Chicken veering sideways?

Abbycadabra

Hatching
Mar 30, 2021
6
8
9
Hi there,

I have an ISA Brown who’s about eight/nine months old. I’m in Australia so it’s currently early autumn here.

About ten days ago, I went down to the coop and found she was acting funny - veering sideways as she walked, like she couldn’t keep her balance. I took her to the vet that day and the vet gave her a pretty thorough examination. She couldn’t find much wrong with her except a slightly elevated temperature, so I got a course of antibiotics and pretty much hoped for the best.

I finished the antibiotics last weekend... but she’s still doing it. It seems to come and go - some days she’s almost normal; other days it’s really noticeable.

Some background info:
* All hens were vaccinated at one day old, including Mareks.
* Aside from the funny walk, she’s acting normal - eating, drinking, lively and curious. Poo is normal, and she’s laying eggs most days.
* I’ve tried adding some avian supplements to the water, but it doesn’t seem to have made a difference.
* She’s not visibly moulting, and I wouldn’t really expect her to be moulting at her age.
* I’ve had some trouble with mites in the coop, which I’ve been treating with powder, but the vet didn’t find any evidence of a mite infestation on her.
* My hens all range freely in the yard during the day and go into the coop at night. They eat layer pellets, and treats like mealworms, chicken energy blocks, etc.
* None of my other chickens seem sick.
* The walking seems worse in the morning and tends to improve during the day.

I’ve linked a video so you can see what I mean. She doesn’t do it constantly- just every few minutes.


Would appreciate any suggestions!
 
Sorry to tell you this, but the Merek's Vaccine has little to no prevention against Merek's Disease. There's several different strains/mutations of it, & the vaccine only protects against a couple of the strains.


Were her ears checked for infection?
 
I didn’t specifically notice the vet checking her ears, but she might have done. Hen had gotten soaked wet the day before, so I guess that’s something to consider.

The vet seemed to think Mareks less likely given their vaccination status (but not impossible). I hope it’s not that. Her neuro exam was normal, and she’s not actually weak or paralysed in the leg(s) — she can still jump up on the fence, run in a straight line if she hears the treat bag, etc. 95% of the time she seems completely normal, so it’s all a bit confusing.
 
Thanks for the advice! I had a look, but tbh I wasn’t really sure what I was looking for. I couldn’t see anything different about her ‘ears’ compared with the other chickens. Certainly no weird pus coming out like in the google photos for ‘chicken ear infection.’

She’s still really happy and active, eating well, laying every day, and doesn’t seem to be getting any worse, so I guess it’s just wait and watch for now, unless something changes...
 
I'm not saying this is, but there is a neurological disorder called Newcastle disease, I actually had a rooster that would walk backwards at times, yet he seemed perfectly healthy in all other regards. From what I recall there is no cure, but the chicken can survive and the symptoms eventually disappear.
 
Just wanted to update the forum on this one. I never really found out what was wrong with my chicken, but after a while she started doing it less and less, and three months later seems completely fine. None of my other chickens ever got sick.

My working theory is that she got some water in her ears during the storm that caused her to go off-balance for a few weeks. Maybe compounded with stress. Either way, she's fine now. Thanks to those who offered advice!
 
Just wanted to update the forum on this one. I never really found out what was wrong with my chicken, but after a while she started doing it less and less, and three months later seems completely fine. None of my other chickens ever got sick.

My working theory is that she got some water in her ears during the storm that caused her to go off-balance for a few weeks. Maybe compounded with stress. Either way, she's fine now. Thanks to those who offered advice!
Hey, I know this is almost a year later, but I wanted to check in and ask if your girl ended up getting worse than she was in your attached video before she got better. I’m in almost the exact same situation with our rescue HyLine, and reckon it started after her first time being in the rain a few weeks back. She’s getting worse and I’m checking her ears tonight for any infections, but her poop is fine, eating and drinking well, sassy personality not affected at all. She’s just super wonky and goes sideways like yours every few minutes.

Hope your girl is still with us and well :)
 
Just wanted to update the forum on this one. I never really found out what was wrong with my chicken, but after a while she started doing it less and less, and three months later seems completely fine. None of my other chickens ever got sick.

My working theory is that she got some water in her ears during the storm that caused her to go off-balance for a few weeks. Maybe compounded with stress. Either way, she's fine now. Thanks to those who offered advice!
Hey glad to hear she is doing fine! Was there anything at all you could think helped? Our chicken is doing the same as of yesterday and also your chick in video looks just like my favorite chicken Gretchen Wilson 👏🤣
 
Hey glad to hear she is doing fine! Was there anything at all you could think helped? Our chicken is doing the same as of yesterday and also your chick in video looks just like my favorite chicken Gretchen Wilson 👏🤣
Welcome To BYC @Kaystrawgarzaberry
The post you are quoting is from 2021 and the poster has not been on since.

It would be a very good idea to start your own thread describing symptoms and concerns, along with photos of your own chicks.

Thanks!

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