shaking head non stop, sick? UPDATED 5/19

[lovelychicken]

5/19 UPDATE: All is ok for now, EE are no longer shaking...possibly the hay? That was a real scare but thank god its going good for now!!!

Ok, well now my two EE are shaking thier heads fast. Started earlier today with just one now the other has started. They are two weeks old with two one week olds in one cage. I put the two EE outside yesterday as it was perfect weather, maybe I should not have. They are the two who have started the head shaking non stop. I saw them nibble a little but dont watch them every second so dont know how much they are eating. I tried to figure out the "crop" thing some have said with head shaking but didnt notice a lump or anything. The one who started first head shaking has runnier poop, the others poop is fine. So what am I doing wrong and how can I fix it? Maybe someone else has had this problem. Please help, should I separate them from the two younger ones?
***updated this, think i should be doing it this way instead of creating another post, unsure....anyhow, the two black austrolorps chest bone you can feel pretty well? are they sick too? gosh i wish i knew more about what is normal and what is not. i thought they were supposed to be full there. that front bone under neck on chest in front is boney. they do eat, they usually follow the bigger ones around and eat and drink when they do....or maybe this should be a separate post?
EE as of this morning did not see shaking heads convulsively, I removed hay last night I think around 6 pm. I actually removed it not thinking it was harming them. It was bothering me, the hay smell I think was giving some sort of head ache so I took it out for that reason but maybe thats the cause of the head shaking. I will be gone for a while today so I cant see them again for severel hours but hopefully thats all the problem was.

 

[sammi]

shaking the head? or trembling?
check the nostrils for clog.
check the "ears"(and everywhere) for mites
check the throats for anything unusual caught in there..
try giving a dab plain active culture yogurt..

watch for signs of mucus, eye swelling, wheezing.
sometimes head shaking can be a symptom of respiratory illness.

runny droppings? what color?

 

[lovelychicken]

Shaking head very quickly like when your trying to keep yourself awake while driving.

Very quickly, no body trembling. Honestly, I dont really know how to check the throat. I can't even get them to eat yogurt. I put apple cider vinegar in the water but its not the raw stuff, don't have that. The poop is sometimes black but sometimes just a little less hard and no white stuff. I did notice when I was changing the pine shaving and put them in a holding container that one had pooped soft, no white but with quite a bit of I guess urine looking stuff. A lot though, don't know whats normal or not. Oh, I put in yesterday some hay from feed store also, maybe that caused it. I don't see any obvious mucous. I don't know how to examine a chicken for health other than checking their vent, making sure they are eating and drinking.
1. Maybe I can buy some of the active cultures from the health food store and put in their water.
2. Could I break up one of my kids vitamins and put in their water?
3. I cleaned out a large bin to put the little ones in to separate them, should I go ahead with the separation now?...or is it to late maybe.

 

[sammi]

what all do you feed?
any wild bird seed?

I think I'd nix the hay and go with commercial pine shavings.
hay can go moldy if it gets wet, and can make them very sick.

is the hen docile? easy to handle?
I hold mine with one arm around the body to restrain them, and hold the mouth and slip it open with finger or thumb..
you might need someone to help so you can see good.
after they go to roost for a while and are asleep or very sleepy..they are much easier to handle..wrap her in a towel..

the droppings do not sound normal..
how long have they been this way?
are they like that all the time, or a few times a day?
was it like that before or after the hay?
did the head shaking start before or after the hay?

it's always best to separate when they have odd symptoms just in case, and until you can figure out what the problem is.

ok...confused..
do you have chicks and adults together?
how old are the chicks?
what are they eating?

 

[lovelychicken]

Chicks are somewhat docile, still don't care to be held.
Poop, sometimes black/sometimes a little not hard for a few days I think. I have four chicks, 2-EE (2 weeks old) and 2-black austrolorps (1 week old). The EE are the ones with the shaking but the poop could be from either EE. I just saw one poop and it was perfectly normal but while I was looking in cage I saw another more runnier poop, kind of watery but brown, no blood. I smells pretty strong. I am gonna put the two EE in a separate cage for now. The hay was introduced yesterday, the shaking started today but they did also go outside yesterday too. They are eating chick starter medicated, don't know brand. I also put big chunks of dirt w/grass attached in cage to keep them occupied. I put some grit in their chick starter as they are eating grass. I will try to see the throat but um seems kinda almost impossible. Their nostrils are clear, I don't hear any wheezing, no swollen face. I looked and saw no bugs on them. I threw out the hay into the compost bin and won't use, now on pine shavings. The one EE I think is munching on the pine shavings but to use Paper towels is almost impossible, they step in it non stop.
They were purchased at a feed store. Feed store says they get them from thebelthatchery.
No wild bird seed.

 

[lovelychicken]

i changed my mind on separationas when i was petting them i noticed on of the black aust had a soft poop. might wait it out with some apple cider vinegar and getting some vitamins.

 

[tulie13]

Quote:
The hay may have some mold in it - that could cause some toxic/neurological symptoms. With regard to the really runny/nasty-smelling poop, they do that once in a while, it's normal, it's called CECAL poop. There's a poop page link on here somewhere that shows pictures of different kinds of poop, what's "normal" and what is not.