Something strange is happening with my hen… Updates with video’s attached. Any help and suggestions needed!

[Shadrach]

UPDATE 2:
I was wrong about her not doing it again at night while laying down. I started going through the footage again and saw her do it again a couple hours later. I missed it before because it lasts a lot less time while she’s laying down and she doesn’t flap madly. I’m going through the footage to see how many times she did it throughout the night. Her head tilts back in a stargazing position. Maybe some type of vitamin deficiency linked to this?

That is exactly what Barking Bracket did.

 

[Shadrach]

I've told you what I think and if you've read the thread I linked to you can see the issue resolved itself in time.
I do not think it has anything to do with diet and I know of no drugs or supplements that will put this right.
As you may have read, I took Bracket in to my house and put her in a pet carrier over night where she was less likely to do herself damage during the falls and fits.
In the morning I took her back to her tribe and she was mostly fine during the day.

 

[Shadrach]

There is one vital piece of information you omitted from you original post and that is this hen was broody and removed from her nest. I've provided the link again so others wo read this thread can better understand the problem.

This is an unusual problem and for such problems it is helpfull to look for common factors. Both you and I ruled out ear infections, diet problems etc, so that leaves one common factor and that is the broody state of the hen.

There is one thing broody hens never do when brooding and that is balance on a roost bar. The walking about during the day is normal as are eating, dustbathing, pooping, drinking etc, but balancing on a bar....

When hens sit on a clutch of eggs they go into a trance like state. Nobody really understands how this works and many people are not even aware that hens do this.
Some keepers come to understand a bit about the broody trance when they lifted a hen off a nest and placed her on the ground, perhaps to ensure she eats, drinks etc. What many find is the hen just stays there on the ground and she has to be "woken up" before she will do anything apart from sit there. But, a broody in a trance is not asleep as such. She has to turn her eggs and adjust her body position. So this is a state between sleep and fully conscious and I believe this is the key to the problem.
It seems possible that in case such as ours something doesn't reconnect when the hen is disturbed from her broody trance and this something effects her balance and her reactions to the fall, should they fall.

Why they seem to fit when on the floor is an interesting point to which I have no explanation for.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/nuerological-or-something-else.1318208/

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

There is one vital piece of information you omitted from you original post and that is this hen was broody and removed from her nest. I've provided the link again so others wo read this thread can better understand the problem.

This is an unusual problem and for such problems it is helpfull to look for common factors. Both you and I ruled out ear infections, diet problems etc, so that leaves one common factor and that is the broody state of the hen.

There is one thing broody hens never do when brooding and that is balance on a roost bar. The walking about during the day is normal as are eating, dustbathing, pooping, drinking etc, but balancing on a bar....

When hens sit on a clutch of eggs they go into a trance like state. Nobody really understands how this works and many people are not even aware that hens do this.
Some keepers come to understand a bit about the broody trance when they lifted a hen off a nest and placed her on the ground, perhaps to ensure she eats, drinks etc. What many find is the hen just stays there on the ground and she has to be "woken up" before she will do anything apart from sit there. But, a broody in a trance is not asleep as such. She has to turn her eggs and adjust her body position. So this is a state between sleep and fully conscious and I believe this is the key to the problem.
It seems possible that in case such as ours something doesn't reconnect when the hen is disturbed from her broody trance and this something effects her balance and her reactions to the fall, should they fall.

Why they seem to fit when on the floor is an interesting point to which I have no explanation for.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/nuerological-or-something-else.1318208/

I read through your thread for a second time and their situations are very similar but I also see some differences. Percy only did it a couple of times throughout the night and slept in a completely normal position for the rest of the night. She was on the roost sleeping like normal for about an hour and a half before she fell off in the first video, which is very odd. I corrected how long she's been doing this, which is around 2.5 weeks (I originally thought it's already been 3-4 but I looked at my run camera sd card and saw she was in the broody breaker 2.5 weeks ago). So far this morning she came out of the coop like normal, acting as if nothing happened last night. She's been scratching around, eating and drinking all morning. Right now I'm still researching and weighing all of the possible options it could be. Hopefully it does turn out to be some weird phenomenon like your hen had and she'll overcome it by herself. I may try the vitamin E and B because it can't hurt to try. I'm going to be moving her off of the perch and onto the floor at night so she won't end up hurting herself or breaking her neck by falling off of the perch. I'm hoping it's not something like Mareks, she's not vaccinated for that.

