My hen had a seizure.

[Barred Rocker]

I have a white rock hen that had been acting strangely for a couple of weeks. She'd been slow and sometimes just looked "out of it" and stared into space, then one morning I saw her thrashing around in the run and then she lost consciousness. I thought she was near death so I separated her from the other chickens and put her in a small pen and kept my eye on her thinking she probably wouldn't recover. She came around a couple of hours later but very weak and pretty much slept the rest of the day. The next day she started eating again and seemed to want to go back with the others. I kept her separated 2 more days and put her back with the others. She seems perfectly normal now, plenty of energy and acting the way she used to. Any ideas what would cause this?

 

[chickenlady]

If they are freeranging, make sure you have nothing around that would be toxic or contaminated that they can eat or drink. Standing water, moldy hay, dead carcass, certain mushrooms, just to name a few. It is always a good idea to offer vitamins daily, I like avia charge 2000. Some birds need it more than others. I'm really not sure why a chicken would seize but these are just a couple things that I know are important. Best of luck.

 

[DianeB]

There are many reasons an animal has seizures. The heat and loss of electrolytes, tumors, eating posionous substances and epilepsy (I am not sure if chickens can have it but dogs and cats do sometimes). Seizures are a symptom, not a cause of illness.

I have a dog that gets minor seizures from time to time if she is out in the heat too long. Also, one of my chickens would have had one a few days ago if I didn't get to her on time. She was suffering from heat stress that was quickly going to heat exhaustion and probably heat stroke. However, these were very brief episodes. It happened, quickly and without notice and they fulling recovered in a very short time.

It sounds like your chicken has had a problem for a while. I am willing to bet that she has had small seizures for these past several weeks, maybe even months. With none of your other hens affected, it is probably something genetic like tumors. You should keep an eye on her. If she continues to have seizures or odd behavior, loss of balance, hearing and sight, you may need to put her down.

Sorry

DB

 

[DianeB]

I just entered epilepsy and chickens into google scholar. Chickens can have epilepsy.

DB

 

[Barred Rocker]

Thanks, it's been almost a week since she had that seizure and appears fine and healthy now. I guess it could be epilepsy but she's never displayed those symptoms before. I'm going to keep my eye on her and if she starts acting strange again I'll watch for another episode. I'd hate to put her down, she's a good layer.

 

[DianeB]

If she seems healthy and condition is stable, you may not have to put her down. It just sounded like from your post that is was a condition that has worsened over a several weeks.

Keep on eye on her and make sure to give her electrolytes and extra nutrition.

You should consider having a vet examine her and possibly give her a few x-rays. I know it may sound expensive, bit that maybe the only way to tell what is wrong with her. It may also be the only way you can develop a treatment plan for her.

Good Luck! I hope everything turns out well!
DB

PS Don't forget to look out for cognitive difficulties (confusion, loss of balance, blindness, etc.). These are signs that she is continuing to have seizures and they are seriously affecting her health.