Silkie with OCD head nodding trance

[Three Silkies]

Hi. My silkie hen (3.5 months old) goes into a sort of trance and lifts her head up slowly, drops it back down again and then raises it slowly again. She does this a lot. It's not like she's trying to hold her head up - she can do that fine. And she doesn't seem to be sick in any way. I'm wondering if she has some brain damage (maybe from being pecked in the head by my roo). She also sometimes stands facing the corner and will do that for ages. Has anyone else had their silkies do this?

 

[Three Silkies]

I realise that maybe I should have posted this in behaviour, but I'm worried that she might have some sort of neurological problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I'd give her some vitamins, like they do for wry neck just to see if it helped if it were my hen.

You can do a google search for "backyardchickens.com poly vi sol without iron," as an example. Vit E and selenium too but don't overdose on vitamins. Browneggblueegg.com has an articles section, with a "crookneck" article that gives dosages.

Also feed stores sell poultry vits here- don't know about Australia.

I have had silkies before and they never did that.

 

[Three Silkies]

Thank you. I'll give that a try.

 

[deidreschultz]

I have a silkie that would just randomly bobble his head when he was a chic (he's close to a yr old now). I thought it was a neuro thing too, and really had prepared myself that he would probably die. He just stopped doing it, and is totally fine now. Matter of fact he is a tiny little thing but stands up to my very large light brahma roo. Good luck hope its nothing serious.

 

[Three Silkies]

Thanks Deirdre. My silkie stands up to my roo too. I bought three "hens", but one turned out to be a roo. I thought my bobble head hen was going to be a roo too because she was always chest bumping with the roo, but so far so good. Some people on the silkies thread have suggested she might just need the feathers trimmed around her eyes.

 

[drumstick diva]

who knows with silkies? Please don't hurt me BUT, silkies are the blondes of the chicken world. Who knows what normal is for them?

I'm just kidding but, my friend has had many silkies over the years and most of them had"something." One walked backwards and did break dancing then for comic relief get very hot and have seizures. She thought he was gonna die any day but, somehow he is still around much healthier and several years old. Some have been"star gazers", others with heads that drooped to the floor. Her early birds were very much feed stores refugees and did NOThave the suspect vaulted skulls.

She has sermas also and none of those problems(knock on wood).

 

[Three Silkies]

That's a relief! I'm a big hip hop fan, so I'd be rapt if my hens started breakdancing (not with seizures though). Silkies really ARE strange characters, which is why I'm so in love with them, but their weird behaviour is taking a toll on my stress levels! I love them so much. It's hard not to worry. I should probably just accept that they are a bunch of freaks! ;-)