Head shaking, multiple chickens

[LikeTurkeys]

I noticed a couple of days ago that some of the chickens have been shaking their heads a lot. Mostly just one Buff Orpington rooster who is around a year old and 12 8 week olds. All of them are perfectly healthy otherwise, and I checked for mites or ear blockages and did not see any black spots around their ears. I even looked down their throats to see if there was some growth there that was causing it. Nothing.

Here is a video:

I did notice that some of the 8 week olds had whiter combs than usual, like those caused by dry air. Not sure if that is related or not. I have not observed this yet in my other coops, just those two.

Might be no big deal, but it is curious and I haven't seen this before. Feedback is appreciated!

 

[Myrshine]

This is usually a normal behavior in chickens, but other causes can be lice or mites crawling around their eyes, ears or heads, causing the head shaking. Chickens head shake for communication, fear, happiness, wind and an overall feeding behavior. I wouldn’t worry unless they’re showing signs of illness such as sneezing, coughing, etc.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

We did have a lice infestation about a month ago but I didn't see any head-shaking then and it did not affect the 8-9 week olds, only the older birds. The rooster who is shaking his head now had it the worst. After treating with permethrin dust twice, I don't see any more live lice but he still has eggs stuck to his tail feathers, do you know when those will come off? Maybe those are just the remnants of already hatched eggs?

Do you recommend treating with permethrin again? The younger birds are having an issue with feather picking right now (and I just ordered some pinless peepers in an effort to stop it), and I am worried about getting the dust into the exposed wounds. Maybe just treat the uninjured birds and dust around the coop.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Update: It's spreading. I now have 4 coops that are affected, and about half the birds are chicks between 3 and 6 weeks old. Adults in one coop have begun doing the same thing, head twitching/shaking but with no other apparent symptoms.

I did go ahead and treat the original 9-week olds and the affected rooster with permethrin several days before I noticed the others having the same symptoms, but it didn't seem to make any difference.

@azygous, @casportpony, @Wyorp Rock, what do you think?

 

[Kiki]

If you didn't treat ALL of your birds and coops for lice at the same time you need to.

Treat everyone and everything with permethrin each week for no less than 3 weeks.

 

[azygous]

Have you examined their ears? Are any of them scratching at their heads?

 

[LikeTurkeys]

If you didn't treat ALL of your birds and coops for lice at the same time you need to.

Treat everyone and everything with permethrin each week for no less than 3 weeks.

I should clarify probably, when there was lice, I did treat all of the birds and coops at once, and repeated the treatment after a week. No more lice, that was over a month ago and I don't see any evidence of them coming back. Also, even when there was a ton of lice, I did not observe head shaking like this.

I can treat again though if you think it will help, I just didn't see any evidence of external parasites.

Have you examined their ears? Are any of them scratching at their heads?

Yes, thoroughly. No dirt, wax, swelling or otherwise not normal looking appearance. None of them seem to be scratching their heads (which I've heard is indicative of ear mites).

I also checked them at night for mites. Did not see anything on the birds or in the coop.

 

[Kiki]

I should clarify probably, when there was lice, I did treat all of the birds and coops at once, and repeated the treatment after a week. No more lice, that was over a month ago and I don't see any evidence of them coming back. Also, even when there was a ton of lice, I did not observe head shaking like this.

I can treat again though if you think it will help, I just didn't see any evidence of external parasites.

Yes, thoroughly. No dirt, wax, swelling or otherwise not normal looking appearance. None of them seem to be scratching their heads (which I've heard is indicative of ear mites).

I also checked them at night for mites. Did not see anything on the birds or in the coop.

I read that post as the lice were back.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would probably re-treat everyone to see if that makes a difference.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

I read that post as the lice were back.

No, sorry for the misunderstanding.

I would probably re-treat everyone to see if that makes a difference.

Sure. I have 9 1 week old chicks in the brooder that have begun shaking their heads as well, should I treat them too?