Hen with uncontrolled head twitch

[scarletbaby]

im not sure how to describe it but i'll give it my best. whenever my hen shakes her head she always does this weird jerking movemen.t with her head right after like she has water sloshing in her skull. She cant stop it until she does it a couple times. It kinda looks like she gets dizzy after all the shaking. She does this every time she shakes her head and none of my other hens do it. i dont think this is normal..maybe its some time of neural problem? i dont know what do you think?

 

[sydney13]

maybe it could be gape worm?

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

Or could be an early symptom of respritory infection.

 

[TeamChaos]

When she shakes her head, does she have fluid come out of her nostrils?

 

[rosco]

right, is there drainage from nostrils?

any other symptoms? swelling, lethargy, odd feces?

twisting of the neck is Newcastle disease often times. twitching, shivering, convulsions, twisting of the neck, or paralysis. it is transmitted through feces. possibly from a wild bird in your yard. feces might have green in it.

a nervous disorder could be as simple as a mineral deficiency.

check the symptoms in this link or a similar website: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044. check out the tables at the end of the page. good stuff!

 

[scarletbaby]

She doesnt have any other symptoms except for the weird head bobbing. Ill try getting a vid of it if i can catch her in the act. I've seen vids of newcastle disease on youtube but it doesnt seem she has that or gapeworm. Its not like she is shaking her head but its more like.....like she is head banging side to side instead of up and down.

 

[MissJenny]

I am betting that this is the early signs of wry neck -- put her on children's liquid Poly-vi-sol WITHOUT iron, two drops, three times a day and see if it doesn't clear up in a couple of days. (I am always a big fan of trying the simplest approach first.

Jenny

 

[scarletbaby]

i finally have a video of it just go directly to 2:13, not sure how to cut it without messing it up.

 

[goatgirl0915]

i had the same problem with a chicken at my school... it was actually the same type of chicken as yours but white...she would shake her head side to side as if to get water out of her ears.. and it was really distinct. she suddenly just diedn yesterday of unknown causes

it might have been one of our cats... we arent sure but it looked like her neck and wing were broken.... i am now trying to figure out what her head twitch thing is to see what might have been the cause of her death ..... but i wish u luck....

 

[karint]

i finally have a video of it just go directly to 2:13, not sure how to cut it without messing it up.

I’m not sure if you will even get this but my 3 month old silkie is doing the same thing. Did you ever figure out the cause? Did it spread? I’d appreciate any advice you can give.