WannabeHomsteader
In the Brooder
- Jun 8, 2025
- 7
- 18
- 21
Hey everyone,
I have a 6wk bantam (I'm unsure of sex - leaning toward cockerel) that has some pretty severe neurological symptoms. Main symptom is lack of control of the neck/head. He ducks his head dramatically up and down, in circles, in a slow-motion way (think like slow-motion pecking almost, but way down to his chest feathers). He struggles with controlling his legs to walk, but he can walk. He stands still in the corner, hunched up, tail down, ruffled feathers, eyes closed. Very obvious that he feels bad. It seems like his symptoms (esp. head ducking) get worse upon attempting to move or having too much stimulus (like when I pick him up). He is not eating anything, not even scrambled egg. I am giving 1 ml Poultry Cell daily as a drench, and he's been independently drinking water w/ an electrolyte mix in it. I will try to post pictures of him, but I don't know that a static photo would be helpful. He just stands there mostly, and frankly I hate to disturb him.
Other notes:
- All my bantams (including him) just finished up on Corid treatment a week ago. I suspected a vitamin deficiency was causing his coordination issues, so I started putting a top-dress multivitamin in their feed. His symptoms started mildly about a week ago (minor head bobs, but still active), but have progressed rapidly in the last 2 days. I started Poultry Cell treatment yesterday.
- Poop is dark green today (likely due to not eating)
- He's got enough energy to complain at me when I take my other sick bird out of the cage to treat her (she has a pecking injury). They are very fond of each other, quite snuggly. The other bantams are in a separate area.
- All my bantams were just moved out of poor brooding conditions yesterday (I'm new to chick raising - I have been struggling greatly with keeping litter clean and dry, but their new setup I rigged yesterday is MUCH better). I am concerned that this is a mycotoxin issue for him, not a vitamin deficiency.
- No other broodmates have similar symptoms, although I am watching closely.
- From what I can gather online, it doesn't look like Marek's to me. He has spasms/involuntary movement, not paralysis. It also doesn't look quite as "twitchy" as stargazing, but maybe could be a similar problem.
Anyone have any ideas? If it's a vitamin deficiency, how long do I continue the Poultry Cell, and when might I expect improvement?
I have a 6wk bantam (I'm unsure of sex - leaning toward cockerel) that has some pretty severe neurological symptoms. Main symptom is lack of control of the neck/head. He ducks his head dramatically up and down, in circles, in a slow-motion way (think like slow-motion pecking almost, but way down to his chest feathers). He struggles with controlling his legs to walk, but he can walk. He stands still in the corner, hunched up, tail down, ruffled feathers, eyes closed. Very obvious that he feels bad. It seems like his symptoms (esp. head ducking) get worse upon attempting to move or having too much stimulus (like when I pick him up). He is not eating anything, not even scrambled egg. I am giving 1 ml Poultry Cell daily as a drench, and he's been independently drinking water w/ an electrolyte mix in it. I will try to post pictures of him, but I don't know that a static photo would be helpful. He just stands there mostly, and frankly I hate to disturb him.
Other notes:
- All my bantams (including him) just finished up on Corid treatment a week ago. I suspected a vitamin deficiency was causing his coordination issues, so I started putting a top-dress multivitamin in their feed. His symptoms started mildly about a week ago (minor head bobs, but still active), but have progressed rapidly in the last 2 days. I started Poultry Cell treatment yesterday.
- Poop is dark green today (likely due to not eating)
- He's got enough energy to complain at me when I take my other sick bird out of the cage to treat her (she has a pecking injury). They are very fond of each other, quite snuggly. The other bantams are in a separate area.
- All my bantams were just moved out of poor brooding conditions yesterday (I'm new to chick raising - I have been struggling greatly with keeping litter clean and dry, but their new setup I rigged yesterday is MUCH better). I am concerned that this is a mycotoxin issue for him, not a vitamin deficiency.
- No other broodmates have similar symptoms, although I am watching closely.
- From what I can gather online, it doesn't look like Marek's to me. He has spasms/involuntary movement, not paralysis. It also doesn't look quite as "twitchy" as stargazing, but maybe could be a similar problem.
Anyone have any ideas? If it's a vitamin deficiency, how long do I continue the Poultry Cell, and when might I expect improvement?
