Strangest situation / sick bird?!

[pgossin]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday morning around 11am we went out to check on the flock. We were shocked...

Some of our girls were standing over another that was laying on her side, pecking at her. Feathers were all over the ground. No commotion, no fighting back, no blood anywhere. No big feathers, mostly the fluffy underside ones. We didn’t see how it started.

My girlfriend ran in and grabbed her (Barbara) and took her away to safety. Barbara is a white leghorn, all of our hens (8 total) are about 5 months of age, and all have appeared healthy as we check and hold almost daily. All have GREAT appetites. Haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary in any poop. There is no rooster. The coop is about 6’x6’x5’, there is a covered run that’s an added 6’x12’x6’ and an outdoor fenced in run that is 12’x20’. Plenty of room I think for escape. Some hens are showing more aggressive behavior, although not usually to Barbara.

As she lay on the ground in safety she seemed out of it. She stood up, but did this weird crouch and would walk backwards... kind of stumbling. She did this behavior a few times in between breaks (to sit) over the course of a few minutes.

We brought water and yogurt, her favorite. We looked for signs of physical harm and there didn’t seem to be any.

After 3-5 more mins she was up and digging again. Fed her more and kept her on the other side of the hog wire fence from the flock. She spent the rest of the day like she always does...scratching and pecking around for food. We let the other girls out to her and they all got along as normal. Roamed the yard eating until they went to roost.

Any idea what happened today? Any thoughts on her wobbly walking backwards? Please help!

Thank you

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @pgossin Welcome To BYC

Crouching and walking backwards sounds neurological. It may be a precursor to disease like Marek's. Other causes could possibly be Vitamin E deficiency or head injury/trauma.

What type of food/treats do you feed? You can try vitamins therapy to see if that helps prevent any further "episodes". Offer Vitamins E and B1 along with the mineral Selenium.
Poultry Nutri-Drench would be a good choice. You can also select foods/vegetables that contain E, B1 and Selenium as well. http://www.tillysnest.com/2014/03/vitamin-deficiencies-in-backyard-chicks-html/

 

[pgossin]

We feed them an organic layer feed, a cup full of scratch in the morning, and then miscellaneous leaves and veggies each day. We also give the occasional yogurt.

They all should have been vaccinated for Mareks. She had never shown those symptoms until then and she laid this morning and is running around foraging as usual today.

We also typically put electrolytes into their water but I haven’t for about 3 weeks. Refilled last night with them added.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How long have they been on layer feed?

Treats are great and we love to give them - make sure that they are getting at least 90-95% of their daily nutrition from their layer feed. Anything you give can dilute the protein and nutritional value of your feed.

Some electrolytes do have added vitamins, if yours don't then you may want to see what type of Poultry Vitamins your local feed store carries.

fwiw - Marek's vaccination prevents tumor formation, it does not prevent infection by the virus. http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[pgossin]

This is all excellent, thank you for directing me to these resources. Learned a lot.

Layer feed for over a month now...mixed with grower. They have grit and oyster shell available, too. The hens seem to get more aggressive towards each other and do more pecking / feather eating when we don’t give them protein oriented scraps. This is why I’ve given a few handfuls of mealworms now and then. I’m worried that their diet may be a bit off. Will look into the electrolytes vitamin content.

Attaching a few pictures of the flock. Seem to be healthy, but I’m a newbie.

Thanks again!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looks like you have a nice setup and some lovely pullets
They can become a bit more aggressive/feather picking if they lack protein, don't have enough space or are bored. Some breeds are a bit more cranky as well. Your girls are also coming into lay - this can be make flock dynamics a little touchy as well.

You have plenty of room it seems. What I've found that helps is having more than one food/water station. I also spread treats out, so there's not quite as much squabbling. I also hang most veggies so they have to pick at them (bundle of kale, apple, cabbage, etc.) that gets split up and hung in a couple of places as well.

Mealworms are a good protein treat, I don't use them because I'm "cheep" so mine usually get scrambled/hard boiled egg occasionally.

 

[Eggcessive]

Beautiful hens, run, and yard. I agree with Wyorp Rock. Hopefully, she just got injured in scuffling, and she was just showing momentary neurological symptoms. Just keep an eye out for more of those signs, and cage her with food and water if they pick on her again. Wry neck is a condition that can include a twisted neck, but also can include walking backwards, running in circles, and other odd signs. Thiamine (vitamin B1,) vitamin E, and selenium a mineral found in egg, tuna, sunflower seeds and more are frequently used to treat. As long as she is not having those signs anymore, I would just watch her.

 

[pgossin]

Thank you both. This has been incredibly helpful. Appreciate the call out on the setup! That was my summer project as we were redoing our whole back yard.