Narcoleptic Chicken? NEED HELP!

[irf1983]

One of my new marans pullets (3 mnths old ish) has been acting very strangely. It's always very sluggish and almost always has it's eyes closed. I've seen it eat and drink normally, and I looked it over and couldn't find anything suspicious. But if it is still for more than 10 seconds, it closes it's eyes and kind of drifts off. When I approach it, it opens it's eyes and will walk away from me, but it is very slow and almost walks like it has to poop all the time. But it pooped twice in about 3 minutes, so i don't think anything is stuck up there. I put it up on a platform to watch it, and it almost immediately hunched down and closed it's eyes. When i touched it, it slowly got up, looked around, then slowly walked right off the edge of the platform like it couldn't see. I thought it may be blind, but it seems to respond to my hand when i wave it around it, and it did walk right up and get some water. Then hunched down right where it was, closed it's eyes, and purred. It is the strangest thing, it's not normal behavior, but it doesn't seem to be in pain, and I can't find anything wrong. All of my marans pullets are very quiet and docile, but this is different. Any ideas would be great! I bought 3 pullets off craigslist about 10 days ago. I have them quarantined, and besides being almost silent, all seems well except for this girl. What could it be??

 

[meriruka]

That is strange behavior. The only thing I can think is Neurological (sp?) disorder of some sort or poisoning. Hopefully someone will recognize the symptoms you're describing.

 

[irf1983]

I thought maybe the transition when i bought them may have brought it on. Maybe something new in it's surroundings. Not sure. Thanks for your response.

 

[Jenski]

What is the condition of her poop? Is is bloody/pinkish?

She is definitely sick with the behavior you are describing. Not knowing any more than what you have described, some possibilities might be coccidiosis, foodborne illness, Marek's, simple moving shock, broken bone/s, or other unseen injury. Because the possibilities are so wide, you will want to observe her further and perhaps get some ideas from the "Emergencies" section on what to look for and report on. If she were mine, I would separate her to a quiet kennel indoors where I could monitor her food and water consumption, and get a better look at her.

You may wish to move this post to the "Emergencies" section to get more help. Good luck!

 

[peeboo]

parasites maybe? i know they can be hard to see especially if internal. i know they suck the life out of chickens. i had a rooster who was very lethargic and he had some sort of parasite.

 

[irf1983]

The poop was pretty solid, and brown/white. I watched her eat and drink yesterday, she certainly didn't seem to be avoiding either. Thank you for the suggestions, any other would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mbfarms]

i know it's been a long time, but did you figure this out? I had one hen doing this, and she was taken last week by hawk. Now I have the same problem with another hen. Because I've seen the behavior in another hen, I feel like it must be contagious or contact-passed. Not sure how to treat or if I should just cull her. So sad.