Sooo much pooping

[chuckmum6]

OH has had to take his chicken Hen Solo to the vet today, as she had her head at a 90 degree angle, it had been slightly twisted for a while. It seemed to improve when she went into moult and got worse when her feathers regrew, I thought as she has a crest (she's an Araucana's) it was this, so I had trimmed it the best I could. Anyway the vet who also keep chickens and has Araucana's felt that she might have an inner ear infection so she is on antibiotics, the vet also commented that it was Araucanas that are typically the hens to get ill! Failing this it could be a more serious disease although OH didn't ask what that might be and was typically vague about any details! Hen is fine in herself albeit she has a slightly different perspective on the world!!!! She is eating, socializing and as active as normal, she has also come back into lay in the last couple of weeks. Anyone had anything like this before?

Edited January 6, 2011 by Guest

[Dappy Chick]

Hi

 

Is her neck constantly twisted or is it snake like (if that makes sense)?

 

Recently we have had a couple of ex-batts in (BHWT) with snake like necks and when we looked into it it turned out that it is called Star Gazing and the person that advised us had an Aracuna with it and it is all to do with vitamin B, but if this is the case then Em is the one to ask on this as she took in the worst case and has done a fab job getting her better.

 

Just a thought!

 

If it is constantly twisted then I doubt it could be that

 

Hope you find the answer.

[chuckmum6]

Unfortunately I just got home and she is a lot worse, unable to put walk now and couldn't put herself to bed. Her neck is twisted right round - horrid, poor girl. OH has taken her to the vet to be dispatched (I couldn't face this myself as I haven't done it before) and also to get some advice re the other chickens. Looks neurological, hopefully it is not contagious, she had had a slight twist for a year (I thought she'd got it stuck in netting) but it never bothered her at all. I don't think she was deficient in her diet, but just rather unlucky, we will miss her and her lovely coloured eggs .

[chuckmum6]

The news from the vet was that he thought that she'd had an injury to her head, as she was in such good condition and had no signs of illness. I am relieved that the others should be fine, but wonder what she could have done to herself. Two nights ago she didn't go to bed with the others and I found her out in the garden when I went down in the morning. Something must have happened to her then. I must make sure I do a head count, although I wouldn't have been able to find her in the dark anyway. Such a shame though

[Goosey Lucy]

So sorry to hear about Hen Solo.

[Falkor]

So sorry to hear this. I wish I had seen this post sooner.

 

As Dappy Chick has said I took in the worst of our Stargazing exbatts and she is now running around with the rest of my flock. Her twisted neck was constant but got much worse when she was stressed or trying to move at speed or climb.

 

If the hen had always had a slight twist which had gotten worse when she regrew her feathers after moulting I would be inclined to think that it was Stargazing/Vit deficiency as she was using all the energy/goodness that she took on from the food to grow feathers.

 

My exbatt, named Necky, showed more severe symptoms when she was stressed so your hens night outside may have also worsened the symptoms. To correct the problem I simply upped her vit b intake by supplementing her diet with Vit B rich foods and using a good quality water supplement. She still gets Vit B treats today some 6m on.

 

Of course as your vet could well be right about her sustaining an injury.

 

To be on the safe side I would check the use by dates on your feed as vit content can not be guaranteed after the use by date and also supplement the rest of your flock to be on the safe side. Some feeds differ in Vitamin content also so may be worth checking.

[chuckmum6]

Many thanks for the advice, I don't think it was vit b deficiency, as I used vit drops in the water and they had corn coated in cod liver oil and poultry spice to boost them through the moult. The layers pellets are new from Omlet so within date, they also had weekly green cabbage or broccoli hanging up to peck at, as well as free ranging. If this hadn't been the case then I would have certainly felt it was worth a shot, she was in a distressed state on Thursday evening though and I think it was the right call for her, all things considered. None of the other chickens are showing any signs of ill health at all, I have been watching them like a hawk! I think it was probably what the vet said a head injury. I do miss her .