something is terribly wrong with my chicken, but i don't know what!?

[LynneP]

Did the motion seem like hiccups? If so, check her crop.

Any sign of limping as well as the neck motion? If so she may be low in vitamin D and needs multivitamins in water ( such as baby vitamins without added iron).

If truly uncoordinated, I would suspect Marek's...

 

[Lobzi]

If neurological, start multi-B immediately and now I read Vit E helps also.

 

[easttxchick]

That really doesn's sound like wry neck.
With wry neck, they will hold their head down(basically between their legs and it can progress to the point of them actually walking backward).
Feed that has gotten wet/molded, mold in the coop, etc. can cause neurological symptoms like what you are describing I believe.
Let me do a quick search and see what I can come up with on that to see if your symptoms match.

LynneP is right-check her crop to make sure she doesn't have an impaction.

 

[easttxchick]

"Tremorgenic mycotoxins produced by molds on foods are a relatively common... cause of tremors and seizures... These toxins are produced from a variety of fungi, however tremorgens produced by Penicillium spp. are the most commonly encountered. These molds grow on practically any food, including dairy products, grains, nuts, and legumes; compost piles may also provide a source of tremorgens... The overall affect is the development of muscle tremors and seizures. Signs include fine muscle tremors that may rapidly progress to more severe tremors and seizures. Death generally occurs in the first 2 to 4 hours (canine reference) and is usually secondary to respiratory compromise, metabolic acidosis or hyperthermia."

Could she possibly have gotten into anything like this?

 

[LynneP]

Whatever the cause you will not harm this hen by offering multivitamins in water. Vitamins D3, B and E and needed in greatest amounts so a multivitamin will hit all of these, and baby or poultry vitamins are highest in D3.

 

[easttxchick]

If you have any of the Vitamin E gel type capsules, cut the end off of one and squeeze it into something like a SMALL amount of boiled egg. I'd do that 2-3 times a day in addition to the PolyViSol infant drops WITHOUT iron(use PolyViSol only 1x a day).

 

[somissemilyy]

update, she is moving around, and i now know what egg bound means, i think she was egg bound. i but cvaseline on her..

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Happy to hear that your hen is doing better

such a worry when they are unwell .