Unsecure chicken perches

[rufusrooster]

hi, purchased 3 copper black marans and a cream legbar 2 weeks today, they will be approx 14 weeks old now, the 3 marans seem to have a problem, noticably when they are just sat or perched, constantly shaking the head like a twitch, is this normal ? ive never noticed it in other hens but 1st time ive had birds younger than pol. any ideas ?

[Plum]

Could it be ear infection or ear mites?

[coco]

I had two young hens that did this and they had a respiratory infection and needed antibiotics.

[rufusrooster]

thanks for the advice, they dont seem so bad now, whatever the problem, it seems odd the legbar doesn't seem to be infected / affected ?

[The Dogmother]

It can just be some food gone down the wrong way or got stuck, but equally it could be an ear infection or mites as mentioned above.

[rufusrooster]

hi guys, still twitching i'm afraid although does seem to have eased off a bit, what would be my best options of correctly diagnosing the problem and also curing it ? i do have some anti louse/mite spray but is it safe to spray around the ears ? and would i be able to get some anti-biotics over the counter ? is it baytrill or something like that ?

 

cheers in advance.

[Plum]

Why not go to a vet?

[rufusrooster]

Why not go to a vet?

 

 

i will if i can get some antibiotics over the counter, will try pop in today see what they advise, but i will not be taking any chickens to the vet i'm afraid, a waste of money, vets fees cost more than the chickens,

[Egluntyne]

Then I fear you will be unlucky. No vet would be allowed to just dole out antibiotics without examining the hen.

[The Dogmother]

I agree

 

Check the ears for mites or discharge.

[Redwing]

twitching heads are often a sign of mites - ear mites or red mites usually

[rufusrooster]

thanks for advice guys but seems to have cleared up on its own, virtually no twitching now, very odd, maybe the weather and a lot of tiny midges about lately ?

will keep monitoring anyway,

[The Dogmother]

I had one girl shaking her head the other week, it soon cleared so she must have just had something stuck in her throat.