Chicken walking backwards, sneezing a bit, watery diarrhea

[chickfused]

She was fine last night, when I got up this morning, I noticed she didn't want to come off the roost. To get on and off the roost requires a series of hops, and every time she'd hop from one level to the next, she'd stick her butt in the air, head down, and walk backward a few steps before continuing on her way. Occasionally she will sneeze a bit, but it's very light - not a hard sneeze at all. And she's got watery diarrhea with white urates in it.

She seems to be a bit off her food and drink, but she's doing both.

Physically, she looks 100% normal. No eye or nasal discharge, no messy butt, shiny healthy feathers, etc. And when she's not doing the weird thing, she stands tall and looks around and forages, etc.

I scambled an egg with some Poultry Cell in it and she drank a half teaspoon of it or so.

When she was a few days old chick, she went through a few days of backwards running in the brooder. I took them off medicated feed, and she cleared up after a bit. For whatever that's worth. Could be coincidental.

I should also note that she's at point of lay.

Otherwise, I'm at a bit of a loss.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Looks like she may have a vitamin e and selenium deficiency

https://animaldome.com/why-chickens-walk-backwards/

What's your standard feed that you feed them?

 

[chickfused]

They forage a lot and get Scratch and Peck organic, non-gmo chicken feed. I gave her some Poultry Cell which has B vits, Selenium, E, and minerals. I'll give her some tuna before bedtime.

 

[Eggcessive]

Usually when treating a case of wry neck, the amount of vitamin E should be at least 400 IU daily. I would get some human E wherever you buy vitamins, and add that to the Poultry Cell, which has thiamine as well as E, both of which are needed to treat wry neck. Also, if you could give a small amount of cooked egg for a small amount of selenium.

You might check if she is selecting certain seeds or parts of the scratch and peck feed, avoiding some parts that contain the vitamins she needs. It might be better to switch to a crumble or pellet type feed which is balanced, and each bite has all she needs.

 

[chickfused]

I was considering switching for this reason. She could very well be seed sorting. I took a 400 IU vitamin E tablet and put it on 2 tsp of tuna fish and that went into the chicken with no issue. After the dosage this morning, I haven't seen her walk backwards in a couple of hours now. So I'm hopeful we'll get her turned around quickly. Thanks all!

Edit: Normal poos now though she still gives a slight snorty sneeze now and then.

 

[defazzy]

Walking backward is a sign of neurological issues. Vitamin E/Selenium deficiency is one reason, but there are other possible causes if you think the diet is in check. If she sneezes and has diarrhea, I would think of coryza. Here is a list of more reasons why a chicken walks backward, including viral diseases and head injuries. The girl in the video fixed the issue by giving tuna, I would not stop giving vitamin E.

I'm a little bit puzzled with the 400IU. The highest intake recommendation I can find is DSM OVN for laying hens 20-30IU/kg, up to 200mg/kg under stress. For broilers 50-100IU/kg, up to 200mg/kg under stress. I hope that the vitamin E tablet solved the issue. Keep us posted if you will.

 

[chickfused]

The diarrhea appeared to be a one time thing.

 

[defazzy]

Erm, ND is also on that list. Could be a strain attacking the nervous system. I suppose diarrhea only happens with NDV strains attacking the digestive system. Might have been a secondary infection or just something she ate.

500ft is pretty close. Not sure if dried dust from droppings can fly that far, but you might also bring it in on clothes. It might be an idea to separate the hen; OIE prescribes 21 days of quarantine for ND. Afaik there is not much you can do if your chickens are not vaccinated for ND, but apparently, vitamin E is also good for ND with vitamin C, and A (source).

 

[chickfused]

I've never even seen a hatchery that offers ND vaccination. So far, with every dose she seems to get a little better. She hasn't walked backward after the first dose of Poultry Cell and scrambled egg, and she's starting to pick her head up a bit more vs. keeping it low to the ground. I'll give her another CC of the Poultry Cell and tuna with vitamin E tonight at bedtime and see how she is in the morning.

 

[Eggcessive]

Where are you located? Did the neighbor have Newcastles disease confirmed with testing or a necropsy, or did they just make the diagnosis on their own? There are varying degrees of Newcastles. The virulent or exotic Newcastles is a disease that your state vet would come in a destroy a flock and other flocks nearby if there was an outbreak. It was not found in the US until a few years ago when there was an outbreak in S. Cailfornia that spread some. Here is some reading:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ou...ease-information/avian/virulent-newcastle/vnd

It is good that she seems to be improving. While treating for wry neck, it is common to use 400 IU. Of course, after a few weeks, if there was no improvement, it should not be continued. Hopefully, changing the feed will help.