Dizzy Bantam - Please help!!!

[Fwoof]

My Sebright (Stormy) is

She's acting really dizzy, losing balance easily and staggering around when she walks, and when I fed them this morning she was having trouble focusing on her food, trying to peck at it but missing.
Also it rained yesterday, but she stayed nice and dry, so I don't know if that'll help you make any guesses.
I haven't weighed her, but I can tell she's slightly lighter than she was yesterday.
I suspect possibly an inner ear infection, but I checked and her ears look nice and clear to me. I'm at a loss.
Please help.

@Wyorp Rock
@azygous
@speckledhen

 

[Fwoof]

My Sebright (Stormy) is

She's acting really dizzy, losing balance easily and staggering around when she walks, and when I fed them this morning she was having trouble focusing on her food, trying to peck at it but missing.
Also it rained yesterday, but she stayed nice and dry, so I don't know if that'll help you make any guesses.
I haven't weighed her, but I can tell she's slightly lighter than she was yesterday.
I suspect possibly an inner ear infection, but I checked and her ears look nice and clear to me. I'm at a loss.
Please help.

@Wyorp Rock
@azygous
@speckledhen

@Eggcessive

 

[Fwoof]

@Eggcessive

I've been giving her B12 and E and hand feeding her wet feed and water. I don't know what else I should do.

 

[azygous]

Good for you ruling out a few possibilities such as sudden temperature changes and ear problems.

Dizziness, imbalance, stumbling can have many causes. Here are some to consider. Could the rain have caused the feed to get moldy? Could she have encountered lower layers of compost or leaf mold where anaerobic bacteria lives?

There is a chance this could be a vitamin deficiency such as vitamin E and B2. Both deficiencies cause these symptoms. Giving vitamin E capsules can produce nearly immediate improvement while giving B-2 may take four to eight weeks to see improvement.

 

[Fwoof]

Good for you ruling out a few possibilities such as sudden temperature changes and ear problems.

Dizziness, imbalance, stumbling can have many causes. Here are some to consider. Could the rain have caused the feed to get moldy? Could she have encountered lower layers of compost or leaf mold where anaerobic bacteria lives?

Don't think it's a moldy feed issue, but leaf mold is definetly a possibility. She loves to explore and sometimes finds herself in a nice damp spot to scratch in.

There is a chance this could be a vitamin deficiency such as vitamin E and B2. Both deficiencies cause these symptoms. Giving vitamin E capsules can produce nearly immediate improvement while giving B-2 may take four to eight weeks to see improvement.

As vit E goes, I've been giving her black oil sunflower seeds to supplement but I have gel capsules as well, and might switch to that. What is the dosage of vit E for a chicken, let alone a bantam?

Thank you so much for the reply!!!

 

[azygous]

You can't get a therapeutic dose from BOSS. You must give the E capsules. One or two a day. Don't worry about the precise dose. You're only going to need to give it for a few days. The B2 can be given with a tablet of B-complex every day. Or get the B2 tablets.

 

[Eggcessive]

Don’t use B12, but get some B Complex with all the B vitamins including B1 thiamine, B2 riboflavin, and B12 and others. Vitamin E 400 IU softgels are good to use daily. Hopefully, it is a vitamin deficiency or a head injury, and not something like Mareks disease. Mareks can be more common in seabrights as well as silkies.

 

[Bigfishbobby]

Don’t use B12, but get some B Complex with all the B vitamins including B1 thiamine, B2 riboflavin, and B12 and others. Vitamin E 400 IU softgels are good to use daily. Hopefully, it is a vitamin deficiency or a head injury, and not something like Mareks disease. Mareks can be more common in seabrights as well as silkies.

Do you make them swallow the vitamin E softgel or bust it open and put it in their food?

 

[Fwoof]

Do you make them swallow the vitamin E softgel or bust it open and put it in their food?

I make her swallow it.

Her eyelids look more swollen than they should be and her clucks are very weak. She seems worse than she was before.
I gave her B2 and I'll see what that does.

Thank you all so much, she is my favorite hen and I'm doing everything I can for her.

 

[Fwoof]

I make her swallow it.

Her eyelids look more swollen than they should be and her clucks are very weak. She seems worse than she was before.
I gave her B2 and I'll see what that does.

Thank you all so much, she is my favorite hen and I'm doing everything I can for her.

There are also lots of white urates stuck to her vent that I've been cleaning off.