NEVER take them and has never done me wrong in not taking the un-needed medicine. Most hatchery birds are vaccinated, most... If I were you I would try to find out where they came from and see what vaccinations they did receive. Let us know what the cause is if you are able to find out. I hope your 9 remaining enjoy good health.


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## OldBrickHouseFarm (Sep 30, 2014)

WeeLittleChicken said:


> ... Last time I had a rash of deaths it ended up because they were eating beetles that had just eaten an infected carcass in the woods somewhere, effectively giving them Botulism. Four went paralyzed and despite supportive care only one survived. Took me a LOT of investigative work to figure that one out! ...


Such a good story.
I had a friend in FL with a flock of chicks that died. She suspected coccidiosis. After the necropsy, she discovered it was botulism from moldy feed.


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## Tony-O (Jul 19, 2012)

littlelimabean said:


> That is so sad, I am sorry you have lost so very many. I myself have never ever used medicated feeder; its like when a doctor gives an antibiotic as a prophylactic I NEVER take them and has never done me wrong in not taking the un-needed medicine. Most hatchery birds are vaccinated, most... If I were you I would try to find out where they came from and see what vaccinations they did receive. Let us know what the cause is if you are able to find out. I hope your 9 remaining enjoy good health.


Actually most hatcheries don't vaccinate the chicks unless requested to do so, at an additional charge. I agree with you at everything else.


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## sinkalink (May 19, 2015)

I had a bunch of polish that had this same problem. When I switch their main source of grit to tiny stones from a nearby creek they immediately stopped getting sick. I realize this thread is old but hope this may help someone.


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## profwirick (Jan 24, 2013)

I'd be glad to keep this thread going. have had three hens die this year. Just slow down for a day and then sit and not get up. the first one I got as a mother. the other two were her two year old offspring. Silkie mix. Free range. Clean spacious coop at night. no signs of injury or even illness before. they kept their sparkly eyes right up to the very end, but when I lifted the last one her breast was caved in and stone still, as if she were dead from the neck down. I had been watering her every hour or two, hoping she might recover, but now I see a pattern. any thoughts?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Without a necropsy its hard to know for certain what was going on. But if all other birds in the flock are fine, then there could be a genetic component involved with the three.

I had a line in my Silkies that they would lose the ability to stand. After a while there was no response to the affected leg at all. Once I stopped breeding the one bird the problem stopped.


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## profwirick (Jan 24, 2013)

Robin16, Thank you. I'm sure you hit "genetic" on the nail. These pretty little girls have never been super birds. puny, if pretty, egg production. they seem smart, though. Lots of hawks here, but none of the silkies have been caught. I'm sad, but I think I'd better prepare myself to lose the sisters. Thanks for the input.


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Mary Wirick, aka. Treehouse, Profwirick, Ma Wirick???


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