My chicken is walking slow, with her head turned off center and to the right, showing weakness in her right side. S

[Kmcoll]

I have a hen that is about 3 years old. For the last week, she has shown weakness on her right side, she's got her feathers all fluffed out and appears to not be able to turn her neck to the left, only to the right. She loses her balance on her right side and appears to have limit use of her right leg. She shows no sign of injury other than this sudden issue. When I let the other chickens out to free roam, she does go out with them but continues to have this weakness on that side. Any ideas what's going on?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a hen that is about 3 years old. For the last week, she has shown weakness on her right side, she's got her feathers all fluffed out and appears to not be able to turn her neck to the left, only to the right. She loses her balance on her right side and appears to have limit use of her right leg. She shows no sign of injury other than this sudden issue. When I let the other chickens out to free roam, she does go out with them but continues to have this weakness on that side. Any ideas what's going on?

Do you have photos of her and her poop?

When was her last egg?

What breed is she?

Any signs of injury or bruising?

I'd see that she's eating well and staying hydrated. Hard to know what's going on with her, but only being able to turn the head 1 way and loss of balance can point to neurological symptoms.

I'd start her on vitamin therapy to see if that helps, it can take weeks so see improvement sometimes if vitamins are going to make a difference. Give her 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4tablet B-Complex daily. Offer a bit of egg or tuna as a daily treat to help with the uptake of E.

Do look her over for lice/mites, check that her crop is emptying and that her ears are clean and free of infection.