Help! My baby chick, Ivory, is suddenly acting really strange and I'm extremely worried. My sister just had her out of her brooder box and she was walking around in my living room normally, I picked her up and she started twitching her head and kept stepping sideways (to the left) as if she was being pulled that way.
I set her down and she kept walking to the left sideways, twitching her head and acting as if she was drunk or something.
I thought she was just fooling around but now she won't stop doing it.
She's peeping and acting normal but keeps leaning against the side of her brooder box (on her left side again). She will drink and eat but it's like the head twitching and side-stepping is out of her control. Kinda like she has Turrets or something, like what humans sometimes get. She can't seem to walk in a straight line and will just stand against her brooder box wall to stand up straight. I'm so worried! She's only 20 days old today (almost 3 weeks) and she's my little baby that I hatched out for the first time in my homemade incubator and I know it might be fine but I'm just really worried that there's something wrong with her.
She was just acting normal and it started happening for no reason whatsoever.
What's wrong with her??? It's as if she can't see out of her left eye and is just walking around in circles in confusion. But I don't think she's suddenly blind in her left eye because when I put my hand up to her eye, she blinks and looks at it.
Someone please help! I'm suddenly very concerned and worried because I don't know what's wrong with her! She was just acting normal and walking around and I picked her up and she walked up to the laptop that I'm on now, was walking around on the keyboard (she loves to do that for some reason :rolleyes) and then started acting strange. I wish I could get a video but I can't.
Please help! Is this normal? She's not choking on something I don't think. Her food sack is normally sized (it's not too big from eating too much like some of our adult hens get...when they eat too much they will move their necks back and forth because their crops are so big...but hers is normal-looking.
)
Thanks!
MORE INFORMATION:
1) What type of bird , age and weight.
Weight is unknown, Age: 20 days (almost 3 weeks exactly), breed: crossed between Splash Cochin rooster and Buff Orpington hen (Buff Orpington hen died a couple weeks ago from unknown reason...suspected to have been from internal reason). Hatched 1/29/10 in homemade incubator with no complications except was wobbly with trying to walk for a little while after hatching but turned out fine and healthy.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Twitching head, walking to the lefty (only the left, won't really walk to the right) in an uncontrolled way. Overall, looks healthy and is acting OK, but it's as if her head and feet have a mind of their own.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
Just literally several minutes ago for no reason at all. I was just holding her and letting her walk around and she just started acting like that.
4) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No, none at all.
5) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
I have no idea what could have caused her to act like this except maybe she ate something??? I have no idea what it could have been, or when or how...? She has fresh food and water all the time.
6) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She has been drinking fresh water (even now when she's showing the strange symptoms) and has been eating ground-up cracked corn (haven't had a chance to get chick grower feed, but I've raised some of our chickens when they were chicks on the ground-up cracked corn bought from the feed store and they were fine and turned out healthy.
7) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop looks normal. Sometimes a little watery, but looks normal anyway.
8) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Nothing so far. I have put her in her brooder box to see if she will come out of it.
9 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I want to make sure my baby chick will be OK and to treat her myself if I have to. But if I really have to, I will bring her to the vet no matter what the cost.
10) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
No wound or anything and no sense in posting a picture, a video would be best to show how she's acting but can't do that.
11) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Right now we are using newspapers and will soon use pine shavings like we use with all our other chickens.
Someone please help! I'm suddenly very concerned and worried because I don't know what's wrong with her! She was just acting normal and walking around and I picked her up and she walked up to the laptop that I'm on now, was walking around on the keyboard (she loves to do that for some reason :rolleyes) and then started acting strange. I wish I could get a video but I can't.
Please help! Is this normal? She's not choking on something I don't think. Her food sack is normally sized (it's not too big from eating too much like some of our adult hens get...when they eat too much they will move their necks back and forth because their crops are so big...but hers is normal-looking.
Thanks!
MORE INFORMATION:
1) What type of bird , age and weight.
Weight is unknown, Age: 20 days (almost 3 weeks exactly), breed: crossed between Splash Cochin rooster and Buff Orpington hen (Buff Orpington hen died a couple weeks ago from unknown reason...suspected to have been from internal reason). Hatched 1/29/10 in homemade incubator with no complications except was wobbly with trying to walk for a little while after hatching but turned out fine and healthy.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Twitching head, walking to the lefty (only the left, won't really walk to the right) in an uncontrolled way. Overall, looks healthy and is acting OK, but it's as if her head and feet have a mind of their own.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
Just literally several minutes ago for no reason at all. I was just holding her and letting her walk around and she just started acting like that.
4) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No, none at all.
5) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
I have no idea what could have caused her to act like this except maybe she ate something??? I have no idea what it could have been, or when or how...? She has fresh food and water all the time.
6) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She has been drinking fresh water (even now when she's showing the strange symptoms) and has been eating ground-up cracked corn (haven't had a chance to get chick grower feed, but I've raised some of our chickens when they were chicks on the ground-up cracked corn bought from the feed store and they were fine and turned out healthy.
7) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop looks normal. Sometimes a little watery, but looks normal anyway.
8) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Nothing so far. I have put her in her brooder box to see if she will come out of it.
9 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I want to make sure my baby chick will be OK and to treat her myself if I have to. But if I really have to, I will bring her to the vet no matter what the cost.
10) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
No wound or anything and no sense in posting a picture, a video would be best to show how she's acting but can't do that.
11) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Right now we are using newspapers and will soon use pine shavings like we use with all our other chickens.
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I hope your chick is all right!
