Bantam staggering head bobbing

[Roostworthy]

Hello.

It’s been one week since I found my one year old bantam Cochin bobbing her head and acting dizzy (literally looked like the camera shot from Hitchcocks Vertigo). She has since been staggering a bit when she walks but doesn’t fall down. Just seems unbalanced.

I have her quarantined from the rest of the flock. She appears to be eating regularly and drinking regularly too. I have not physically witnessed her drinking, however. I have witnessed her eating. She is not resting, nor is she lethargic. She just seems out of it and unbalanced.

My treatment methods have been centered around providing additional vitamins, as I thought it could be a vitamin deficiency but I’m just not sure which vitamin. As such, I put nutridrench in the waterer. I provide vitamin supplement crumbles in her food. I also got poly vi sol without iron and give her 1cc of that daily. Additionally, I have a vitamin e + selenium tablet I have been giving her.

I read this could also be a head injury—but I’m just not sure how that could have happened. I have physically examined her several times—no mites, bumblefoot, or obvious wound. Her eyes are bright and clear.

I don’t have any idea if what I’m doing is correct or if there is something else I could be doing. Now that we’re a week into it, I’m terrified of long lasting neurological effects from whatever is ailing her.

Please help. Any advice is welcome.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

Sorry about your hen.

I read through what you've been doing, and it's exactly what is recommended and what I've done for a couple of mine.

The Vit E should be around 400 iu, and some scrambled eggs contains enough selenium for the E to absorb better. That can be given twice a day, whereas the other vitamins you're giving, just once a day. Be careful of giving too many vitamins too for too long. Most extra they just excrete but some can be harmful if too much over a long period of time.

As far as feed, are they on a layer or all-flock with oyster shell in a separate dish and minimal treats?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you have a video of her? Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Look inside the ears for infection.

Treatment for balance issues generally is to give 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex by direct oral dose daily along with a small amount of egg to help with the uptake of E.

If she's suffering from Wry Neck, it can take weeks to see improvement.

See that she's drinking well and eating her normal nutritionally balanced poultry feed. Check her crop to make sure it's emptying overnight.

 

[chickengr]

I had a roo with ear infection who acted like that.

 

[Roostworthy]

Hi,

Sorry about your hen.

I read through what you've been doing, and it's exactly what is recommended and what I've done for a couple of mine.

The Vit E should be around 400 iu, and some scrambled eggs contains enough selenium for the E to absorb better. That can be given twice a day, whereas the other vitamins you're giving, just once a day. Be careful of giving too many vitamins too for too long. Most extra they just excrete but some can be harmful if too much over a long period of time.

As far as feed, are they on a layer or all-flock with oyster shell in a separate dish and minimal treats?

How long is too long to give vitamins? That’s was another concern I had. Thank you for your reply! I will change my vit e and selenium to iu400 and scrambled eggs. She is currently on a high protein layer feed. I believe 19%. And yes, she has oyster and grit in a separate dish.

 

[Roostworthy]

Do you have a video of her? Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Look inside the ears for infection.

Treatment for balance issues generally is to give 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex by direct oral dose daily along with a small amount of egg to help with the uptake of E.

If she's suffering from Wry Neck, it can take weeks to see improvement.

See that she's drinking well and eating her normal nutritionally balanced poultry feed. Check her crop to make sure it's emptying overnight.

If she isn’t doing the “stargazing” could it be early stage wry neck? Which b complex do you recommend? I checked both her ears and crop—ears seem clear and crop is empty. I have been administering the vitamins by putting them in a small amount of mash and making sure she eats it all—I’m scared of asphyxiating her by direct oral dose. Does it have to be by oral to be effective? I’ll work on uploading a video today. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Eggcessive]

This affordable one from Walmart is a good B complex, and dosage is 1/4 tablet daily crushed in food or given orally.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Spring-V...MIh__DmerKiwMVTTetBh0WKQEbEAQYCSABEgLQffD_BwE

 

[Roostworthy]

This affordable one from Walmart is a good B complex, and dosage is 1/4 tablet daily crushed in food or given orally.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Spring-V...MIh__DmerKiwMVTTetBh0WKQEbEAQYCSABEgLQffD_BwE

This may seem like a silly question but if they’re the gel capsules, how do I crush them up? The vitamins I have are the gel ones and I’ve been splitting them and then putting the contents in the mash.

 

[Eggcessive]

Vitamin E softgels can be cut open and squeezed out onto a bit of food, or they can be pooped into the beak whole.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If she isn’t doing the “stargazing” could it be early stage wry neck? Which b complex do you recommend? I checked both her ears and crop—ears seem clear and crop is empty. I have been administering the vitamins by putting them in a small amount of mash and making sure she eats it all—I’m scared of asphyxiating her by direct oral dose. Does it have to be by oral to be effective? I’ll work on uploading a video today. Thank you so much for your help!

The symptoms you describe are neurological. The vitamin therapy described is the treatment to give.