ohcarolina Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Hallo I've seen a couple of posts on this subject but thought I'd ask for opinions in my particular case. Ethel my Maran is fully feathered and hasn't moulted (new last year - about 15months) but seems to have been broody for ever. She went off lay again a couple of weeks ago and sits in the nestbox growling but does pop out occasionally to feed and I throw her her out with the others when they FR. She has a wander and maybe a dustbath. I let them out to FR yesterday as I was in the garden (foxes Grrrr ) and plonked her out with the others. She wandered about with the others for a bit and FR's away. Then I noticed that she was walking wakwards and had a slight left handed tilt to her head. It was very odd. It was if she couldn't balance too well. This continued all the time she was FRing. She managed to climb the cube stairs OK and flew up onto the top of one of the Classics to play 'Queen of the Castle' (as they do). Maybe this explains why she's sitting away from the others. I did pick her up when she was out of the cube for a looksee but she went mad - screeching and struggling. She was clearly frightened and whilst she doesn't usually love a cuddle she's not usually flighty and I can catch her when necessary. The other hens seemed wary of her when she was doing the backwards walking and wobbling about - if I'm honest she seemed like the nutter no one wants to know I'm thinking of separating her (I have a spare Classic) and trying the protein and vitamin B treatment anyway but does anyone else have any suggestions? To cap it all I'm off on holiday next week for 10 days but at leat the forecast is good so I can spend time with them all this week and see how they are interacting. Then I hope that my chicken sitter can keep the work up. Thanks for any suggestions Caroline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Shirl Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Oh my goodness! You must be really worried.....They do get run down if they are broody too long....You are right to separate her and give her some TLC....If you can give her a vitamin supplement that would be good....Keep us posted as to her well being.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 I have a girl who suffers regular bouts of this. Rita the silkie gets a very bendy neck, loss of balance and is unable to cope with climbing or changes in ground level. She also needs hand feeding when she's at her worst as she can't support her neck well enough to eat properly. She's just getting through the latest attack and I've been giving her a sprinkle of B-pure (a vitamin powder for racing pigeons that was recommended to me by Redwing) on her food every day and I make sure that the chooks have lifeguard tonic in their water every day. Vitamin E capsules help too when squeezed on their food. If you don't see signs of improvement and are worried about going away, it might be worth a trip to the vets in case she has an ear infection and needs antibiotics. I wish you well- hopefully it's just a one off. My girl seems particularly prone to this and seems to succumb every 6-8 weeks on average! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
