walking backwards

[KarenWoman]

I have 18 chickens, this little girl is a new hampshire red. She is 16 1/2 weeks old. Sometimes she will walk backwards into us. Then continue to walk forward with the rest of the flock. She looks healthy. She eats well. The only thing I see is her walking like that. Its not all the time. None of the others is doing this. Not sure if she is sick or needing attention or what? She is a happy chicken and looks good. It is confusing. Is she sick or mentally ill?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Sometimes you read about especially silkies walking backwards as part of the "neurological" vitamin deficiency or brain swelling from a peck to the head problem they get. This can be from infection, injury, or vitamin deficiency (like crazy chick disease from Vit E defic.).

For another breed like yours, trying vitamins may help and certainly shouldn't hurt.

You might check the "let's talk wry neck" thread for ideas...some use poly vi sol without iron, and others get the poultry vitamins from the feed store.

Some try vitamin E and selenium- browneggblueegg.com has an article entitled "crookneck" with some recommendations on dosages (your chicken doesn't have crookneck/wryneck but some dosages are on that page).