Chicken autism?

[RadEggs]

Hi very sorry if this is the wrong discussion board but is it possible for a chicken to have autism? I have a chicken that is acting strange, it wasn’t as noticeable when she was younger but now that she’s gotten to the teenage phase (looks like an adult but is not laying eggs yet) I have noticed strange behaviors. As far as I can tell she’s not sick, she’s drinking water and eating food and going to roost with the others, her crop is ok and she’s digesting food, she is pooping ok and she doesn’t have the posture of a sick hen (her head is not tucked, she’s up and walking and she’s not lazing around.) but she’s literally slower than the others, she walks and only occasionally runs, instead of running over at feeding time she walks and then after she just pecks at corn(we give them corn after we give them scraps). She always acts confused and she’s very talkative. As far as I can tell she’s not sick, just strange. Sorry for the long post, I wanted to make sure all my bases were covered but is it possible for a chicken to have autism? Sorry again if this is the wrong discussion board.

I'm thinking the talkativeness is just her personality. I have one like that, and she is SOOOOO funny!

 

[RadEggs]

Chickens don't have Autism like people do, and this is coming from someone who has Autism and has twelve years of experience with chickens. I would suspect other things. A lot of experienced people on this thread is questioning nutrition, so I will question that too.

On my own observations on strange chicken behaviors, I'd question her personality, health (internal), breed, and sight (along with other senses). How does her feet look? Does she have crooked toes, bumble foot, or anything else causing pain in her feet and/or legs? Where is she in the pecking order? Is she easily spooked? Is she squatting at all? (That's a sign she's about to lay.) What perch does she roost on at night? (The top, middle, or bottom.) What do you mean by acting confused? Has she ever experienced any injuries to her head? What do her eyes look like? Can you post a picture of them? Does she shake her head a lot, especially around noises? How does her crop feel? Feel it before bed and first thing in the morning. Is it emptying? What breed is she and how much does she weigh? As far as talkative, does she seem distressed? What is she always doing for talk? (Clucks- warning, clucks- egg song, long whines- complaining, etc.)

I've had hens who didn't always come running for treats. Sometimes they were too interested in their free ranging that what I had to offer wasn't good enough. Others, I referred to them as "polite." They weren't pushy birds and didn't always care for their feathers to be ruffled by the craze of treat crazy hens. (Their pin feathers might be more painful than others.)

Hi I also have autism and only 2 years with chickens. I’m very sorry if what I asked was offensive.

For personality I’m not sure, she tends to be a loner not getting to close to the others or really socializing with them, she’s just kinda off doing her own thing. For health I’m not sure, she’s pooping, eating and drinking okay and as far as I can tell her crop is emptying every night. I got her from a neighbor and he said she was a mix between a golden lace and silver lace but she’s completely black with shiny feathers and doesn’t have any gold or silver on her, I think it’s because of hyperpigmentation. Her sight is okay I think, she can follow my fingers and where exactly I’m standing, she also doesn’t really have trouble finding food as her crop is always full before she gets on the perch. For her feet I’m not sure, I’d imagine they’re a little red because her and the others like to prance through their water dishes as soon as they see me coming with food, I say that also because one of my roosters (same age) has paler feet than the rest and has them redder than they were in the summer because of said prancing. Most of their feet are black or a dark gray, it’s hard to tell. I have no idea where she is in the pecking order, her and the other hens get along great when she does socialize with them, at feeding time her and the hens share and don’t chase each other. The only ones I can see is the roosters being at the top because they have a tendency to chase the hens away from food but other than that I think her and the other hens are on the same level as of right now. She’s very tame and not easily spooked but she does run away when you try to pick her up, petting her is fine if she knows you’ll only pet her she’ll more or less stay still. She is not squatting and doesn’t use the hen box (I have no idea what they’re called sorry). She gets on the highest perch with the others, no one sleeps on the lower ones and it’s big enough for all five chickens (I do plan to add her and her siblings to a pen with my other chickens but the other chickens are a few weeks older and bigger and I don’t want them to hurt her because she’s smaller and new.) By confused I mean she just acts as if she has no idea what she’s doing, everything is okay she just stays off to the side away from the others, like she doesn’t exactly know what to do with herself, she’ll scratch and then won’t peck at anything, she eats the days old grass when new grass is there and I don’t know how to describe it, she just gives off that vibe. For head injuries I don’t know, I got her from a neighbor because his dogs killed their mother and was starting to kill off the chicks so he called me to take them in so she might have but nothing of that sort has happened under my care. Her eyes look okay, the outer part is white, her eyes are a yellow-ish brown and the middle is black, they look healthy with no redness or swelling. I can’t take a photo right now, where I am it’s dark and well past their bedtime but even if the sun was out she’s not photogenic and is slightly afraid of my phone (will walk away). No, she acts normal around loud noises, she doesn’t shake her head but will put it in the air to look around and be cautious of it. Her crop is fine, she really doesn’t appreciate me picking her up in the morning especially before she has her food but her crop is emptying fine, in the morning it’s flat and in the evening it’s a little bigger than the size of a golf ball and it always empty by morning. She’s a mix breed of silver lace and gold lace but is completely black. I have never weighed her but if I had to guess she’s between 2 and 5 pounds, she’s not overly fat and is easy to pick up but that is me guessing because I’ve never weighed her. By talkative she doesn’t seem distressed, has never done the egg song, doesn’t make long whines and doesn’t seem like she’s warning me or the others of something. It’s like she’s chatting with me, not loud or quiet and not drawn out. I often talk to her and my other chicken and sometimes she responds, it’s just like she’s acknowledging my presence or having a conversation with me. Again not like she’s warning or whining just like she’s saying hello.

