any advice?

[champaign]

hi. this is my second year to chickens (they really are addictive) ive been planning to get a new rural house for a few years now, and when I do, I will have a rooster to expend my flock, but for now I get new flock members from the feed store. one of my 3 week old chicks is having issues. it will shove its head deep under its belly and "scratch" itself like when they are adjusting a feather. it will back up in an effort to reach deeper until it hits a wall or staggers over. sometimes it sleeps with its head buried. food intake and droppings seem normal enough but ive isolated it from the other chicks just to be safe. the others haven't shown any of these symptoms yet and id like to keep it that way. none of my research will answer what this is. the closest is an E/selenium deficiency. this is almost like a seizure. anyone see this before?

 

[TwoCrows]

I have always found that chicks that have vitamin deficiencies can develop strange behaviors and neurological issues. And the vitamins B, E and Selenium seem to help these types of chicks. So all I can advise is that you add a good vitamin/mineral mix to the water. Could be some deficiency of a mineral as well causing this behavior. I have had really good luck curing neurological problems by adding vitamins and minerals.

Good luck with your baby. Great to have you aboard and enjoy BYC!

 

[champaign]

thank you TwoCrows

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with the chick! Hope it recovers, X2 on TwoCrows suggestion of adding a vitamin/mineral suppliment, the human liquid vitamin Poly-Vi-Sol (without iron) is used by a lot of people on their sick chicks 1-2 drops 2-3 times daily.

 

[gander007]

 

[champaign]

ok. the 3 blond chicks and 1 red chick have remained healthy. the white chick became lethargic and reduced his food intake for a while. he kept drinking regularly though, so when I looked up E/selenium sources, I found sunflower seeds, fish oil, and asparagus on the top ten lists and since they were already in my pantry, I cut open a fish oil pill into his water, tossed a handful of seeds and shredded 'spergus heads in his cage and waited. gradually his appetite has returned and more gradually the seizures have decreased. however im beginning to think by his rapid size increase and lack of butt feathers it might be a cornish cross. (sigh) save it only to slaughter it in a month or so? yeah, that sounds about par for the course.

 

[drumstick diva]

even so, now you know what to do if the situation ever occurs again. Thanks to you, those of us reading your post have learned something also.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC - good update on the chick. Hope it is not a Cornish X.