I know hardly a thing about chicken keeping as a newbie, so my advice should be taken with that in mind. I can only make a suggestion based on my experiences with my first birds. Who are now 7 weeks old today. I hope anything I share can be helpful.
I have a chick that had what I believe may have been an ear infection. I treated with antibiotics and the issue was resolved. I suspect my bird's ear issue was a secondary problem caused by a severe case of wry neck (symptoms started when they were 2 weeks old) resulting in her not being able to eat/drink properly, maybe allowing water into ear canal. I still have no confirmation that it was in fact an ear infection. I went with my gut instinct. I used the antibiotics only because I was in a desperate situation trying to treat the wry neck, as it was quite a severe case and was instructed by my husband that we would not be seeking vet attention for a baby chick. A third bird currently is doing that twitching a bit, and I notice her ears are sticking out a little, but are otherwise normal looking. I have been cleaning them every so often with a tiny bit of warm peroxide and water on a qtip and watching for signs of more swelling, etc.
SO if your bird does not have an ear infection, it could maybe be mites? But I think that mites would only be an issue if they have been outdoors or exposed to something that would be carrying them(other animals or chickens) I would definitely do a search about ear infection symptoms for chickens and see if you find anything that relates to what you are working with. The problem with treating with antibiotics is they only work for a bacterial infection and not anything viral. There is no way of knowing these differences without a vet confirming for you. I used them as a last resort with the understanding that I was taking a huge risk with them developing immunity to the meds later on, if and when I needed to administer them again. I wouldn't worry too much if normal activity for the bird isn't disrupted. Try getting a close look at the ears, see if they look like they're swollen in any way. It helps if you can compare them to what other chicks ears look like who are not having the twitch. That was how I figured out something was amiss concerning the ears. Is the bird scratching at the ears at all in addition to this twitching? does there appear to be any swelling around the ears, like the side of the face or the head? Does it only happen when the bird is starting to drift off to sleep, or does it happen any other time?
I have a chick that had what I believe may have been an ear infection. I treated with antibiotics and the issue was resolved. I suspect my bird's ear issue was a secondary problem caused by a severe case of wry neck (symptoms started when they were 2 weeks old) resulting in her not being able to eat/drink properly, maybe allowing water into ear canal. I still have no confirmation that it was in fact an ear infection. I went with my gut instinct. I used the antibiotics only because I was in a desperate situation trying to treat the wry neck, as it was quite a severe case and was instructed by my husband that we would not be seeking vet attention for a baby chick. A third bird currently is doing that twitching a bit, and I notice her ears are sticking out a little, but are otherwise normal looking. I have been cleaning them every so often with a tiny bit of warm peroxide and water on a qtip and watching for signs of more swelling, etc.
SO if your bird does not have an ear infection, it could maybe be mites? But I think that mites would only be an issue if they have been outdoors or exposed to something that would be carrying them(other animals or chickens) I would definitely do a search about ear infection symptoms for chickens and see if you find anything that relates to what you are working with. The problem with treating with antibiotics is they only work for a bacterial infection and not anything viral. There is no way of knowing these differences without a vet confirming for you. I used them as a last resort with the understanding that I was taking a huge risk with them developing immunity to the meds later on, if and when I needed to administer them again. I wouldn't worry too much if normal activity for the bird isn't disrupted. Try getting a close look at the ears, see if they look like they're swollen in any way. It helps if you can compare them to what other chicks ears look like who are not having the twitch. That was how I figured out something was amiss concerning the ears. Is the bird scratching at the ears at all in addition to this twitching? does there appear to be any swelling around the ears, like the side of the face or the head? Does it only happen when the bird is starting to drift off to sleep, or does it happen any other time?
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