Chicken tipping forward/off balance

[twizzles]

Hello!

One of my three full-grown chickens started exhibiting strange behavior this morning. I opened the coop and she was laying on her feet trying to maintain balance. I thought I had just woken her up, so I left her alone. Later in the day, I opened the coop and she was still in the same condition. She keeps tipping forward and trying to catch herself with her beak or wings. She is otherwise lively and I hand-fed her some feed and an apple slice. She did not seem interested in water. The other chickens seem to be normal.

My vet can't see her until Monday. I brought her inside and I am keeping her warm in a crate in the meantime. My husband read it might be a possible vitamin B deficiency. Has anyone had this experience before?

Advice is much appreciated, thank you!
Jessica

 

[azygous]

It could be a B deficiency, but I'm more inclined toward a vitamin E deficiency. It can come on suddenly and manifests in lots of different ways. Sometimes a chicken gazes upward, or the head will turn upside down when the chicken tries to eat, or the chicken will walk backwards while dragging their beak on the ground or walk in a tight circle.

Give one vitamin E capsule with a little egg. That may be all she needs, but repeat it with one capsule each day until the symptoms stop.

Another cause of balance issues is dehydration and heat stress. If it's been hot lately, give her Gatoraid or a cup of water with a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt and baking soda.

 

[twizzles]

It could be a B deficiency, but I'm more inclined toward a vitamin E deficiency. It can come on suddenly and manifests in lots of different ways. Sometimes a chicken gazes upward, or the head will turn upside down when the chicken tries to eat, or the chicken will walk backwards while dragging their beak on the ground or walk in a tight circle.

Give one vitamin E capsule with a little egg. That may be all she needs, but repeat it with one capsule each day until the symptoms stop.

Another cause of balance issues is dehydration and heat stress. If it's been hot lately, give her Gatoraid or a cup of water with a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt and baking soda.

Thank you for your response. We bought a "food booster" to mix into her feed which contains many different vitamins, including B and E.

I couldn't imagine heat stress considering we have snow on the ground, and I have been cognizant of making sure their water does not freeze. I will keep her inside overnight and hope she improves. Thank you!

 

[azygous]

She needs a bigger dose of vitamin E than what you find in a supplement. Use a people vitamin E capsule at least 1000mg.

 

[twizzles]

She needs a bigger dose of vitamin E than what you find in a supplement. Use a people vitamin E capsule at least 1000mg.

I would also like to mention that we checked the bottom of her feet and they look fine, no bumblefoot.

She seems to be doing about the same today. She is eating and drinking but still appears to be stuck on her bum. She doesn't seem to have dexterity at all in her talons.

 

[twizzles]

We emptied a vitamin E capsule into her mouth. She is still eating and drinking her vitamin/ACV-infused water. For reference here is her current behavior:

 

[twizzles]

I took her into the vet today. He said that she is probably about 5-6 years old. He couldn't find anything obviously wrong (nothing viral) but he suspects it could be neurological or cancer. He gave me the option of giving her pain meds and anti-inflammatories but he was not confident that it would make a difference. I am worried about her quality of life, but my husband wants to see if we could nurse her. Any advice?

Thank you,

 

[FunClucks]

So sorry you're having trouble with her. Is she a production layer type of chicken? (Red Star, ISA Brown, Golden Comet, Production Red, Cinnamon Queen, etc.) She looks like a production red layer type, but could be a heritage breed.

If she is a production layer, the fact that she's made it to 5 yrs old is pretty awesome actually.

@azygous has great advice. If you choose to nurse her, I'd follow his recommendations on the vit E.

 

[twizzles]

So sorry you're having trouble with her. Is she a production layer type of chicken? (Red Star, ISA Brown, Golden Comet, Production Red, Cinnamon Queen, etc.) She looks like a production red layer type, but could be a heritage breed.

If she is a production layer, the fact that she's made it to 5 yrs old is pretty awesome actually.

@azygous has great advice. If you choose to nurse her, I'd follow his recommendations on the vit E.

Thank you for replying! I don't know much about her breed honestly, forgive me. She does resemble a "production red" based on the other photos I found in a quick search.

We got her from a super large flock where she was the runt. She was getting picked on so much that her low back was bald. She was still at the bottom of the totem pole here, but she was picked on way less and her feathers started growing back.

She was never a great layer (all her eggs had a super thin shell, they were large though!) She would lay large brown/orange eggs.

We will keep going with the vitamins and meds from the vet and I will update. All the best to you!

 

[cnmcgee]

Thank you for replying! I don't know much about her breed honestly, forgive me. She does resemble a "production red" based on the other photos I found in a quick search.

We got her from a super large flock where she was the runt. She was getting picked on so much that her low back was bald. She was still at the bottom of the totem pole here, but she was picked on way less and her feathers started growing back.

She was never a great layer (all her eggs had a super thin shell, they were large though!) She would lay large brown/orange eggs.

We will keep going with the vitamins and meds from the vet and I will update. All the best to you!

Do you have any updates on your hen? I have a cockerel that has started exhibiting symptoms much like what you have described. He is vax'd for Mareks and he has no paralysis on the legs/feet. He tips over forward and has to catch his balance with his beak or by flapping his wings. I have done nutri-drench in the water as well as changed up some of his feed. He is very attentive and excited about food and water but is unable to leave the house for the balance issue. I was hoping you found a fix for your hen that I could try on my guy!