Chicken Anxiety & Fainting

[akidleativy2]

Can anyone tell me why this is happening? I have a young Polish cross hen (just under a year old) that is suddenly showing major signs of anxiety. When I open up the coop in the morning, all of the other birds come running out into the yard, while this one bird begins to scream uncontrollably and flying into the walls of the coop until she knocks herself out or just faints. She comes to in about 20 seconds and then runs out of the coop. Yesterday,she slammed into the walls so hard that her head was bleeding. Has anyone ever heard of this and is there a cure?

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under akidleativy2

Welcome!

Wow, no, I have never heard of anything like that. The only thing I can think of is that she is possibly developing sight issues? Could her crest feathers have grown enough to impair her vision? What time do you open up the coop; is it not quite full daylight? If she is developing sight issues, she may be having trouble seeing you and you are scary to her.

You could also try posting on the ER Forum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC. I hope that the ER people can help out.

Good luck
CT

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas and

! Happy you joined our flock! Hope your chicken is okay! Thanks for joining BYC!

 

[N F C]

That behavior would be disturbing, I hope the ER members (or someone over on the Polish thread) can help you figure out what's going on before she seriously hurts herself. This is one Polish thread (there seem to be several):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/355316/polish-thread

Best of luck to you!

 

[mymilliefleur]

Glad you joined us!

Wow, I haven't heard of this sort of behavior before. Have her feathers grown over her eyes? My best guess would be that she can't see and is freaking out when she hears the other birds run out of the coop. I hope you can figure out whats going on before she injures herself seriously.

 

[drumstick diva]

You can cut back her crest so she is able to see. Maybe then you will also notice some problem with her eyes. If this doesn't help calm her, I would think she has brain damage and cannot help herself.