1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) Bantam Easter Egger, 2 wks. old, don't know weight - but chick is same size and looks like same weight as others.
2) What is the behavior, exactly. Shakes head repeatedly, stops and then starts it over again.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? I noticed it about a wk. ago, but it wasn't excessive then...the other chicks shake their heads every now and then and so did my last shipment of chicks, so I didn't think anything about it. In the last 3 days though, I've noticed the head shaking has become more frequent...like I already mentioned, she'll shake her head, stop, then do it all over again - this is repeatedly (sometimes even when laying down, but not when sleeping). The batch of chicks in with this chick, and this chick itself, have not come into contact with my last shipment of chicks, though they are now in the same room, but are in different brooders.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? No...they shake their heads every now and then, will scratch their heads, then will fluff up their feathers and shake their whole bodies and preen themselves...all like normal preening behavior, they also shake their heads if I talk close to them - which I heard is normal, but they don't shake their heads anywhere near as often as this chick does.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No, but when we first got the shipment with this chick in it, we didn't think she was going to make it. She was weak, kept flopping over, wobbly, and would lay down and would flop her head to over to her back. We gave her Sav-A-Chick which didn't seem to be working at first, so I bumped it up with molasses. That seemed to do the trick because she started recovering and by the next day was eating, drinking and running around the brooder like a normal, happy, healthy chick. We don't know what caused all of this, whether it was shipping stress or the heat, or both.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. The only thing we can think of is what I already explained in question 5.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Eating MannaPro Medicated Chick Starter, drinking water with Sav-A-Chick in it.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. All poops I've seen in the brooder look normal.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? Just Sav-A-Chick.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? Just trying to figure out what this is and then will decide where to go from there as far as treatment.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. N/A
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use Housing is a rabbit/guinea pig cage - plastic on bottom, wire on top...heat lamp (red bulb) over brooder, brooder at 95 degrees F...bedding is pine shavings.
Chick seems fine in all other aspects. Is bright eyed, eating and drinking well, active, interacts fine with broodmates. It doesn't seem to have any vision problems...pecked off a small piece of food off broodmate's beak, was chasing around another chick with a piece of shavings in it's beak (don't know why, but the one chick seemed to enjoy playing keep away with the piece of shaving, lol...don't worry, it didn't ingest it). Eyes and nostrils are clear, no sounds with breathing. Seems like a perfectly healthy little chick other than the repeated head shaking.
I'm wondering if maybe the bout the poor little thing went through when we first got her in our shipment may have something to do with it. Like maybe the bout caused some kinda of neurological damage? What do you guys think?
2) What is the behavior, exactly. Shakes head repeatedly, stops and then starts it over again.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? I noticed it about a wk. ago, but it wasn't excessive then...the other chicks shake their heads every now and then and so did my last shipment of chicks, so I didn't think anything about it. In the last 3 days though, I've noticed the head shaking has become more frequent...like I already mentioned, she'll shake her head, stop, then do it all over again - this is repeatedly (sometimes even when laying down, but not when sleeping). The batch of chicks in with this chick, and this chick itself, have not come into contact with my last shipment of chicks, though they are now in the same room, but are in different brooders.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? No...they shake their heads every now and then, will scratch their heads, then will fluff up their feathers and shake their whole bodies and preen themselves...all like normal preening behavior, they also shake their heads if I talk close to them - which I heard is normal, but they don't shake their heads anywhere near as often as this chick does.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No, but when we first got the shipment with this chick in it, we didn't think she was going to make it. She was weak, kept flopping over, wobbly, and would lay down and would flop her head to over to her back. We gave her Sav-A-Chick which didn't seem to be working at first, so I bumped it up with molasses. That seemed to do the trick because she started recovering and by the next day was eating, drinking and running around the brooder like a normal, happy, healthy chick. We don't know what caused all of this, whether it was shipping stress or the heat, or both.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. The only thing we can think of is what I already explained in question 5.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Eating MannaPro Medicated Chick Starter, drinking water with Sav-A-Chick in it.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. All poops I've seen in the brooder look normal.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? Just Sav-A-Chick.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? Just trying to figure out what this is and then will decide where to go from there as far as treatment.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. N/A
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use Housing is a rabbit/guinea pig cage - plastic on bottom, wire on top...heat lamp (red bulb) over brooder, brooder at 95 degrees F...bedding is pine shavings.
Chick seems fine in all other aspects. Is bright eyed, eating and drinking well, active, interacts fine with broodmates. It doesn't seem to have any vision problems...pecked off a small piece of food off broodmate's beak, was chasing around another chick with a piece of shavings in it's beak (don't know why, but the one chick seemed to enjoy playing keep away with the piece of shaving, lol...don't worry, it didn't ingest it). Eyes and nostrils are clear, no sounds with breathing. Seems like a perfectly healthy little chick other than the repeated head shaking.
I'm wondering if maybe the bout the poor little thing went through when we first got her in our shipment may have something to do with it. Like maybe the bout caused some kinda of neurological damage? What do you guys think?
