Why is my hen shaking her head

[Zoom Zoom]

Last week I noticed my one year old BO, Annie, occasionally shaking her head - I don't know how else to describe it. The head shaking is getting worse. I have checked her over and found nothing wrong. Her comb is lighter than it was, she sits a lot and is first to the roost at night. She is eating, drinking, scratching, dust bathing, doing all the things chickens do. She joins in the fun when I bring treats out. I don't know if she is laying or not. I have six hens and almost always get five eggs; once in a while I will get six. I've tried to catch them on the nest to see who is laying but not having much luck. They all come running when they hear the gate open. I made a video this afternoon but haven't yet figured out how to attach a video. I'm asked to enter a URL??? I made the video with my phone and tried to attach it using the internet on the phone but that didn't work either. Very frustrating. I realize it's almost impossible to try to diagnose without the video but I'm hoping someone will have an idea and I'll send the video if I ever get it figured out. Thanks so much.

 

[dawg53]

Get a q-tip and remove some of the cotton from the top of the q-tip in order for it to fit inside the ear/ear canal, do not remove all the cotton from the tip. Then snugly wrap your hen in a towel and lay her down on one side on a table, her head should be the only part of her body that is exposed. You'll need to tie her lower legs together (close to her feet.)...I use a shoestring, and tie it like tying your shoe, not too tight. Make sure you have good lighting to see what you're doing. Pull back the ear flap on the side of her head. Slowly and gently insert the q-tip into the ear canal. DO NOT go in deep. Very gently swab the ear canal, then slowly withdraw the q-tip. Flip her over and swab the other ear following the same precedures I mentioned, use the other end of the q-tip or a new one...doesnt matter.
Then take a look at the cotton on the q-tip: If you see what appears to be dirt or wax, like human ear wax or sort of red in color or black/red dots...it's mites/with feces.
If you see yellowish/white gunk, it's a bacterial infection. If it's yellow/green gunk, probably a fungal issue.
If it's ear mites; use an eyedropper with vegetable oil in it and put a few drops in the ears. The oil will smother the mites.
For a bacterial infection; use an eyedropperful of hydrogen peroxide and put a few drops in the ear. It will bubble up, then after about 30 seconds use a clean q-tip to slowly and gently swab the ear clean and dry. Then use neosporin ointment, gently inserting the tip of the tube into the entrance of the ear canal and gently and slowly squeezing the ointment into the ear... then you're done. Do not overfill the ear. Flip her over and do the same thing to the other ear.
If you see yellow/green or just yellow on the q-tip, it's possibly fungus; dampen the q-tip with warm water, slowly and gently swab the ear clean. Then apply lotrimin ointment or monistat 7 (miconazole) cream into the ear as best as you can.
These steps might need to be repeated several months or longer down the road.

 

[Zoom Zoom]

This situation went from bad to worse. We got rid of the ear mites but Annie started having watery poops - clear to yellow, nothing solid at all. I treated all of the hens with Corid for five days but that didn't help. She was still violently shaking her head, was eating and drinking but her weight went from 6.4 lbs to 2.8 lbs.She was terribly dehydrated,from the diarrhea I'm sure, and very weak. I ended up taking her out-of-town to an avian vet who kept her for three days. I'm kicking myself for not asking for an itemized statement so I would know what all was done - that was just stupid. She had x-rays, blood work, and more blood work.The vet even sent copies of all the labs and x-rays to a colleague in California who couldn't diagnose anything specific either. The only things that are abnormal are slightly low liver enzymes and low bacteria count. I brought her home yesterday and have her inside so I can keep an eye on her and make sure she eats her mash that has antibiotic sprinkled on top - Enrofloxacin. We are waiting for reports from several other labs done Thursday. She is bright, active, loves the special feed and drinks up a storm; she has put on 1.2 lbs and talks constantly. Her droppings are still a bit watery but much, much better. This is all a great mystery that I hope is solved soon so she can go back with her sisters and do normal chicken things again. If anyone has had a similar situation I would be interested to hear the outcome. I will post our final outcome in case someone else runs up against this seemingly impossible situation. Here's keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Free Feather]

What kind of antibiotics can chickens take?

 

[dawg53]

As I mentioned in my update post - I did use the q-tip but it came out clean. I wanted the vet to take a look in case I missed something which I obviously did because he saw the mites. I don't understand why the q-tip came out clean. I did exactly what you said and am sure I went deep enough - actually too deep because she flinched and tried to pull away. She is doing much better now thank goodness.

It looks like the vet missed them too on the first inspection, it happens sometimes. Good luck!

 

[ladyearth]

Zoom Zoom I would still call and ask for an itemized statement and what was all done....

Just a saying..

 

[Free Feather]

I do not know if it would fit, because I read about it a while ago, but perhaps you should look into gape worm.

 

[Zoom Zoom]

Thanks. I'll look into it.

 

[Zoom Zoom]

Reading up on gape worm I should mention she does not sound like she has respiratory problems. No wheezing, sneezing. Everything seems normal except for the head shaking and sitting a lot.

 

[dawg53]

It's not gapeworm and it doesnt sound like a respiratory disease. Check for external parasites around the head/neck area. Ear mites are also a possibility. There might be something stuck in her esophagus or perhaps it's just her way of adjusting her crop or gizzard which would be normal.