Nuerological or something else?

[getaclue]

At this point, I would not be concerned about the specific cause, but continue with the treatment on all fronts, and be glad they're working. Yes, it may just be one of the factors, but it's quite possible that it could be a combination of things. Being so selective with her foraging may not have provided a balanced enough diet, so she was somewhat depleted in vitamin D, which was exacerbated when she began going broody. No matter, now you know what to do, and that's the important part.

 

[Shadrach]

At this point, I would not be concerned about the specific cause, but continue with the treatment on all fronts, and be glad they're working. Yes, it may just be one of the factors, but it's quite possible that it could be a combination of things. Being so selective with her foraging may not have provided a balanced enough diet, so she was somewhat depleted in vitamin D, which was exacerbated when she began going broody. No matter, now you know what to do, and that's the important part.

You've misunderstood a bit from my posts.
It has only been after the event she's become selective in her foraging. She ate just like the others before and bordered on the greedy scale.
Before she sat she ate an excellent diet. Not only do they get a good quality feed at 18% protein and 1% calcium plus all the usual additives, they also get fish or meat on top two or three times a week and of course whatever they forage during the day free ranging.
bear in mind she was only sitting flat out for a couple of days and out in the open. We get enough sunshine here to run a vitamin D factory.
I think the selective foraging now is her trying to supplement something, a bit like when hens moult, they change their food preferences, sometimes hardly eating any commercial feed and concentrate on particular forage items.

 

[007Sean]

You've misunderstood a bit from my posts.
It has only been after the event she's become selective in her foraging. She ate just like the others before and bordered on the greedy scale.
Before she sat she ate an excellent diet. Not only do they get a good quality feed at 18% protein and 1% calcium plus all the usual additives, they also get fish or meat on top two or three times a week and of course whatever they forage during the day free ranging.
bear in mind she was only sitting flat out for a couple of days and out in the open. We get enough sunshine here to run a vitamin D factory.
I think the selective foraging now is her trying to supplement something, a bit like when hens moult, they change their food preferences, sometimes hardly eating any commercial feed and concentrating on particular forage items.

Is it possible that while foraging she ate something poisonous or at least partially neurotoxic?

 

[Shadrach]

Is it possible that while foraging she ate something poisonous or at least partially neurotoxic?

That is always a possibility with free range chickens. However, she had a mother who had the highest chick survival rate of any hen here. To me that means a bit more then luck. I would say she got taught well. Also the tribes forage as a group and unless she was really unlucky she will have eaten much the same as the others in her tribe. None of the above makes you wrong but I'm inclined to believe there is an underlying neurological problem.possibly caused at hatch that got triggered when she went broody.
I don''t think I will ever find out exactly what the problem is. What I hope is between time, care and supplements I can avoid having to kill her. I can't let her sit and hatch unfortunately, but she has hatched a couple of chicks so she's done her bit. Shame she was such a rubbish mum and both chicks died.

 

[getaclue]

Shad, it could well be that she became selective in her foraging to boost something she was a bit low in. I'm not doubting the quality of the feed you provide, or the quality of their care. That was the farthest thing from my mind. Too, sometimes for whatever reason, there can be a bit of an oddball in the flock, that has individual needs, that vary slightly from the others. It happens.

 

[Shadrach]

Shad, it could well be that she became selective in her foraging to boost something she was a bit low in. I'm not doubting the quality of the feed you provide, or the quality of their care. That was the farthest thing from my mind. Too, sometimes for whatever reason, there can be a bit of an oddball in the flock, that has individual needs, that vary slightly from the others. It happens.

I know you weren't having a go.
You know my writing style I honestly haven't taken any offense and I appreciate any input you may have. She's definitely an oddball.

 

[Shadrach]

Bracket has looked mostly normal when I've seen her today. @aart is partially correct in that she does stargaze from time to time when resting but I haven't seen her fit as such.
She roosted up the tree waitng for supper as usual. Flew down to eat with no problem.
Ate with the others as shown in the two pictures below. She did try and go back up the tree again but I diverted her. She went voluntarily into the coop, hopped on to the perch, put her head back and fell off.
The remaining three pictures are of her in the coop. Where she is standing is before she got on the perch, the other two after she fell off and rolled around a bit.
She will scoot around on the coop floor in the posture she's in in the fourth picture until she wedges against something. It's the scooting around that makes me reluctant to leave her in the coop overnight.
She's back in the pet carrier tonight where she settled almost immediately in the star gazing posture and closed her eyes. No fuss, no scooting about.

 

[Shadrach]

Not a great night. Bracket has developed a twitch which means she taps her foot every few minutes. It seems she's still asleep while she does this. I can't say the same for me a Tackle who is sitting on a clutch in the house nest box.
Took Bracket out to join her tribe this morning; you wouldn't know it was the same hen. Ran off with Mag to the orchard and the last I saw of them they were busily digging and snacking under an apple tree.

 

[getaclue]

Have you checked Bracket's ears? In addition, you might want to consider an antibiotic. Since most symptoms only show up at night, an inner ear infection might be messing with her equilibrium. That would explain a lot of it.

 

[007Sean]

That is always a possibility with free range chickens. However, she had a mother who had the highest chick survival rate of any hen here. To me that means a bit more then luck. I would say she got taught well. Also the tribes forage as a group and unless she was really unlucky she will have eaten much the same as the others in her tribe. None of the above makes you wrong but I'm inclined to believe there is an underlying neurological problem.possibly caused at hatch that got triggered when she went broody.
I don''t think I will ever find out exactly what the problem is. What I hope is between time, care and supplements I can avoid having to kill her. I can't let her sit and hatch unfortunately, but she has hatched a couple of chicks so she's done her bit. Shame she was such a rubbish mum and both chicks died.

You're probably right, a neurological disorder that has been set off by something which we have no clue to as why or how it has occured.
I was just that it came on all of a sudden that makes one think she got into something that was neurotoxic in nature.