Unhealthy chicken moving neck weirdly (video)

[beckysaur]

My poor 8-year old Welsummer has been unhealthy recently. The last week or so she's been spending a lot of time laying down in the yard. She's been doing this strange thing with her neck pretty regularly too, where she stretches it out and moves it in a circular motion. We've massaged her crop a few different times (and she's spit up). Please see the video below of the weird neck movement. Any advice or ideas about what might be causing this would be greatly appreciated. I know she's old, and it may be her time, but I want to do what I can to keep her healthy and comfortable if possible.

Thank you!

 

[evekelly]

My hen was doing the same thing and she has an impacted or slow crop that has turned into sour crop. We made her regurgitate over the last few days and I gave her red wine (about 3 ml with a dropper) yesterday. She slept for a long time, then she perked up and perked up a lot last night and this morning. She is acting normal, but her crop is still not emptying completely. From what I've read, it can be something further down in the gizzard or even a reproductive issue. If your hen is old, it could be something like a tumor in her reproductive tract causing everything to slow down.
Does her crop feel squishy or hard? If stuff came up when you massaged it, it sounds like it is full and may be sour. Did it smell really bad? If not, it may not be sour crop yet, but it will turn sour if it doesn't empty. I ordered copper sulfate which I will try next but you have to be very careful with the dosing from what I have read. I also tried the remedy using cinnamon, ginger, chili powder, baking soda but I couldn't get enough of it down her without a feeding tube. You can look up sour crop on the website here and it will explain this information more fully.

 

[Abriana]

Beautiful hen! Never seen anything like that. I don't know what could be wrong. I'll be praying for your hen!

 

[Eggcessive]

To me it looks more neurological, but chickens do adjust their crops occasionally. Her behavior looks more like a spasm or seizure-like, but I'm not a vet. At her age, it may be some symptom of a stroke or other brain problem. I would, however check her crop, especially early in the morning before she eats to make sure that it is emptying overnight. Can you give her some chicken vitamins with electrolytes and a little chopped egg daily to see if that helps?

 

[beckysaur]

My hen was doing the same thing and she has an impacted or slow crop that has turned into sour crop. We made her regurgitate over the last few days and I gave her red wine (about 3 ml with a dropper) yesterday. She slept for a long time, then she perked up and perked up a lot last night and this morning. She is acting normal, but her crop is still not emptying completely. From what I've read, it can be something further down in the gizzard or even a reproductive issue. If your hen is old, it could be something like a tumor in her reproductive tract causing everything to slow down.
Does her crop feel squishy or hard? If stuff came up when you massaged it, it sounds like it is full and may be sour. Did it smell really bad? If not, it may not be sour crop yet, but it will turn sour if it doesn't empty. I ordered copper sulfate which I will try next but you have to be very careful with the dosing from what I have read. I also tried the remedy using cinnamon, ginger, chili powder, baking soda but I couldn't get enough of it down her without a feeding tube. You can look up sour crop on the website here and it will explain this information more fully.

Thanks for all the info! Her crop has been squishy, but I'm not sure about the smell. I'll try your suggestions.

 

[beckysaur]

To me it looks more neurological, but chickens do adjust their crops occasionally. Her behavior looks more like a spasm or seizure-like, but I'm not a vet. At her age, it may be some symptom of a stroke or other brain problem. I would, however check her crop, especially early in the morning before she eats to make sure that it is emptying overnight. Can you give her some chicken vitamins with electrolytes and a little chopped egg daily to see if that helps?

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[beckysaur]

Beautiful hen! Never seen anything like that. I don't know what could be wrong. I'll be praying for your hen!

Thank you, Abriana!