Dizzy Chick?

[tim85a]

Hi All.

I picked up my first chickens on Tuesday and all was good. I got 3 birds, one had just started to lay and the other to were growers.

I have a problem with one of the 'growers', she keeps turning her head so one eye is looking up and the other at the ground then it looks like she gets dizzy and almost falls over. She is eating and drinking OK, or at least she was yesterday (I've only just let them out today).

Has anyone else had this happen or heard of anything like it? I'm worried for her health as my kids have got quite attached to them.

Thanks in advance for the help

A Worried Tim :|

 

[Marigold]

Hi Tim, and welcome to the Forum. I'm sorry it's at such a worrying time for you, when all you want to do is to enjoy your new birds.
Unfortunately there are some common viral diseases which mostly affect chicks or growers, causing neurological problems, and the commonest of these is Mareks disease. There's and article about it on the main Poultrykeeper website, here
http://poultrykeeper.com/nervous-system-problems/mareks-disease-in-backyard-flock
and the article gives a further link to a Chicken Vet article at the end. .
Where did you get them from, and do you know if they were vaccinated against Mareks? I'm not saying she has this, there a some more classic symptoms that you don't mention having seen in this bird, but you should have it in mind, it is serious if diagnosed, and if she shows any more marked symptoms, maybe a visit to the vet will be necessary. I would also get in touch with the breeder you got your birds from, and let him know about it, because if they've only just arrived she would have been incubating this before she left the breeder, though it wouldn't necessarily have been apparent at that stage. A good breeder would want to know this, and of course if the bird was sick he or she should either take her back or refund you. Moving home is very stressful for chickens and often the stress depresses their immune systems so it's fairly common for illness to appear in new birds which otherwise they might perhaps have resisted. Watch the other birds carefully as well, because if it is the Mareks virus they may either be affected, or be carriers because they had it earlier and have recovered.
Do let us know how you get on. I hope I'm being unnecessarily gloomy, but you do need to be informed about the possibilities.

 

[tim85a]

Hi Margold,

Thanks for your reply. I hope you are being unnecessarily gloomy too. She seem to be a bit worse this morning when I let them out (she just fell out of the coop and looked around). But she seems to be able to walk around and still eating and drinking, I've always been told that not eating and drinking is a good sign that an animal is feeling sorry for them self.

Is there anything I can do without going to the vets? I don't have any money until payday (Friday 29th).

Thanks for the information so far.

Tim

 

[Marigold]

Not much point in isolating her at this stage, Tim, because the others will have been in contact for enough time to have caught it if they're going to, especially if it originated at the breeders premises. This is why it's always a good thing to isolate new batches of birds for a couple of weeks before letting them come into contact with an existing flock, to keep your older birds safe from potential problems the new ones might bring with them. At least with all new ones you don't need to do that this time.
If she were mine, I would certainly get back to the breeder ASAP though. You really don't want to spend a lot of money at the vet, possibly to be told that she has Mareks and will need to be PTS, when really it shouldn't be your problem at this stage.
Yes she may well be eating and drinking OK,and as she's not in pain, eating and drinking and quite perky in herself, I think just watchful waiting is what I would do. Look out for continued problems with her balance. If this goes on developing and getting worse, and she goes off her legs, its unlikely she will recover, there will be nothing a vet could do, and she will need to be PTS. If she gets to thus stage, I would take her back and get the breeder to deal with her, if necessary.
Are the others OK? Did you find out about the vaccinations? Small-scale breeders of a few hobby birds will often not bother to vaccinate, whereas if you get birds from a bigger, more commercial setup they're likely to have had the full course against several diseases as well as Mareks. It would be helpful to let us know a bit more about her background, if you could.
Actually, if thus does turn out to be trouble, I would get the breeder to take back all three birds, as its possible the other two may be carriers who could infect any other birds you added to your flock in the future. Then look around for somewhere else. Thus would be very disappointing, I know, but better than starting out with stock which was going to always be a worry on health grounds, maybe for the next 5+ years.
Someone else had a similar problem a few weeks ago, spent a lot of money at the vet on treatment which was useless, and in the end had to accept the inevitable. See http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9091