Wobbles The Chicken

[Welshies]

I have a mature hen (not laying but close to laying). She is a backyard mix, colored like a Barred Plymouth Rock and a beauty! Calm and gentle.
She gets around well on the ground. Eats, runs, drinks, fearfully watches the rabbit in her pen just like the rest of the flock.
However, when I pick her up her head immediately goes underneath her and tilts to the side (right eye down)... So once I tossed her (gently, the way you might toss another chicken and it would fly along normally) and she landed with her head and neck underneath her exactly this way.
After watching her, I noticed she doesn't roost at night. She can't keep her balance on a roost, let alone get up her.
Does anyone have any experience with this? I feel terrible for Wobbles as she can't even roost so I don't know what to do.

 

[Eggcessive]

Does she seem worse after the fall? Are the balance issues worse since you tossed her? She may have been suffering from wry neck (crook neck, torticolis) which is a neurological symptom. Causes are head injuries, vitamin deficiency, heredity, and certain diseases such as Mareks. I would give her vitamins (especially thiamine and vitamin E, plus selenium found in chopped egg, seeds, and nuts. A poultry vitamin such as Poultry Cell or NutriDrench contains all of those, and dosage is 2-3 ml given orally or in food daily. Is she moving both legs and wings normally?

 

[Welshies]

Does she seem worse after the fall? Are the balance issues worse since you tossed her? She may have been suffering from wry neck (crook neck, torticolis) which is a neurological symptom. Causes are head injuries, vitamin deficiency, heredity, and certain diseases such as Mareks. I would give her vitamins (especially thiamine and vitamin E, plus selenium found in chopped egg, seeds, and nuts. A poultry vitamin such as Poultry Cell or NutriDrench contains all of those, and dosage is 2-3 ml given orally or in food daily. Is she moving both legs and wings normally?

Yes... Her head and neck are held normally too when she carries herself. But when I encourage her to fly (by tossing her as I do the other chickens. I always do this when I get new chickens to check for issues. Toss them a couple feet above ground.) she holds her neck under herself and tilts it. She seems to get around fine otherwise and I am totally puzzled. Perhaps she is blind in one eye?