I don’t free range because my hens in the past have gotten hurt or killed because I live out in the countryside and the older chickens who did free range had a bad habit of getting in trees, going broody in random places and coming home late or days later making me think that they were dead so I don’t do free range anymore. I give them lots of grass to scratch around in and eat so they won’t get bored or be deficient in some vitamins that’s in grass that I didn’t know they needed. I haven’t had much experience with chickens but I think she’s a very polite hen, she lets me pet her and touch her head, she doesn’t have problems with the other hens and after she’s done eating she’ll let me pick her up and put her on the perch with the others. I don’t know if it’s relevant or if you were asking but as far as I can tell she doesn’t have any pin feathers, she seems to take care of them herself. Also if age is relevant she was born late June - early July. I can’t remember exactly when my neighbor had me come pick them up but it was in the warmer months and they were young, like only a week old young. I don't know what exactly happened before I got them so she might have had a minor head injury when she was younger.

I have autism too! Do a lot of chicken people have it??? Is this a thing???
Don't think chickens have it, though. They just have either neurological disorders, or odd personalities. For example, I have one who does not like most treats, and another who tilts her head when she wants your food.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Q

Any real chicken feed at all? Or just all these treats?
They need real chicken feed, foods like that are for minor amounts, once or twice a week.
She and your flock is likely pretty nutrition deficient.

I x2 this, my chickens actually acted the way op was describing when they got obese. I really think she could be lacking the diet because when i switched mine to only occasional scraps and on layer feed calcium and grit, she instantly seemed better and would start running around and laying eggs again. I was told by a vet that genetically she also gains a little more weight so it does take more effort to keep her from getting pudgy.

 

[ChickLover2007]

I x2 this, my chickens actually acted the way op was describing when they got obese. I really think she could be lacking the diet because when i switched mine to only occasional scraps and on layer feed calcium and grit, she instantly seemed better and would start running around and laying eggs again. I was told by a vet that genetically she also gains a little more weight so it does take more effort to keep her from getting pudgy.

Hey thanks for the reply! Is there any way you could tell me what you use? Like any specific brand or how to keep her on a diet and keep the others satisfied? I think the problem is as you outlined because her and my other hens and roosters are chunky and heavy when I pick them up, do I also put them on a diet or leave them as is because they’re acting energetic and healthy. How often is occasional? Once a week or less? Should I also put my other chickens on a diet even though they’re acting normal? How do you avoid over feeding them? And more specifically what exactly do you buy for them? I know you said layered feed but do you recommend anything specific? I love my chickens and I want to help them the best I can. Any reply or recommendations is appreciated.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Any digestion will create 'heat'....

I am very well aware of that, but corn creates heat more than other foods for a chicken.

 

[ChickLover2007]

Do they have an actual flock crumble or pellet? Because just feeding that mix isn’t a healthy balanced diet.

Hi and no. I will stop with the corn and feed them crumble and pellet, I was going off of word of mouth from other people around me who have chickens and I had no idea that so much corn was unhealthy for them. I don’t have much experience with chickens so thank you for the advice!

 

[Chicken poppy]

Hey thanks for the reply! Is there any way you could tell me what you use? Like any specific brand or how to keep her on a diet and keep the others satisfied? I think the problem is as you outlined because her and my other hens and roosters are chunky and heavy when I pick them up, do I also put them on a diet or leave them as is because they’re acting energetic and healthy. How often is occasional? Once a week or less? Should I also put my other chickens on a diet even though they’re acting normal? How do you avoid over feeding them? And more specifically what exactly do you buy for them? I know you said layered feed but do you recommend anything specific? I love my chickens and I want to help them the best I can. Any reply or recommendations is appreciated.

Hmm well i’m no expert, but i think i use purina and I usually give my chickens more treats in winter then in summer.

For me i usually add hot water to the pellets and make it into mash, let it cool and give it to them. It just works better for me. They eat it faster, it’s better for a sick hen, etc.

I don’t have an exact date of when they get treats. I just give them mash twice a day, give them their pellets, and sometimes add a bit of corn or leftovers i have, a few times a week, depending on the quantity.

 

[-Chanticleer-]

Hi and no. I will stop with the corn and feed them crumble and pellet, I was going off of word of mouth from other people around me who have chickens and I had no idea that so much corn was unhealthy for them. I don’t have much experience with chickens so thank you for the advice!

I wish you and your flock the best!

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Hi and no. I will stop with the corn and feed them crumble and pellet, I was going off of word of mouth from other people around me who have chickens and I had no idea that so much corn was unhealthy for them. I don’t have much experience with chickens so thank you for the advice!

You're welcome. Always research before getting a new species of animal. Chickens are far more complicated than simply giving them feed and water!

 

[SchwartzLakeFarmNC]

Hi and no. I will stop with the corn and feed them crumble and pellet, I was going off of word of mouth from other people around me who have chickens and I had no idea that so much corn was unhealthy for them. I don’t have much experience with chickens so thank you for the advice!

Don't fret about it, we all learn by experience. I've been in your shoes, I lost my most favorite girl by over feeding her, we now only feed pellets and the occasional boiled eggs,yogurt or tuna.

We also have a Pullet who resembles the actions you've described as "autistic". We noticed a difference in her after giving Vitamin E and B complex, her walk was better and "twitchy" movements were less, she still walked backwards some and kind of "froze" from time to time, but the Vitamins did help. We suppose she will live as long as the other girls don't consider her a threat and eliminate her from the flock, which other than re-homing her would be the other option. She is behind in maturity but holds her own and stays away from the hormonal gals the best she can. All we can do is give them a chance and love them for the time we are blessed to be their care takers.