Anxious Chicken

[SFalpaca]

Have you tried CBD drops for chickens? I've not tried it for our girls, but I am curious, as CBD works for me as well. Hope this helps.

https://poultrydvm.com/supplement/cannabidiol

No I haven't. I'll add that to my list to research. Thank you.

 

[SFalpaca]

Newbie here. I play Calming Chicken Music on YouTube for mine and they purr.

Thank you

 

[SFalpaca]

And sorry I got on late These things are so much easier in person when I don't have to spend the time just getting the run-down.

Lets see: Nervous or anxiety

• Fear, confusion, survival instinct.
• Boredom or lack of mental stimulation
• Illness or discomfort
• Unique individual behavior
• Training and rehabilitation are possible if patient and knowledgeable.

My first guess would be probably a learned/experience behavior.

1. What has he been his constant all this time (hen mates, your dog, the coop, etc.)
2. Why is he afraid? What is there? What has he been exposed to?
3. Why doesn't his flock react the same? Is it a personality thing or a personal experience thing?
4. Any past *traumatic experience (like the time the dog jumped into the brooder, etc.)

Maybe these questions can help you narrow the margin, as curiosity is our best tool in this case, keep the questions coming;-) Perhaps (if you can find the trigger assuming there is one) you might use counterconditioning or desensitization to curb the nervousness.

Will try to find time to check this thread during work if providence allows


take care
_twilia;-)

 

[SFalpaca]

1. I'm not sure I understand the question, but I'll try. He's never been away from his "sibs". We brought home 12 chicks, they've been together since Day 1. No dog. Do have cats - they ignore the chicks when they are in the house. Well, one would sometimes lay near their habitat and purr at them. But once they went out to the barn, no cats. After they moved to the barn, they had a long term getting to know the rest of the flock, before intergrating. Since intergration he's been with the other 25 birds. We do have a llama and 6 alpacas - who mostly ignore the birds completely. We have 1 alpaca who was a rescue we took in last fall, who watches them in horrified fascination. This started Day 1 or Day 2, and there was no tramatic events.

2. I have no clue why he's afraid. I've never seen him bullied. I've seen common chicken behavior - so hierachry stuff. But nothing I would call extremely or even a lot. Like one other chicken giving him a hard time. So I'm mystified.

3. The rest of the flock do not act this way - either the other Silkie's or non-Silkie's. In fact, in 17 years and a bunch of chickens, no one has acted this way.

4. The only tramatic thing I can think of is when they were about 3 weeks old the power went out at night. And they were plunge into darkness for about 5 min's until the generator came out. But all 12 of them experienced that. And the others are fine.

I know these questions are for me, but maybe you'll see something I do not.

 

[SFalpaca]

Cognitive behavioral therapy emphasize what is going on in the person’s current life, rather than what has led up to their difficulties. A certain amount of information about one’s history is needed, but the focus is primarily on moving forward in time to develop more effective ways of coping with life. -Source: APA Div. 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology)

CBT is based on the idea that how we think (cognition), how we feel (emotion) and how we act (behavior) all interact together. Specifically, our thoughts determine our feelings and our behavior. Therefore, negative and unrealistic thoughts can cause us distress and result in problems. When a person suffers from psychological distress, how they interpret situations becomes skewed, which, in turn, has a negative impact on the actions they take.

Try looking into this; it is usually based on the client/therapist working together, but perhaps it can apply in some aspect to this darling roo.

I worked late today, but of course I would not be able sleep well without trying to dig up some ideas for you and yours... an annoying thing of mine is I have to try and help people even if I don't necessarily like them (not in this case, just saying). D*mn it, it can be irritating at times.

_twilia;-)

I'm familiar with the concept of CBT. No clue how I would apply that to a chicken. I'll add it to my research list.

 

[Twilia]

[Most veterinarians and animal psychologists agree that animals are capable of having mental disorders, say, some with OCD responding well to treatment with anti-compulsive medication]. Animals are prone to mental illness after being mistreated (not relevant) or when they’re unable to get what they seek or need. ​

1. Stress ​
2. overexcitement​
3. boredom​

These can take the form of many things, like bullying, predator arousal, lack of stimulus or lack of natural behaviors to name a few. This will cause captive birds to exhibit signs of depression or anxiety. Chickens can be stressed if there has been a change in environment, needs are not being met, or he is suffering from an illness or pain.

