Head tremor

[moosey]

Good morning. I have a 24 week old barnevelder (not yet laying) who has a significant head tremor this morning. I noticed a head twitch a couple weeks ago, and thought it was related to the noise of having a couple trees removed. Yesterday, we had our ceiling cleaned (also noisy) and the twitch has turned into a tremor this morning. We just completed a round of wormer (AquaSol), but the twitch had started prior to the wormer. She has been eating and her poop appears normal. This morning, she did not come out of the hen house with the rest of the flock (who are not showing any head twitching), and is sitting on the roost. No signs of mites or lice, but will look closer. No scratching at ear/head. I will be isolating her this morning. She has always been a little more flighty than the others. Attached video from this morning. Any ideas would be hugely appreciated.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Any ideas would be hugely appreciated.

Might be an early symptom of wry neck (or poly neuritis).. I'd consider treating with vitamin E and B complex.

Since she hasn't come out this morning.. I'd also try to get a check on her crop to make sure it's emptying.. not hard or squishy.

Ataxia.. is in-coordination and on par with paralysis (how it starts sometimes).. was she vaccinated against Marek's? Does it look like something is going on with her eye? Can she see? Is veterinary care an option?

 

[moosey]

Might be an early symptom of wry neck (or poly neuritis).. I'd consider treating with vitamin E and B complex.

Since she hasn't come out this morning.. I'd also try to get a check on her crop to make sure it's emptying.. not hard or squishy.

Ataxia.. is in-coordination and on par with paralysis (how it starts sometimes).. was she vaccinated against Marek's? Does it look like something is going on with her eye? Can she see? Is veterinary care an option?

I do have Vitamin E and B complex, so will start giving her that. Will check her crop after getting her isolation room set up. She has been vaccinated against Mareks. I can check around with vets, but most of them in my area do not treat chickens and are booked out. I will post an update after getting her moved. Really appreciate all the help I've gotten on this site.

 

[Eggcessive]

The vitamin E and B complex are a good idea for neurological symptoms. Could she have suffered a head injury? Hopefully, it isn’t Mareks or something like that. Let us know how the vitamins affect her.

 

[moosey]

Have her isolated. Her crop seems kindof hard. I gave her some B complex and E and olive oil in her favorite fermented food. Her head tremors don't seem so bad right now, but she still is not acting like her usual crazy self. Will keep you all updated.

 

[moosey]

The vitamin E and B complex are a good idea for neurological symptoms. Could she have suffered a head injury? Hopefully, it isn’t Mareks or something like that. Let us know how the vitamins affect her.

I don't think she suffered a head injury. Nothing crazy in the past few days that I saw/heard anyway. No wounds or blood. She and the other's in her flock have been vaccinated for Mareks, from a pretty reputable place for this area. She's on the vitamins now, so will post an update. I feel like I have such bad luck with chickens that I'm going to give up on getting any more. Not like I have a huge flock (just 5 right now, and only chicken keeping for 3 years), but have dealt with a lot of issues (prolapsed vent, respiratory, mites, foot injury, worms, etc). It's exhausting. Sigh.

 

[Chicken poppy]

I don't think she suffered a head injury. Nothing crazy in the past few days that I saw/heard anyway. No wounds or blood. She and the other's in her flock have been vaccinated for Mareks, from a pretty reputable place for this area. She's on the vitamins now, so will post an update. I feel like I have such bad luck with chickens that I'm going to give up on getting any more. Not like I have a huge flock (just 5 right now, and only chicken keeping for 3 years), but have dealt with a lot of issues (prolapsed vent, respiratory, mites, foot injury, worms, etc). It's exhausting. Sigh.

I totally understand where you are coming from. Believe me i do. I have a neighbor who had them for 8 years, and really had no problems except a fox attack that the chickens survived.

For me, being my 3rd year of chicken keeping, my chickens have had bumblefoot over a year, ovarian cancer, a tumor causing the eye to come out, fractures, slipped tendon, mareks, egg bound, predator attacks, everything! Its overwelming, exhausting, and horrible. But hang in there and it will get better, my best bit of advice to you is this:

For predators, don’t take it for granted, even being inside for one second is enough for your chickens to be gone.

And for diseases, try not to feel like it’s your fault. It happens, and as sad as it is, show them a great life and do what you can. And maybe get breeds that are hardy. Bantams can be a little tricky.

Owning bantams is a cool experience but for people still trying to juggle the loss of chickens and trying to get a stable flock, they aren’t a great start.. for me they weren’t atleast.


I hope your girl gets better, best of luck, you aren’t alone.

 

[moosey]

I totally understand where you are coming from. Believe me i do. I have a neighbor who had them for 8 years, and really had no problems except a fox attack that the chickens survived.

For me, being my 3rd year of chicken keeping, my chickens have had bumblefoot over a year, ovarian cancer, a tumor causing the eye to come out, fractures, slipped tendon, mareks, egg bound, predator attacks, everything! Its overwelming, exhausting, and horrible. But hang in there and it will get better, my best bit of advice to you is this:

For predators, don’t take it for granted, even being inside for one second is enough for your chickens to be gone.

And for diseases, try not to feel like it’s your fault. It happens, and as sad as it is, show them a great life and do what you can. And maybe get breeds that are hardy. Bantams can be a little tricky.

Owning bantams is a cool experience but for people still trying to juggle the loss of chickens and trying to get a stable flock, they aren’t a great start.. for me they weren’t atleast.


I hope your girl gets better, best of luck, you aren’t alone.

Thank you so much! Yeah, I know folks who have zero problems with there flock, and then there's me (and you). This chicken is not a bantam, but a barnevelder. Beautiful feathers and supposed to be hardy. I'm hoping she'll pull through.

 

[moosey]

Just went and checked on Reba, and noticed she is drinking water rather oddly.

 

[coach723]

What she is doing is called stargazing and it's a form of wry neck. Why she does it when drinking is hard to say. Neurological issues can sometimes present very weirdly. Wry neck can be vitamin related, so that is always the first thing to try, to see if you can get it reversed. If that doesn't help, and you may need to give it a few weeks, sometimes it's quick and sometimes it takes longer, then other causes like injury, illness or genetics have to be considered. So keep doing the vitamins, and see if she improves at all, stays the same, or seems to be getting worse. I would also weigh her, make sure she's not losing weight. If she can't feed adequately, then you may have to tube or hand feed until she can. This link has a video at the end showing helping a bird with wry neck to feed:
https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/wry-neck.html