Hen walking backwards and sideways

[fiberart57]

Hello,
I have a one and one-half year old Blue Andalusian who seems to have developed a neurological disorder where she walks a few steps forward, then sideways and backwards. She actually gets from one place to another by walking sideways.

She eats well, hasn't laid in two weeks but is moulting. She had an incubator problem as a chick so has a bit of CP which made her lame in one leg but she gets, or got, around well.

About two months ago, she turned a bit cranky. She's always been a loner but now I notice at night, none of the other hens will sit near her.

I got them as babies at a local feed store that sells thousands of chicks from hatcheries so I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that she was inoculated for Mareks.

Anyone got any ideas what to do? Is she missing a mineral? They get Flock Raiser, oyster shell (changed weekly), grass fed beef every other day while moulting, eggs on the odd day and free range in a backyard where the flora hasn't changed since they started.

I did give her some tomatoes about three days ago.

Mary

 

[columbiacritter]

How long has this been going on? Sounds like she has botulism.

 

[jjthink]

I am curious how long this has been going on. A bad molt can cause all sorts of orientation issues. My dear hen Ellie is just coming out the other side of a bad molt (as in, looked like she escaped from Shop Rite), during which she staggered and walked sideways, and ducked, and in general, lost her marbles. I had to work to get nutrition into her as she also stopped eating. Finally, she's okay again.
JJ

 

[fiberart57]

This has only been going for about a two days. How would she get botulism, I wonder? I haven't seen any cuts on her. I'm relieved to hear similar experiences about molting. This is their first hard molt and some of them have been hammered. The Andalusian has been losing her feathers at a steady rate, not all at once like a couple of the others.

I've been giving them grass-fed raw hamburger, about the size of a thimble, every other day to increase their protein. Then they'll get some scrambled eggs to help get them through the molt.

We've shifted to regular time here and they've gone to bed before I get home from work so they're missing their scratch and a bit of cuddle time which is annoying to them and me.

She's eating, although I had to chase her around this morning to give her her sunflower and safflower seeds and scrambled egg. Once I got her attention, she ate well, although I thought she was a bit noisy when swallowing the nuts.

Thanks for your responses.

Mary

 

[speckledhen]

I got them as babies at a local feed store that sells thousands of chicks from hatcheries so I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that she was inoculated for Mareks.

No, they do not vaccinate chicks for anything, usually, not unless the customer pays for that. Some vaccinations cannot be given to day olds at all and some must have boosters.

I have a hen who would, for a period of time, would suddenly run backwards and duck a couple times a day. Realized that she thought she was seeing something in front of her face and backing away from it, like a piece of spider web on her eyeball. She doesn't do it anymore so apparently whatever she thought was in front of her disappeared.​