Anxious Chicken

[SFalpaca]

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;-)

Tried the chamomile - didn't help. Then life happened (car issues, work issues, someone in the hospital), then talked to someone with an unoffical bird santucuary. I thought they might have ideas. They said chomomile and cat nip would probably be too weak. They suggested valerin. So been doing that - but not regular enough yet (remember that life happening bit). Even so, I think we are seeing improvement. Like the other day he almost went outside. He had one foot out then ran back inside. I've never seen him do that before.

Even mircro steps forward is still moving forward.

 

[SFalpaca]

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?

Yes, I've already thought about that. No breeding for Opal.

 

[CombNWattles]

Silkies can be prone to head injuries; could he have taken a knock when he was jumping around as a chick?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Silkies can be prone to head injuries; could he have taken a knock when he was jumping around as a chick?

Only the Vaulted Skulled type are more prone. None Vaulted Skulled silkies are less likely to get a brain injury.

Not sure of the kind they have, as I haven't seen a picture.

 

[SFalpaca]

Silkies can be prone to head injuries; could he have taken a knock when he was jumping around as a chick?

I didn't wrap him in bubble wrap, so yeah, he could have. After everyone was eating food, he was on a nice soft base, and we never noticed anything, but it's possible.

 

[SFalpaca]

Only the Vaulted Skulled type are more prone. None Vaulted Skulled silkies are less likely to get a brain injury.

Not sure of the kind they have, as I haven't seen a picture.

I'm not sure the kind we have. I didn't know there was a difference. I thought all of them had softer skulls so you had to be more careful. So we were/are.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I'm not sure the kind we have. I didn't know there was a difference. I thought all of them had softer skulls so you had to be more careful. So we were/are.

Nope, not all have fragile skulls.

 

[Pukkits]

We have a barred rock hen that we are pretty sure has some sort of anxiety. Possibly unrelated, she had some sort of bird seizure as we left the feed store parking lot. On her back, beak open, tongue out in what looked like a dramatic stage death. We were turning around to return the unwell chick that couldn't survive out of the parking lot when she popped back up like nothing happened. We chose not to return her, as she would likely have been culled. In early adulthood her pecking seemed a bit inaccurate, but is now accurate.

Our mixed flock had some bullying issues, and the barred rock responded with near constant "braaaaaaaaaaaaw" sounds. Which probably got her bullied more, because "omg shut up, Becky!". After multiple attempts to mitigate bullying, we rehomed our bullies after they tried to kill another submissive bird. And now, Becky only "braaaaaaaaaaaaw"s if she sees something concerning. She still talks a lot, mostly to ask for treats, just not anxiously.

My suggestion, for what it's worth. Get a game cam. Chickens act very differently when we are there. We borrowed a game cam and we saw just how much bullying was actually happening. Your bird might just be an anxious dude, but at least you'll know for sure he's not being bullied.

 

[SFalpaca]

We have a barred rock hen that we are pretty sure has some sort of anxiety. Possibly unrelated, she had some sort of bird seizure as we left the feed store parking lot. On her back, beak open, tongue out in what looked like a dramatic stage death. We were turning around to return the unwell chick that couldn't survive out of the parking lot when she popped back up like nothing happened. We chose not to return her, as she would likely have been culled. In early adulthood her pecking seemed a bit inaccurate, but is now accurate.

Our mixed flock had some bullying issues, and the barred rock responded with near constant "braaaaaaaaaaaaw" sounds. Which probably got her bullied more, because "omg shut up, Becky!". After multiple attempts to mitigate bullying, we rehomed our bullies after they tried to kill another submissive bird. And now, Becky only "braaaaaaaaaaaaw"s if she sees something concerning. She still talks a lot, mostly to ask for treats, just not anxiously.

My suggestion, for what it's worth. Get a game cam. Chickens act very differently when we are there. We borrowed a game cam and we saw just how much bullying was actually happening. Your bird might just be an anxious dude, but at least you'll know for sure he's not being bullied.

good idea on the game cam. We started using one last summer. I foget why we started, but chicken tv is part of our daily lives. We have one in the run and one in the coop. I can see 95% of the areas and they have sound. I've haven't witness him bullying or being bullyed. Last year he was a lot rougher with everyone. But since hitting a 1yr, it's slowly getting better with the other chickens. I hoping he'll mature out of it or maybe learn from the others - even if he's slow.