Sick Hen nodding head

[bugawk]

Please help me take fast action to figure out what is wrong with Sherrilya the hen! She sits all day except moved spots 3 times yesterday. She has an empty crop. She will hardly eat, but drinks a lot. She is wobbly if she tries to stand up. Her head nods up and down, hinged at the neck, more pronounced on the up stroke, and then the head sort of fades back down. She's old and is a large hen. We are in AZ and it's very hot, but other older hens are ok. She is under shade trees and damp ground too when she chooses. Thank you, thank you, for any help you can give. She's my grandchildren's pet too.

Sincerely,

Bugawk, part of your Flock <3

 

[theuglychick]

I'm hoping someone who may know what is going on with her can chime in.

In the meantime have you separated her in case its infectious?

How old is she?

You can try to feed her yogurt, boiled eggs, and sugar water for energy. I would maybe start her on vitamins, as well.

Has she been treated for mites? Is she molting?

Have you checked the feed for mold (seems less likely in AZ, but an issue where I'm from)?

 

[bugawk]

Hi, thank you so much for trying to help her and me <3 Yes, she has been separated in a pen from the others, as of earlier this morning, but I put her nearby so she could see them. I hope it's far enough away. She has an appetite now, ravenous. However, difficulties I didn't notice before. I'm feeding her medicated chick feed from Pet Club--expensive but lots of vitamins etc. She sometimes has to struggle to stand to swallow it. I think she can't see!! She was pecking at dirt and spitting it out--that's why I put her in a cage where she could find her way around. She is old, maybe 9 years, but I have one other little girl that was hatched in 2002. She isn't any worse, and is eating, but still not mobile, she's very wobbly.
I don't know how to treat for mites, and I bet they all have worms, too. They have the run of an acre, and I shy away from poison chemicals. I guess I have a lot to learn, even though I've had chickens most of my life. I am getting better at saving them over the years, if I can figure out a diagnosis. I'm so grateful for this awesome website, where I can learn more!
I keep wondering if she got a piece of something stuck in her throat, and maybe that is why her crop was empty back when I first wrote the post?
She isn't molting at this time. I don't see any sores or anything like that on her. Symptoms now seem to be possible blindness, extremely sedentary, wobbly, can barely walk, and still has the head motions when not eating. Again, thank you for any help you may give. She's always been such a sweet, friendly girl
:,-(

 

[theuglychick]

I'm sorry she's progressing for the worse.

I'm going to tag someone else that I think will have more experience than I do and hope they can help or offer advice.

@Wyorp Rock do you or anyone you know on here have any advice for this?

Poultry dust is great for mites. It is a chemical powder, though. You just sprinkle or dust it under their feathers.

Idk what the parasite load could be like in such an arid place. I know dog people out that way that have never had to deworm their dogs, but idk about what parasites can affect chickens.

9 years old is impressive! I think 11 is the oldest hen I've heard of. How has yalls weather been? I know arthritis can be an issue for the older girls and can be influenced by the weather.

The vision and cooridination makes me think vitamin deficiency, although this is something I'm not overly familiar with.

How long has she been on the medicated feed? What kind is it? Can you check to see if the feed supplements b vitamins? Some of the meds in medicated feed also work to block certain nutrients and vitamins, which is actually how they "kill" some of the bad stuff, essentially by starving those nasties of nutrients that they need.

 

[bugawk]

Hi, I put her on the medicated chick feed because I was hoping it would be tastier, more nutritious, and easier to swallow than adult pellets, and it's only been about a week or less since I started giving it to her. Because they have free run of the acre (except now she is in a smaller cage for her own protection--and the other girls were eating all her special food.), and they have pellets, grass, weeds, and bugs they can find and eat, along with fruit from our orchard, I thought they were getting a great diet of their choice. There isn't any cactus or desert soil, this was once farmland because we have irrigation.
The weather has been way too hot, but it's finally under 100. Most of the time all the girls stay under our 40 fruit trees where it is shady.
I bet she does have arthritis, because I see swollen ankles. My vet says "nothing ever dies at your place, because our animals all live to be ancient. I notice when the hens get old, they all get swollen ankles and baggy eyelids. They get less spry and can't fly up into the trees anymore, but have to roost on the ground or very low down. I had one get pasty butt from sleeping on a surface that gave her pasty butt. She got a fly strike, ugh! I cleaned her up and gave her a tiny shot of Vetrimec (ivermectin). Along with getting over the fly strike, she expelled a long worm! So there are worms here. (Would love to know a good way to protect all of these free-rangers from worms without poison).
Our soil here is lacking selenium.
I just checked her and I see she is moulting on her wings now.
The feed is MannaPro Chick Starter. "Fortified w/ vitamins and minerals for healthy growth & sound development. Medicated w/ Amprolium to aid in prevention of Coccidiosis !8% protein. B12, Folic Acid, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamine, Vit E etc.
Again, thank you for your help. As I checked her now, when I pushed the feed in front of her (it was only about 10" away) she ate ravenously. Something has happened to her vision.

 

[theuglychick]

How long ago did she start exhibiting the symptoms?

 

[theuglychick]

I treat my girls with valbazen once every 6 months to lessen the worm load.

I'm in Louisiana so parasites are a constant thing, so chemicals it is for us! But I completely understand not wanting to use them and avoiding them seems to really be working for you considering your animals living to ripe old ages!

I also mix DE into all my animals feed to shred parasites along the digestive tract. It seems to help. That's a more natural option you could try on yours. It won't get everything but it'll help if they've got anything in the gut.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @bugawk

I'm sorry to hear about your hen.

I agree with @theuglychick 9years old is impressive....even more impressive you still have one alive from a 2002 hatch - we should be getting advice from you!

I don't see any harm in the medicated chick starter if you are going to give it for a short period of time. The Manna Pro usually comes in a small bag, so once you're done with that switch to regular chick starter or a flock raiser.

I agree - with her age, it could just be "old age" that is causing most of her symptoms. Her eyesight may be failing or she may be developing some cataracts (yep, chickens get cataracts like we do). The head movement sounds possibly neurological, but if she is having trouble seeing it could be some sort of compensation - moving the head to see better(?). You can try adding extra poultry vitamins that contain Vitamin E and A to see if those make a difference. Check her over for lice/mites as suggested - a Permethrin based poultry dust or spray is good. You may want to look at her ears to make sure there's no mites, infection or discharge - this can make a chicken off balance and have funny head movement too.

Since you separated her and she is now eating (She can easily get to food/water)- I suspect she may have had a bit of trouble getting to or finding the food/water - this would be another reason to suspect vision problems.

I hope she starts to improve now that she is getting the food/water. Age, heat and not eating/drinking well enough may have just overwhelmed her.

Keep us posted.

 

[bugawk]

How long ago did she start exhibiting the symptoms?

Last Saturday.

 

[bugawk]

I treat my girls with valbazen once every 6 months to lessen the worm load.

I'm in Louisiana so parasites are a constant thing, so chemicals it is for us! But I completely understand not wanting to use them and avoiding them seems to really be working for you considering your animals living to ripe old ages!

I also mix DE into all my animals feed to shred parasites along the digestive tract. It seems to help. That's a more natural option you could try on yours. It won't get everything but it'll help if they've got anything in the gut.

Oh I LOVE your idea of using DE in their food! I've tried dusting them with DE for the skin bugs. How much DE do you use in the food?