Chickens shaking heads (5/18/2021) RESOLVED
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- A compilation of different chickens in my flock shaking/twitching their heads. The age ranges in this video are from 5 weeks old to 2 1/2 years old. (See more info below for case resolution)
Two birds were submitted for necropsy and testing to one of the CAHFS laboratory locations. Gross necropsy and pathology reports revealed mild intestinal necrosis in one of the birds (a stunted 3-week old chick) and mild lymphocytic infiltrates in organs of the other bird (not unusual). After submitting this video to help with further diagnosis, the laboratory concluded that the behavior was normal!
What I have concluded from this case:
If your birds are shaking/twitching their heads with no other apparent symptoms, it is likely not a cause for concern. I would still check them over carefully for external parasites (such as mites) and look into their ears to see is anything abnormal. If you are seeing yawning birds, it is not a bad idea to look down their throats for gapeworm. Otherwise, proceed as usual! As a side note, chickens also shake their heads more when they are in a noisy environment (for example, if you have a lot of roosters crowing or live next to a busy highway).
I hope this helped anyone who has run into this with their own flock. Enjoy your chickens. :) - Домашні улюбленці та дикі тварини
I'm having this problem right now. They are healthy with no mites, so I'm going to attempt to deworm.
My chicken is doing it extensively and vigorously. He started it around 2 months ago and now I'm seeing him with this worrisome head shake (very different & very intense as compared to what I saw in your video). We don't have vets here in my village and it's really troublesome to see him getting worse day by day and not being able to do anything. He's a very dear pet to me. Please help me out.
Is head shaking the only symptom? Check down his throat for gapeworm, white patches or other abnormalities. There is a forum called backyardchickens.com, I highly recommend creating an account there immediately and posting a thread about your chicken in the "Emergencies / Injuires / Diseases and Cures" section. Here is a link: www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/
There are people far more experienced and helpful than I who will help you there. Be sure to include as much information as you can -- a video would be especially helpful.
Someone told me its coccidia. Mine are doing the exact same right now. Ive been treating them some stopped and the rest are still doing it. Maybe it is just normal.
Hey Carlos! "Someone told you" or did you read it on a forum thread - a thread I think I've seen but can't pull up the link. There are 7 species of Coccidia that infect chickens but all of them live in the intestine, so it's unlikely that they would cause head shaking (a symptom usually resulting from irritation in the ear, throat or neurological condition).
Unless you are seeing the typical symptoms of coccidiosis (which are paleness, assuming a hunched position, blood in the stool and others) it's probably not it. I would wait and see if your chickens develop any other symptoms. If not, it's probably normal!
my 2 weeks old baby chick started shaking its head and it also have excess salivation and drooling.. what can i do to save them?
@Ameena Shaz, I am not sure exactly what is causing this, possibly something respiratory? Your chicks sound like they need immediate help, there is a forum on backyardchickens.com titled "Emergencies, Diseases, Injuries and Cures" -- post there and you should get a fairly quick response. I would include a video as well or at least some photos.
Here is a link to the forum: www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/
My 1 year old Barred Rocks just started this and the occasionally gaping. I’ve treated for gapeworm, and the gaping has reduced. Second dose tomorrow, but they’re still shaking their head a good bit. So stressful.
Hey Kyle! Did you look down their throats for gapeworm? I'm sure you already know this, but gapeworm looks like a Y and will be visible at the back of the throats. You can also send a sample to your state lab or a willing veterinarian to run a fecal test for confirmation. Occasional yawning (not continuous gaping) is normal, as is shaking of the head.
@@mariebethell7517 I have. There’s nothing visible. I decided to do the deworming for good measure, but I also started my girls on Denagard and I’m noticing improvements. The head shaking has reduced 60-70%, comb color is more consistent, poop is no longer runny, and I haven’t seen the outstretched neck gaping nearly as much. I lost a hen back in March and I had my suspicions it was CRD. However, it was my first time encountering it and not all the symptoms were present. Three more days of Denagard and I’m hoping we’re past this. I’ll just end up doing a preventive dose monthly.
@@Kyle-it9zj Hmmm... What were the symptoms of the hen you lost back in March? What you're describing in your flock now sounds more like worms than CRD... perhaps capillary worms. Since you're treating for both at the same time it's hard to tell what medication is having more affect. Glad to hear your hens are getting better though. If you lose anymore, definitely consider sending one in to your state lab for necropsy and testing. They will test for MG as well as all species of worms that affect chickens. Or consider doing a necropsy yourself. While it won't have potentially needed labaratory testing, you might be able to see worms if that is what you're dealing with. Wishing the best to you and your flock :)
@@mariebethell7517 The hen I lost initially started occasionally sneezing back in November. I treated with VetRX and the symptoms subsided. Then in February the sneezing started again and she’d occasionally gape her beak. A few days later she was wheezing and railing. I started treating her for gapeworm with Safeguard, but her symptoms only continued. Her crop was fine, no visible worms, but I didn’t notice some purple lines on her tongue. Then her comb got real dark and she stopped eating. I fed her wet mash for two days and she’d gradually eat some. Kept a heat lamp about her cage to keep the temp up around 87. This all during the time I’m waiting for antibiotics to arrive. She laid eggs every day up until her last, which is so weird. Unfortunately she ended up dying in my arms. I’m amazed she lasted as long as she did as quickly as it accelerated. The only other thing I noticed hindsight is a photo a few days before death she had some swelling in her face, but very mild. The only thing I can figure is if it really was worms. My remaining girls seem to be responding well. I haven’t noticed any gaping; just mouth breathing from the heat. I went ahead and sanitized their coop again today to kill of any bacteria and changed their bedding over to hemp since it’s lower dust than pine. Lord willing this takes care of it.
Did some of them die on you? How are they all now?
No, none of them died. I sent them for testing due to preemptive concern, since I have just begun upscaling my breeding operation and wanted to catch anything potentially dangerous early. What I have noticed is that some birds (in particular one of my Buff Orpington roosters and his offspring) seem to shake their heads more than others, and some hardly shake at all. My younger flock, which makes up most of the population, seems to have improved, though I still see the occasional twitch often accompanied by head scratching.
What was it. I have that too.. my chicken
My flock just started this today.. have you figured anything out?
Yes! I meant to make a video update, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I wound up submitting 2 birds for necropsy and testing to the UC Davis lab. The pathologists there didn't find anything other than some mild intestinal necrosis (one of them was stunted) and some lymphocytal infiltrates, again very mild and not unusual. I decided to send them this video to help with further diagnosis, and after consulting some experts in poultry behaviour, they concluded it was normal!
However, I would still recommend checking your flock over for external parasites (such as mites) and looking carefully into their ears. I wouldn't worry about it if head shaking is the only symptoms, but if you start seeing other issues it may be worth investigating further.
I've updated the description of the video with the conclusion of the case.