Losing balance, head goes crazy.

[Mandakinz]

I've had a hen where I work that for the past week has been acting like she's lost her balance. Her head is very shakey and once in a while goes crazy like she can't stop moving it which causes her to fall forward and sometimes roll.. Today I found her laying on the ground with another hen picking on her, I thought she was dead. She did not open her eyes when I picked her up and she was limp. I took her and dipped her beak in water and she started to drink a bit and then woke up and drank quite a bit. She's still eating and I have now separated her from the others. I have been giving her vitamin E with selenium for the past week because I thought it might be wry neck, haven't noticed any improvements so far. I've also added acv to the water. I'll post a video of her soon so you can see exactly how she's acting. Any ideas of what it might be? If it's wry neck would I have seen any improvements by now?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Sorry about your hen, but I would also treat her with the same vitamins for possible wry neck. Her symptoms definitely sound neurological, and that can be from many reasons. Wry neck is actually a symptom, not a disease, of a head injury, vitamin deficiency, Mareks disease, avian lymphoid leukosis, and other diseases that can cause brain inflammation. Chickens can also have seizure disorders. I would probably give some regular poultry vitamins in addition to or in place of the vitamin E and selenium, since other vitamin deficiencies may also cause problems. Thiamine is a good one to give, and selenium can be found in many foods ikncluding eggs, tuna, nuts, and seeds. Poultry Nutri-drench contains multivitamins plus selenium. Most people will try treatment for a couple of weeks, but not all wry neck symptoms get better.

 

[Mandakinz]

Thanks for the information! I'll definitely add those vitamins. Another symptom is that she also stands with her head down, and wings almost touching the floor with eyes closed while standing but she perks up around any food.

Here is the video of the head shaking, it starts around 35 seconds in:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153356871581676

Its a constant thing that happens, not just when she's eating. This video was taken after I got her to wake up from being limp.