Two week old Cochin scratching frantically and peeping loudly!

[mchlldickson]

I have a two week old Cochin that has had two bouts of this madness! She will start frantically scratching the sides of her head, and peeping like crazy! I've tried holding her tightly to make he stop the scratching (never hurting her, just preventing her from scratching her face off), and she is trying so hard to scratch even in my hands. The first time this happened it went away within about 30 min, now it's back and I'm not sure what to do or why it's happening! Anyone have any advise?

 

[mchlldickson]

Here's a video

 

[Pork Pie]

Do you think that maybe your chick has something stuck in her ear? It seems like its scratching its left side mostly. Maybe if you search for "constant head scratching" (or something like that) in the search box there may be some info to help you out further.

Good luck
CT

 

[realsis]

could it be ear mites?? My guess is its ear related.poor baby. looks uncomfortable. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Quote:

Do you think that maybe your chick has something stuck in her ear? It seems like its scratching its left side mostly. Maybe if you search for "constant head scratching" (or something like that) in the search box there may be some info to help you out further.

Good luck
CT

I agree with CTKen, check her ears, see it she has anything in them. Check her for lice/mites. Search here on BYC for the condition.
I really haven't seen anything like this before.

Is she drinking at all?
I would try to get her hydrated. You could use an eye dropper and try to get some vitamin/electrolyte water into her.
Food is secondary, I've found chicks will generally take wet mash (mix a little chick starter with warm water, make it a little soupy).
Is she pooping? Does her vent look a little pasty (in the video, can't really tell), if it is gently wash the bottom to get the poop off, you could put a little coconut oil on the bum to help poop not stick.

With chicks it's really hard to tell what's going on sometimes. It could be anything from dehydration, vitamin deficiency, neurological/developmental disorder and so it goes.

 

[mchlldickson]

I will do a through check, I did quickly look her over and didn't see anything. She's eating and drinking like normal. It's totally bizarre! She's definitely uncomfortable, I feel terrible for her!

 

[azygous]

Do you know how to check the ears? It would be good to rule that out. Firmly grasp the chick in one hand while nudging the feathery ear flap away from the head so the ear hole is exposed. Sometimes a sliver of wood from the bedding gets lodged in the ear hole. You should be able to see it and grasp it with tweezers.

It also appears the chick is may be having balance problems, and I would get some Poultry Nutri-drench and supplement her feed with it. You can even put it in the water for all the chicks since it can't hurt. The chick appears to be smaller than the rest. Is it a bantam or is it just a runt? Size difference if not due to breed, may indicate health problems.

 

[realsis]

how's your little one doing now? did you ever find out what the scratching was about??

 

[mchlldickson]

No never figured it out. She seems to be doing fine again. They spend a little time outside in their future coop every day, could she be allergic to something out there? It seems to happen when she comes back inside from being outside foraging.