itchy head?

[nursefusion]

Thank you for asking!

I sent them almost exactly what I posted here.

Yeah, their reply feels like they're covering. Not that I like to think they would do such. Someone emailed me and said it looks like something is in her ears.


She had fits for a few hours and now seems okay for the past three hours. The last fit she had, she did kick off quite a few neck feathers. She's not bloody or raw, just bare. Now I sit by the brood and snatch her up when she makes the panic sound to keep her feet still.

I couldn't find any Avia Charge in town (I see it for sale at McMurray but that might be too long of a wait / postage charge) -- so I picked up a special vitamin/kelp mix from Pistils Nursery. The hunt for Poly-Vi-Sol without Iron is ongoing - every store has Poly-Vi-Sol but always with Iron.

When I talked with the shop keeper at Pistils, she said it sounds like Marek's. Ideally, the chicks were all vaccinated for that. But she intimated that sometimes hatcheries don't do such a good job of making sure the chicks are handled well and/or vaccinated.

I called the nearest Feed store and the man there said that he gets about one in a hundred that comes out weak and ends up dying. He indicated mine might not live more than a week. He didn't give much hope for survival.




pix to demonstrate how other two are much bigger. Little one is sitting inside an 8 oz cut up yogurt container -- just b/c she climbed into it and liked it.

 

[Mule Chick]

I don't want to be a downer, but I had one like that a few years ago. I felt it was neurological, but wasn't sure. Unfortunately mine didn't make it. Sounds like you're doing everything possible.

 

[nursefusion]

Thank you.

I'm working on making her comfortable. She's sort of developing, but while the others have lovely wing feathers, she has only one. Either the stress of her disorder is holding her back or there are more things wrong with her. She remains about the same size as when she arrived.

Now that it has been a few days I am pretty sure she won't make it. She seems unimproved and probably has only survived this long because I have held her feet down during most of the kicking episodes -- but now my work week begins.

Everyone's comments have helped me accept this.
My first birds and one of them doomed from the get-go.

 

[Wynette]

Don't give up hope yet! You just never know about these creatures. Sometimes, their will to live is much stronger than any illness. Keep your chin up & hope for the best!

 

[nursefusion]

Consider it done. I mean, chin up and whatnot.

Thank you so much for being so supportive.

 

[Wynette]

How is your little one doing today?

 

[nursefusion]

She's eating with the others, seems to follow them around and do what they do -- which is pretty dang good.

I can't see any additional damage from kicking. I'm gone pretty much all weekend (this response is made while stuffing my face with breakfast) so I don't know how much kicking has occurred.

I'm going with the general rule that as long as skin isn't broken she's doing good. And as long as she's good, that's enough for me to name her and give her sweet lovin'. Looks like she grew one more feather on each wing.

Name: Beatrice.

The other two are now called Madame Crowl and Snicket.

Here is a video taken at 10:30 am today:

 

[Chicabee19]

glad to hear she's doing better... the video looks good.

do you know if she has had any more of those 'episodes' ?

i was thinking about this a lot, and just wanted to say that sometimes when i have a certain kind of seizure i get a sharp sort of itchy pain at one place on my head. If she was having seizures, maybe her head hurt as it began, causing her to scratch.

 

[silkiechicken]

Looks neurological and doesn't seem to be anything like mericks as that is more characterized by paralysis. However, I've had shaky chicks for a day or two after hatch who "grew out of it". She could have had a rough ride and had her bead bumped but young brains are flexable and it may rewire to "normal" if the damage was physical and not too extensive. If it is a genetic or disease nurological thing, then she may only make it so far. Best of luck.

 

[Wynette]

HEY! Bea's looking GREAT in the video! She even looks "spunky," if you ask me!

Maybe it's like Silkiechicken said...maybe her little gray matter was a bit "scrambled," but is now rewired!

In any event, I'm glad she's doing better! I assume you've seen her eating & drinking? If they're eating and drinking, tha's about 3/4 of the battle when they're sick, I think!