Why is my tom spinning?

[valewife]

My standard bronze tom, about a yr and a half old, will occasionally
spin in a circle and then run around, bumping into things for a minute or so.
Then he's fine. It's almost like a seizure-type activity.
Has anyone experienced this ?
Other than this, he is healthy, fat and sassy.
Thanks.

 

[jasonm11]

maybe an ear infection thowing off his equilibreum?

 

[valewife]

I guess an ear infection could be a possible cause; however I would think an infection
would worsen.
I've seen him do this weird behavior only a handful of times over the
last year. It seems to happen when he gets agitated at me or if I separate him from his hens.
I wish I could describe it better.
He leans to one side and spins in a tight circle for a few seconds, staggers a few steps,
then begins running off-balance as if a bee is after him and will run
right into things, fences, etc. The whole thing lasts 30-45 secs. ? Then he quiets down and
is back to his normal tom behavior.
Once I grabbed him in the middle of the 'spinning cycle' and he stopped but was staggering for
several seconds, acted disoriented. It really has the symptoms of a neurological problem.
Yesterday I witnessed two of these episodes and I was not at all close to him,
so it's not just my presence that sets him off. (He's aggressive and I have to keep
reminding him who's the boss.)
Any other ideas ??
Anyone ????
He's healthy otherwise, well-fed, free-ranges during the day.

 

[ivan3]

Could be genetic/developmental/sequelae from any illness, disorder or injury that caused mild encephalopathy/neuritis/seizure. Has been observed occurring, occasionally, over the course of a year, seems to be related (triggered?), in part, to stress.

Most of the diseases, etc. that include `spinning'/torticollis/staggering... as primary/secondary symptoms more often leave the turk dead, not `fat&sassy.'

I'd keep him far enough away from any oil cooker, come Thanksgiving, that he won't fall in. Otherwise, just observe for any increase in frequency/severity of these episodes.

Good luck!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I thought the same thing when I read the post.

 

[rbrink21]

I have a Blue Slate that we caught doing this with a paper towel in it's beak. Once it realized it was caught on camera it stopped and acted like nothing was going on. I'm pretty sure it was playing.