His body will cope with these by making changes both behaviorally and physiologically. ​

• Anxiety/OCD: Animals exhibiting compulsive disorders tend to be more anxious and highly strung than their more laidback counterparts. If a chicken exhibits strange, compulsive behaviors, he may have OCD. Recent research has revealed a strong link between the anxiety of living in captivity with mental disorders. An environmental component is thought to be necessary to cause one or another natural behavior to be skewed into a compulsive action. The cycle goes something like this: Stress leads to anxiety which leads participating in a repetitive behavior (the compulsion). This allows for temporary relief. But than a recurring thought or perception (the obsession) occurs, and this causes escalating anxiety. Participating in the compulsion relieves his anxiety, and so the cycle continues. It has not yet been proven that animals obsess but that doesn’t mean they don’t. Even if animals don’t obsess, that doesn’t mean they can’t have a compulsive disorder. ​

• Depression: I wasn't sure if this sounded correct, but this may help anyways. Avians can engage in depression when they ear isolated or bored, basically when their natural behaviors aren't expressed. The signs can include over-preening and feather plucking among some others. A person can help by using stimuli that appeals to their innate instincts, like chicken social behaviors; make sure it promotes their social behavior.​

take care​

_Twilia;-)

 

[SFalpaca]

[Most veterinarians and animal psychologists agree that animals are capable of having mental disorders, say, some with OCD responding well to treatment with anti-compulsive medication]. Animals are prone to mental illness after being mistreated (not relevant) or when they’re unable to get what they seek or need. ​

1. Stress ​
2. overexcitement​
3. boredom​

These can take the form of many things, like bullying, predator arousal, lack of stimulus or lack of natural behaviors to name a few. This will cause captive birds to exhibit signs of depression or anxiety. Chickens can be stressed if there has been a change in environment, needs are not being met, or he is suffering from an illness or pain.

His body will cope with these by making changes both behaviorally and physiologically. ​

• Anxiety/OCD: Animals exhibiting compulsive disorders tend to be more anxious and highly strung than their more laidback counterparts. If a chicken exhibits strange, compulsive behaviors, he may have OCD. Recent research has revealed a strong link between the anxiety of living in captivity with mental disorders. An environmental component is thought to be necessary to cause one or another natural behavior to be skewed into a compulsive action. The cycle goes something like this: Stress leads to anxiety which leads participating in a repetitive behavior (the compulsion). This allows for temporary relief. But than a recurring thought or perception (the obsession) occurs, and this causes escalating anxiety. Participating in the compulsion relieves his anxiety, and so the cycle continues. It has not yet been proven that animals obsess but that doesn’t mean they don’t. Even if animals don’t obsess, that doesn’t mean they can’t have a compulsive disorder. ​

• Depression: I wasn't sure if this sounded correct, but this may help anyways. Avians can engage in depression when they ear isolated or bored, basically when their natural behaviors aren't expressed. The signs can include over-preening and feather plucking among some others. A person can help by using stimuli that appeals to their innate instincts, like chicken social behaviors; make sure it promotes their social behavior.​

take care​

_Twilia;-)

 

[SFalpaca]

[Most veterinarians and animal psychologists agree that animals are capable of having mental disorders, say, some with OCD responding well to treatment with anti-compulsive medication]. Animals are prone to mental illness after being mistreated (not relevant) or when they’re unable to get what they seek or need. ​

1. Stress ​
2. overexcitement​
3. boredom​

These can take the form of many things, like bullying, predator arousal, lack of stimulus or lack of natural behaviors to name a few. This will cause captive birds to exhibit signs of depression or anxiety. Chickens can be stressed if there has been a change in environment, needs are not being met, or he is suffering from an illness or pain.

