3 month old chicken isolating itself, poor peck aim, and uncontrolled turning of the head.

[jmezzo]

I have a Lavender Amauricana that is about 3 months old. Recently, she started isolating herself from the rest of the flock. We bought live crickets as a treat for them. She just pecked towards them even when they were held in a hand without coming near enough to strike the cricket. Then, I caught her trying to sleep under the coop on the ground. That is when we brought her into the house.

She started spending most of her time just standing there with her eyes half open. Now, her head slowly turns to the right. She will quickly turn her head to the left but it slowly turns back to the right. I am clueless on how to find out what is wrong with her. Thus, I am asking here. She has slowed down food consumption.

The other chickens outweigh her considerable so I thought she might be a bantham. They were about the same age when we bought them. I only mention this because this might be something more. Her feather development is also behind. She still has fuzz on her head. Any help is appreciated. Thank you for your time.

I live in Colorado. It is more arid here than other areas. So mold is not a major problem here. Can't think of anything else that might have a factor in her health issues.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/wry-neck-causes-treatment-and-prevention.67732/

 

[rebrascora]

The symptoms you are describing are most likely caused by Marek's disease which typically affects juvenile birds. Unfortunately there is no cure or recognised treatment. A vitamin supplement will sometimes support the immune system to fight an outbreak of the disease, but the bird will always be a carrier and prone to further outbreaks at times of stress. She may make an apparent sudden full recovery or she may make a limited recovery over a period of weeks or even months or she may deteriorate and die. She will be shedding the virus whilst she is symptomatic but if you got her with others then the likelihood is that they were all exposed to the virus at least 3 weeks ago as it has an initial dormant phase of that minimum 21 day period but can be significantly longer. If she recovers from an outbreak, the virus goes back into dormancy in a similar way to cold sores in people and will resurface at times of stress. Supporting the immune and digestive system with vitamins and probiotics is the best that you can do in my opinion. Whether you isolate her or not is a personal decision. Isolating them prevents further infected material building up in your flock's environment and potentially infecting more birds. Isolating Marek's birds can cause them to become depressed and give up fighting the disease or the stress of reintegration if they do recover has the potential to trigger another outbreak. I find putting them out in a large cage on grass near the others and bringing them in at night, a good compromise. Grass has some healing properties for many animals and almost certainly contains beneficial trace nutrients.
Birds with Marek's often fail to thrive and tend to suffer muscle wastage once they develop the visceral tumours that tend to be the final stage of the disease. In my experience with Marek's the smaller runtish chicks are often harbouring the disease and their failure to thrive is due to the disease having compromised their immune system.

Of course it may not be Marek's but something else causing the Wry Neck you are seeing, but the vitamin supplements and probiotics or fermented feed can only benefit the bird. Bear in mind that Marek's is probably one of the top 2 or 3 illnesses that kill young birds. It is extremely common and widespread but because the symptoms are so varied and inconsistent and similar to other ailments, it often gets misdiagnosed and many people never get a necropsy done when a chicken dies to establish the real cause of death. The disease is so prevalent in poultry that you might be considered more lucky not to have it in your flock than unlucky to get it. Many people will have it in their flock and never know. Getting a necropsy done if you lose the bird is a good idea so that you know what you are dealing with and how to manage it.

PS. If you research Marek's Disease try not to panic too much about the stuff you read. My experience of it is that it is not half as bad, although still heart breaking when you lose a bird to it, but I have had several birds make some pretty miraculous recoveries from outbreaks.

 

[jmezzo]

My daughter just noticed that one of the chicken's eyes is now crusted over. Does this tie into it possibly being Mareks or possibly something else? I am trying to research things as fast as possible, but I am always in a constant state of busy.

The chicken is back on chick starter feed because it is medicated. I had her on the feed between the starter feed and layers feed. I can't remember the name so I don't want to mislead with an incorrect name. We supplement their diet with fruits, vegetables, and the occasional insect. She had access to the ground which has various types of grit.

One other thing of interest that may help: We have a water bowl in the coop and a chicken with a crooked beak which likes to make a mess. I had to sweep out wet bird feed because chickens are slobs. I just recently releveled the coop so water will drain out instead of sitting in the corner with the feed. Thinking mold might be a factor since the eye development.