new silkie roo bobbing his head left to right...

[gumbii]

i just got him a couple of days back... he's been in quarantine with a japanese bantam that i got until i saw him do this... he's been by himself ever since...


so yeah... he shakes his head, eats and everything... but i think when he gets startled or something, he bobs his head left to right a couple of times... it's weird... he does it for 5 shakes or so, then he's back to normal... i've been googling and everything, but i can't find any answers... i hope it's vitamin deficiency and not something genetic or permanent... he's a gorgeous bearded roo... since i switched food, he has been doing it less and less... but that could be because he's not as stressed as when i first got him...


what do you guys think...? TIA...

 

[denasfarm]

I have a Silkie hen with bobble head. She is a daughter of hatchery birds. It seems hereditary as many of her chicks also bobble.
We do not hatch her eggs anymore since its a bit sad to watch and I wouldnt want to sell strange bobble birds.
It doesnt seem to hurt them, reminds me of the fainting goat thing. They stop what they are doing, bobble and then carry on when it passes.

 

[gumbii]

aw, no way...


oh well... he's going to stay with the japanese bantams until i find another home for him... i don't want him breeding and stuff with the other hens... well... i'll wait, maybe someone has a success story...


this reminds me of the enigma leopard geckos... by breeding a couple of color morphs, you get a new morph called enigma... and every once in a wile you'll get a gecko that will get enigma syndrome where they look up at the sky and tilt their head uncontrollably... sometimes they do circles... the sad part is that you can't tell if they have it until they are older... so you can't cull them out young...

 

[gumbii]

anybody else have any experience or stories on this situation...? i'm kind of bummed right now... i guess the shock just set in or something... i don't want to give him up or put him somewhere else...

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I would try vitamins. Especially E and B.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Our Silkie boy does that. And he's totally healthy. It's VERY slight when he does bob-like 3 times or so trying to focus on what he wants to see (large crest-can't see too well). He does, however, bob his head very spastically when we take him to shows (out of his element-we show him). As soon as we arrive somewhere that he does not know, he gets very twitchy. I know this because he only does this when we take him to shows and then when he is back home he gradually shakes it off and returns to normal shortly after. I've come to see that this is just how he copes with anxiety and am positive that the way in which he deals with it will become less dramatic over time. He's the only chicken I've ever had with a 'nervous tick'.

He's 9 months old now and is just fine.

 

[gumbii]

Quote:
i'll pick some up tomorrow... are they any you recommend or should i just get like a chicken multi vitamin for him...? i'll just get me some multivitamins anyways... doesn't hurt to have them around amirite...?

thanks chickensaresweet...

Quote:
that's what makes me think he's okay... a wile back i came across a video on youtube that showed a crested polish doing the same thing... i think if it was bad, they wouldn't have been showing the bird in the first place... i also think it's stress related, or he's trying to see thru his fluffy crest... i dunno...


thank both of you guys for your responses... i really didn't want to get rid of him... he's gorgeous, quiet, and so lovable...






anyone else...?

 

[tigerrrrrrrlilly]

I have a silkie that does this. I did research and found lots of info. Mine had gotten so bad that his head stayed twisted to one side, it started as bobbing. Anyway, he occasionally has the bobbing come back and I just treat him again. I read it is common with silkies and the theory is that it has to do with the formation of their skull (the crest gene causes a hole in it) and fluid building up around the brain. I give mine a liquid b12 for 3 days and it is usually gone by the 3rd day. Also put vitamins in the water. I use poli visol (or some similar name I'm not remembering?) bird vitamins. The vitamins help the fluid subside, mainly the b12. I read about "wry neck" and "stargazing" and I believe that's what it is or at least is similar to. It seems to be a neurological problem, but not deadly unless it continues and they can't eat and drink properly. Mine seems to have issues more often when he doesn't get enough protein so I feed him and the rest high-protein gamebird feed mixed half and half with their crumbles now. Haven't had any trouble in months since I started that.

 

[gumbii]

thank you so much tiggerlily... i have junior gamecock mix and i guess he'll get that mixed in with his crumble for now on... tomorrow for sure i'm going to get those vitamins and such...

i appreciate it greatly...

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
i'll pick some up tomorrow... are they any you recommend or should i just get like a chicken multi vitamin for him...? i'll just get me some multivitamins anyways... doesn't hurt to have them around amirite...?

thanks chickensaresweet...

Quote:
that's what makes me think he's okay... a wile back i came across a video on youtube that showed a crested polish doing the same thing... i think if it was bad, they wouldn't have been showing the bird in the first place... i also think it's stress related, or he's trying to see thru his fluffy crest... i dunno...


thank both of you guys for your responses... i really didn't want to get rid of him... he's gorgeous, quiet, and so lovable...






anyone else...?

My feed store sells vitamins for chickens. But also I have read on here how some people use Poly Vi Sol without iron - you could do a search on this message board to get the dose. I haven't used vitamins on my flock. But I sure would give them to my silkies if they were acting strange.

Ok- I'll put the website back on here- I had edited it out...I know it's not crookneck or wry neck, but here it is:
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html click on crookneck on the left
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/HoleInHead.html (GRAPHIC photos of silkie skulls)