Chicken has always twisted head in circles

[KBed86]

Hi there! I am new to this forum and chickens and am looking for some help. We got a 3 day old pullet (I believe she is a Buff Orpington, but can’t be positive). She is now about 8 weeks old. When I got her they put her in a box While I was shopping and I didn’t see her until I got her home. Within an hour of getting her home I realized she may have a problem. She was constantly turning her head in a circle until it’s all the way backwards. After research and trying different things, I never figured out what was going on with her. She still constantly twists her head in circles. I researched wry neck, but the videos I’ve found their heads seem to be tilted up more and stationary. (Though as she gets older I realize sometimes it seems to tilt up as she twists it in circles). She also walks in circles quite a bit and doesn’t go in the coop on her own at night like the others. She eats fine and is just as big if not bigger than the other 5 chicks we got with her. Loves to be held and greets is at the door. No other chickens have ever showed any of these same symptoms and have been raised alongside her from day 1. The other chickens seem to accept her fine and she stays with them when they’re outside. I took a video, but can’t post it. Any ideas or suggestions of where to look or if there’s anything I can do? I’ve spent hours reading forums and can’t find anything quite the same sounding. Thanks so much!

 

[Stipenvlerk]

If you upload your video online, for instance to YouTube or Vimeo you can share the link!

welcome to BYC

 

[KBed86]

Thank you!

 

[Elie And Her Flock]

It could be one of two possibilities.
a) wry neck, even though hers doesn't look like the typical wry neck
b) she could have had a stroke. our neighbor's chicken had a stroke and as a result tilts her head and walks in circles and is a little mentally slower than the other chickens in her flock.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Thank you!

Aw bless her. I don't know much in this regard but it looks like a neurologic tick to me.... I'm a baby about putting down my chickens and usually go with the "wait and see" approach when there is a lack of answers/solutions. I wish you and your little chicken the best.

 

[Stipenvlerk]

You are welcome! about the stroke part, maybe she is not aware of her right side anymore. A neurological problem is a possibility

 

[KBed86]

Aw bless her. I don't know much in this regard but it looks like a neurologic tick to me.... I'm a baby about putting down my chickens and usually go with the "wait and see" approach when there is a lack of answers/solutions. I wish you and your little chicken the best.

Yeah, I don’t want to put her down. Mostly want to make sure there are no diseases that are dangerous/contagious I should be worried about. I have two little kiddos who already are very attached!

 

[KBed86]

You are welcome! about the stroke part, maybe she is not aware of her right side anymore. A neurological problem is a possibility

A stroke at just a few days old?

 

[KBed86]

It could be one of two possibilities.
a) wry neck, even though hers doesn't look like the typical wry neck
b) she could have had a stroke. our neighbor's chicken had a stroke and as a result tilts her head and walks in circles and is a little mentally slower than the other chickens in her flock.

I tried to do Vitamin E and eggs and things I’d read about for wry neck with no improvement when she was a baby. I didn’t even think of a stroke. Would that have happened at such a young age?

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I tried to do Vitamin E and eggs and things I’d read about for wry neck with no improvement when she was a baby. I didn’t even think of a stroke. Would that have happened at such a young age?

Strokes can happen at any age, even for people. It's just not the most common ailment.