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

do the other symptoms here fit?
"

Thiamine (vitamin b1) Deficiency​

Polyneuritis in birds represents the later stages of a thiamin deficiency, probably caused by buildup of the intermediates of carbohydrate metabolism. Because the brain’s immediate source of energy results from the degradation of glucose, it depends on biochemical reactions involving thiamin. In the initial stages of deficiency, lethargy and head tremors may be noted. A marked decrease in appetite is seen in birds fed a thiamin-deficient diet. Poultry are also susceptible to neuromuscular problems, resulting in impaired digestion, general weakness, stargazing, and frequent convulsions.
Polyneuritis may be seen in mature birds ~3 weeks after they are fed a thiamine-deficient diet. As the deficiency progresses, birds may sit on flexed legs and draw back their heads in a star-gazing position. Retraction of the head is due to paralysis of the anterior neck muscles. Soon after this stage, chickens lose the ability to stand or sit upright and topple to the floor, where they may lie with heads still retracted. Thiamin deficiency may also lead to a decrease in body temperature and respiratory rate. Testicular degeneration may be noted, and the heart may show slight atrophy. Birds consuming a thiamin-deficient diet soon show severe anorexia. They lose all interest in feed and will not resume eating unless given thiamin. If a severe deficiency has developed, thiamin must be force-fed or injected to induce the chickens to resume eating.
Thiamin deficiency is most common when poorly processed fish meals are used, because they contain the enzyme thiaminase, which breaks down thiamin. In such situations, adding extra thiamin may be ineffective. There is no good evidence suggesting that, unlike in some mammalian species, certain Fusarium mycotoxins can increase the need for supplemental thiamin. In otherwise adequate diets, deficiency is prevented by supplements of thiamin up to 4 mg/kg." https://www.msdvetmanual.com/poultr...ement-poultry/vitamin-deficiencies-in-poultry

The only symptom that seems to fit out of there is the occasional stargazing as seen in the video. Other than that she has a good appetite, not lethargic or weak whatsoever, and her crop is emptying at night. I'm going to the store tomorrow and will be picking up some vitamin e and b complex just to rule out a vitamin deficiency, it can't hurt to try.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

WOW!!! I hope your hen will be ok this is so interesting please keep updating!

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

WOW!!! I hope your hen will be ok this is so interesting please keep updating!

I hope she'll be alright too! She's a very sweet and otherwise healthy girl. I will definitely keep updating and welcoming all suggestions for what might be wrong with her!

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

UPDATE: I wanted to post some videos of how Percy acts during the day. As you can see in the videos she walks up and down the ladder without issue, and has no weakness or any balance issues. As of right now I’m going to start the suggested vitamins E and b complex. I’m welcoming any suggestions as to what may be wrong with her in the meantime! I’m also currently still researching other possible causes.

 

[LaFleche]

Very interesting case, indeed!

Did she have an accident recently? Do or did you have a rooster in your flock? If so, he might have tugged her head the wrong way while mating, thus displacing her neck/cervical vertebras (first and second = atlas and axis) which would cause pressure on one ear and loss of equilibrium when positioning the head in a certain angle as often done when deeply asleep.

In the video where she is looking down an at the same time twisting her head/beak to the left to scratch behind her right ear, she starts to lose equilibrium when reaching a certain angle.

ETA: Her head movements in this video reminds me of nystagmus in humans when suffering from vertigo related problems of the cervical vertebrae and/or slipped disc.

Just to rule this out: When did you lat deworm her?

 

[BastyPutt]

Really rooting for you and her. I have nothing of relevancy to contribute.