7 wefk old hen doing somersaults/spasms

[AnnieBurt]

We have a flock of 7 chickens that are now 7 weeks old. Our Dominique started some erratic behavior 3 days ago. She seems to be having some type of spasm or fit, her head curls right down to her chest and to the extreme where she flips over, these episodes last about 5 secs. She flips over and then appears fairly normal although her head is not held high and she seems a little off balance at times. This behavior has been happening for on and off and we have isolated her just in case it's something contagious. Does anyone have any idea what may be wrong with her and what we should do. I've been giving her pedialyte and poly vi sol in case it's a dietary problem.
Thanks!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://www.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/Nutrient_deficiencies.html
scroll down to vit e

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/218/vitamin-e-deficiency

Could it be Vit E deficiency?

I don't know but just wanted to give you these links.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/406165/rollover-syndrome-or-my-chicks-are-turning-somersaults
a similar thread I think

You might want to search BYC for somersaults too until someone else responds.

I hope this helps.

 

[Slike]

I won't rule out everything else, but from the information you've provided this sounds like vitamin E deficiency. I've had several breeds of chick, all hatched the same day, eating the same stuff and sometimes there will be one that just doesn't metabolize a certain vitamin as well as the others. This happened with one of my baby emus, and more recently a young silkie. Steamed and/or well-chopped collard greens have always done the trick for me in the past with E deficiency, and it would be of good preventative value to let the other chickens join in on eating them as well. Let them (at least the one in question) have access to as much of it as they'll eat. Correct this through diet if at all possible rather than throwing powdered supplements at the issue. The impact will be greater. And if it is, in fact, an E deficiency, time is of the essence - especially with young, growing birds.