Have Raised Chickens For Five Years...This Has Me Puzzled!

[azhenhouse]

White Chantecler Chick, hatched in a incubator from our own flock.
Two weeks old.
Sex unknown.
Kept outside in a brooder, away from other poultry.
Symptoms:
A few days ago he would chirp loudly, like he was being hurt or being picked up. When I would check on him he would be rolling around on his back, eyes closed, scratching his head, under his wings, anywhere on his body. It was like he couldn't control his movements. At one point, he got one of his toes in his mouth, and kept it there for a while. It looked like he was a chick sucking his thumb. I actually put him in a box, inside the brooder because I thought he was going to die, and he was thrashing about so bad that it was freaking out all the other chicks. When I went out about an hour later he was out of the box, and it was as if nothing happened. He was fine for a day, then it happened all over, again. At this point we noticed that all around his head, and under his wings it was completely scratched raw with massive wounds from his uncontrollable movements. That's when we decided to put him out of his misery. He still had an egg tooth at almost two weeks old, and had not grown as much as the others. So, I was thinking that it could be neurological. However, this morning one of the other chicks is starting to show some of the same symptoms just not as extreme, as of now. Is there any disease, parasite, or bug (like no see ums) that could get in their ears, that would show these symptoms?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Akrnaf2]

!?
I was firs thinking epilepsy, but the second made me change my mined.
poisoning maybe? Led? Mercury? Pesticide? Herbicide?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would check the skin for mites or lice since they are outside. Put some poultry vitamins in the water containing vitamin E, thiamine (B1,) and give a little raw or cooked egg for selenium, in case it is a vitamin deficiency. Poultry Nutri-Drench or Poultry Cell can be given directly by mouth 1-3 ml daily by mouth, or poultry vitamins such as Poultry ProVita or Vitamins With Lactobacillus can be given in the water.

 

[Akrnaf2]

I think that two weeks is to short time to be a so vitamins deficient, I assume that you are giving them starter.

 

[azhenhouse]

Yes, they are on starter and I have been using Nutri-drench in their water. They are in the same galvanized tubs that I have used for previous chicks. Also, I have two chicks in with them that are a week older, and they seem fine. The two older ones were in the brooder first.