Chicken making weird head movements

[redfrog11]

Hello everyone!

I recently got two pekin bantams (2 years old) off a lady. They were fine the first day, and I didn't notice anything unusual when I picked them up.

Then they started sneezing, I thought this was because their new home was a lot dustier than their previous one. They were maintained in a cage within my current chickens coop and last night taken into a box with straw bedding as a precaution. This morning they started doing this:

I've removed the straw bedding just in case.

Does anyone know what's wrong with them? The previous owner said they weren't displaying this behaviour when she had them.

 

[DuckPro]

I don't know what's wrong with your Pekins, but I recently found this "sour crop" post by someone and it said that her chickens were making weird head movements too!

http://www.ukhippy.com/stuff/showthread.php/52902-Sour-crop-chicken

 

[DuckPro]

@aart @sumi can u help?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It does sound like a sneeze.

Do you provide a source of poultry grit (crushed granite) free choice for your girls. I'm wondering if they are eating more grass and/or treats than they are accustomed to and don't have sufficient grit to process it.

Check their crops when the go to "bed" - the crop should be full, then check first thing in the morning before eating/drinking- the crop should be empty.

If the sneezing is accompanied by mucous from the nostrils or bubbly runny eyes and facial swelling, then it could be a respiratory illness. But sneezing can also be from dusty bedding/feed, clearing the nostrils, etc.

Keep watch on them, moving to a new home can be stressful, you may want to offer them some poultry vitamins for a few days to help give them a boost.

Let us know how they are doing.