His body will cope with these by making changes both behaviorally and physiologically. ​

• Anxiety/OCD: Animals exhibiting compulsive disorders tend to be more anxious and highly strung than their more laidback counterparts. If a chicken exhibits strange, compulsive behaviors, he may have OCD. Recent research has revealed a strong link between the anxiety of living in captivity with mental disorders. An environmental component is thought to be necessary to cause one or another natural behavior to be skewed into a compulsive action. The cycle goes something like this: Stress leads to anxiety which leads participating in a repetitive behavior (the compulsion). This allows for temporary relief. But than a recurring thought or perception (the obsession) occurs, and this causes escalating anxiety. Participating in the compulsion relieves his anxiety, and so the cycle continues. It has not yet been proven that animals obsess but that doesn’t mean they don’t. Even if animals don’t obsess, that doesn’t mean they can’t have a compulsive disorder. ​

• Depression: I wasn't sure if this sounded correct, but this may help anyways. Avians can engage in depression when they ear isolated or bored, basically when their natural behaviors aren't expressed. The signs can include over-preening and feather plucking among some others. A person can help by using stimuli that appeals to their innate instincts, like chicken social behaviors; make sure it promotes their social behavior.​

take care​

_Twilia;-)

First, thank you for making me feel that I'm NOT nuts for thinking this.

Hmm...a change in his environment - ok, he went from the house habitat to barn enclosure to the coop (barn enclosure and coop are side by side so they can see each other and interact without touching). In the winter I open the coop to the barn so they have more space. All of these have been done with his "sibs" or all the chickens. He's never been alone (aka always with chickens). All of these changes are done gently and are positive - but if he has a "nervous disposition" maybe they aren't positive for him. The rest of the chickens love it. And I don't force him to leave the coop. I just open the door and let them come and go. But maybe it's too much pressure???

But then, his behavior started right away. It didn't start when we started increasing their space, it had been going for almost 3 months at that point.

I don't think he's ill or in pain. He is very active, and his feathers look good. His comb looks like the other silkie roos. He doesn't really have wattles because of his breed.

Now I'm not sure what to do for him.

 

[Twilia]

First, thank you for making me feel that I'm NOT nuts for thinking this.

Hmm...a change in his environment - ok, he went from the house habitat to barn enclosure to the coop (barn enclosure and coop are side by side so they can see each other and interact without touching). In the winter I open the coop to the barn so they have more space. All of these have been done with his "sibs" or all the chickens. He's never been alone (aka always with chickens). All of these changes are done gently and are positive - but if he has a "nervous disposition" maybe they aren't positive for him. The rest of the chickens love it. And I don't force him to leave the coop. I just open the door and let them come and go. But maybe it's too much pressure???

But then, his behavior started right away. It didn't start when we started increasing their space, it had been going for almost 3 months at that point.

I don't think he's ill or in pain. He is very active, and his feathers look good. His comb looks like the other silkie roos. He doesn't really have wattles because of his breed.

Now I'm not sure what to do for him.

Eh, I have been inactive here for a bit and may not actually be able to respond
how are things looking for him @SFalpaca?

_Twilia;-)

 

[Mother of Chaos]

First, thank you for making me feel that I'm NOT nuts for thinking this.

Hmm...a change in his environment - ok, he went from the house habitat to barn enclosure to the coop (barn enclosure and coop are side by side so they can see each other and interact without touching). In the winter I open the coop to the barn so they have more space. All of these have been done with his "sibs" or all the chickens. He's never been alone (aka always with chickens). All of these changes are done gently and are positive - but if he has a "nervous disposition" maybe they aren't positive for him. The rest of the chickens love it. And I don't force him to leave the coop. I just open the door and let them come and go. But maybe it's too much pressure???

But then, his behavior started right away. It didn't start when we started increasing their space, it had been going for almost 3 months at that point.

I don't think he's ill or in pain. He is very active, and his feathers look good. His comb looks like the other silkie roos. He doesn't really have wattles because of his breed.

Now I'm not sure what to do for him.

One comment that I’m a bit hesitant to make, but no one else has done so:

It’s really sounding as though he’s always been this way, and therefore it’s possibly genetic. If so, you should probably think about whether you want to breed from him, if that was your plan, even if you find a way to relieve his anxiety.

The CBD oil sounds interesting. I read a post maybe 3-4 weeks ago by someone who uses it with their chickens. Maybe a poster in the New England area?