Hen stumbling & unsteady

[Cparkermarie]

Hey everyone,

Just today I noticed one of my hens started walking strangely and she’s stumbling a little bit and unsteady. She’s eating and drinking normal, she was a little slow to leave the coop this morning but otherwise she’s acting normal

I’ve separated her from the rest of the flock but we haven’t added any new chickens recently and no one else is behaving weird.

Should I be worried, does anyone have an insight in what might be wrong? Thanks!

link to a video of the hen walking: https://youtube.com/shorts/dwsl22yeHwk?feature=share

 

[KaseySnow]

Thanks for the video, very helpful.

Have you checked her feet for injury or bumblefoot? Is her vision being obscured by her feathers perhaps? She definitely seems a little uncertain in her footing.

 

[Cparkermarie]

Thanks for the video, very helpful.

Have you checked her feet for injury or bumblefoot? Is her vision being obscured by her feathers perhaps? She definitely seems a little uncertain in her footing.

I have checked her feet for bumblefoot and felt up her legs to see if she was in pain anywhere. She didn’t really react so I don’t think she’s in pain.
It’s possible the feathers are obscuring her view but all the other silkies seem fine with similar fluff. Thanks for the response!

 

[KaseySnow]

Sure thing! Sometimes silkies, sultans, polish, etc need a little bit of a haircut to help them get their bearings. You might try snipping away some of her "bangs" until you can see her eyes without holding up her feathers and see if that helps at all.

Keeping her isolated until she seems better is a good idea too, just in case it is something contagious.

 

[Bamadawn1]

Hey everyone,

Just today I noticed one of my hens started walking strangely and she’s stumbling a little bit and unsteady. She’s eating and drinking normal, she was a little slow to leave the coop this morning but otherwise she’s acting normal

I’ve separated her from the rest of the flock but we haven’t added any new chickens recently and no one else is behaving weird.

Should I be worried, does anyone have an insight in what might be wrong? Thanks!

link to a video of the hen walking:

It looks like the beginning of wry neck. I'm hope the outcome was good. I've nursed silkies that couldn't even hold their heads up and walked in circles back to health and reintroduced them to the flock. Longest one to live after onset of symptoms was three months. I would treat with selenium and vitamin E. I think some of them are just born with weak genetics. I have heard of success stories though! I do realize some time has passed since you posted this but wanted to comment for anyone researching an answer to your question