Neurological issues

[Fulufalump]

Hi everyone.
I’m new to the hobby and have a chicken that has developed some very odd neurological issues.

She is a white Wyandotte about 10 months old. 3 nights ago while free in the yard she got panicked because my other chickens had moved somewhere else. I watched here seemingly get lost on her way over to them multiple times making very strange head movements the entire way. I isolated her in a small pen because I got worried she would give it to the others. 3 days on and nothing is any different. She eats, forages in the spare pen, eats all her food and even jumps up to roost at night.

I’ve been giving her extra vitamins and their regular pellet feed which I’ve used since getting them.

From what I’ve seen on the forums it doesn’t fit wry neck because she does have complete strength in her neck it just moves seemingly in ways she doesn’t want it to. Never down just left and right turning

A friend suggested mareks but i thought she would be dead by now or have other symptoms?

Any advice on what this could be would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ponypoor]

Hi everyone.
I’m new to the hobby and have a chicken that has developed some very odd neurological issues.

She is a white Wyandotte about 10 months old. 3 nights ago while free in the yard she got panicked because my other chickens had moved somewhere else. I watched here seemingly get lost on her way over to them multiple times making very strange head movements the entire way. I isolated her in a small pen because I got worried she would give it to the others. 3 days on and nothing is any different. She eats, forages in the spare pen, eats all her food and even jumps up to roost at night.

I’ve been giving her extra vitamins and their regular pellet feed which I’ve used since getting them.

From what I’ve seen on the forums it doesn’t fit wry neck because she does have complete strength in her neck it just moves seemingly in ways she doesn’t want it to. Never down just left and right turning

A friend suggested mareks but i thought she would be dead by now or have other symptoms?

Any advice on what this could be would be greatly appreciated.

Wry neck can show up with the neck in many different positions.

It would be helpful to take a video and post it here.

To post a video you will need to upload it to YouTube and post the link here.

If we can all see what her movements are it will help.

Sure hope she is feeling better soon.

 

[Eggcessive]

It does sound like possible wry neck or torticolis. That is a neurological symptom, that can be associated with a head or neck injury, vitamin E or thiamine deficiency, and is seen sometimes in Mareks or severe respiratory viruses. A video uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo or a similar site with a link posted here, or a picture of her could help. . You could make sure that she is eating a balanced diet, a little bit of egg daily for selenium, and give 400 I U of human vitamin E and 1/4 tablet of vitamin B complex daily.

 

[Fulufalump]

Thanks for the advice. I’ve put 2 shorts on YouTube of her head movements. Sorry if they aren’t super clear of what is going on.

I’ll also throw in a couple pictures of the feed they are on. It’s called showbird breeder but they are just pets and it was the recommendation of a friend who does raise showbirds

Longer video where it starts at around 15 seconds

Short video of it happening(sorry it focused on the wire)

Going by the feed they are getting the vitamins but maybe just not enough?

 

[Ponypoor]

She’s a beauty.

Hmmm yes I see what you mean with her turning her head to ‘look’ over her back to m that jerky manner.

Have you asked your friend who has the show birds if they have seen that before?

As Eggcesive has suggested you can supplement her intake of vitamin E and B. Good luck

 

[coach723]

Definitely try the vitamins, it happens. I would also check her ears and eyes well, if she's having vision or hearing issues, that could cause those movements, trying to figure things out. Look in the ears for any swelling or discharge or pus, any signs of infection. Make some random noises when she's not looking at you, see if she reacts normally. Examine the eyes, are they both the same, any cloudiness, etc. pupils look the same, check that they react to light (small flashlight), try movement by the eye on each side to see if she reacts. I would also through observation try to determine if being stressed or startled/surprised triggers it, or sudden exposure to light. Epilepsy is very rare in birds, but not unknown. I've had a couple of birds with odd neurological issues that had no known cause. Nothing helped or made it better or worse. They lived full normal lives. As long as they can eat, drink, interact normally with flock without being bullied or attacked, they usually adapt and do fine.

 

[Fulufalump]

She’s a beauty.

Hmmm yes I see what you mean with her turning her head to ‘look’ over her back to m that jerky manner.

Have you asked your friend who has the show birds if they have seen that before?

As Eggcesive has suggested you can supplement her intake of vitamin E and B. Good luck

Thank you, she is a very gentle bird.

Yeah it’s very involuntary and when she combines the head movements with walking around the yard she just seems to go in circles for a bit then “comes good” and goes exactly where she wants to

Further investigation with my friend who I got her off revealed that most of the siblings of her pairing had issues with “splayed feet” which is why he chose not to keep her. There was something not quite right with them so maybe she just has issues? He didn’t keep any of her other siblings so couldn’t tell me if they developed issues later on.

I have started her on the extra vitamins as advised and will post an update with how she goes

Definitely try the vitamins, it happens. I would also check her ears and eyes well, if she's having vision or hearing issues, that could cause those movements, trying to figure things out. Look in the ears for any swelling or discharge or pus, any signs of infection. Make some random noises when she's not looking at you, see if she reacts normally. Examine the eyes, are they both the same, any cloudiness, etc. pupils look the same, check that they react to light (small flashlight), try movement by the eye on each side to see if she reacts. I would also through observation try to determine if being stressed or startled/surprised triggers it, or sudden exposure to light. Epilepsy is very rare in birds, but not unknown. I've had a couple of birds with odd neurological issues that had no known cause. Nothing helped or made it better or worse. They lived full normal lives. As long as they can eat, drink, interact normally with flock without being bullied or attacked, they usually adapt and do fine.

Epilepsy is definitely something I’ve never even considered. It does seem to “come and go” as if it was mild seizures. Is still eating and drinking. She was a later addition to the flock so it’s clear she is at the bottom of the pecking order with the others but they have never bullied her beyond the occasional squabble of who gets to sleep where in the hutch.

I’ll do some light testing tomorrow with her and see how she responds.

Thanks for all the advice it’s helpful to have a direction to go in now!

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, that seems more like it is neurological, perhaps a tic or petite mail seizure. It doesn’t seem too serious looking. There are a lot of videos of possible seizure activity with rhythmic neck or head movements if you do a search. Try the vitamins for a couple of weeks to see if they have any affect. Did she just start doing this recently?

 

[Fulufalump]

Yes, that seems more like it is neurological, perhaps a tic or petite mail seizure. It doesn’t seem too serious looking. There are a lot of videos of possible seizure activity with rhythmic neck or head movements if you do a search. Try the vitamins for a couple of weeks to see if they have any affect. Did she just start doing this recently?

I’ll have a look through YouTube for some more videos

Is there a usual timeline I should expect to see changes if it is an issue with vitamins now that I’m dosing her?

Very recently. 3 days ago, hasn’t got any worse or better since then.

 

[coach723]

Vitamins sometimes work very quickly, sometimes take weeks. It's hard to say. If you see absolutely no change in two weeks, then that may not be the issue.