convulsing chook

nic · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:36 am

Hi all. I put my chooks to bed last night and all looked well, but let them out thismorning and my little belgian roo was lying on the floor with his head back and upside down over his shoulder and i eye firmly shut, he is unable or unwilling to hold his head up, or stand for that matter, and he is blinking and shuddering gently in what seem to be mild convulsions. he is still quite strong, has no disharge, and his comb is quite red. he was FINE yesterday. my first though was that he has a tick somewhere, but have had a good look and cant find one, then i thought maybe hes been bitten by a spider or snake, but surely he would have died by now?his eye is very clear and focused, and has done a normal looking poo since thismorning. does anyone have any ideas about what could be the issue with this little chap? any feedback greatly appreciated, nic

Petite Poulet · **Joined:** Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:17 pm **Posts:** 5219

Perhaps he has eat poison of some sort like mice/rat bait or nibbled on a noxious plant?

Hope he gets better.

nic · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 3:22 pm

I can rule out food poisoning almost 100% as the possible cause. hes a real homebody, never strays very far from the pen, and he eats the exact same food/water as all the rest of my flock and none others are ill.Plus usually food poisoning symptoms include poop or excess saliva etc an he isnt showing any of this. he is still shuddereing gently and can only take a tiny bit of water when i drip it onto his beak, so at this point i fear im just watching him slowly die. He isnt making a sound either, no ragged breathing or anything, so im not even sure if hes in pain? could it be a brain tumor that has caused this problem? or could he have fallen from the perch during the night and damaged his neck?(highly unlikely but im snatching at straws at present) ive ruled out mareks because that just seems to be a loss of function, wherbye in this case, he has the spasms, or convulsions aswell??? should i just put him out of his misery? please, if anyone has any ideas, let me know.

A_nomad · **Joined:** Mon Jan 23, 2012 8:59 am **Posts:** 32

I had a chook with the same symptoms about 3 weeks ago, I had to put it down,mi waited 4 days, hoping but she didn't seem to get any better. Good luck

nic · **Posted:** Thu Feb 09, 2012 7:45 pm

thanks A_nomad, i couldnt bear to watch him any more, so he was put out of his misery that afternoon. it must have been a spider or tick and i just couldnt find the evidence under all those fluffy feathers???Its very dissapointing when i cant find the cause or cure.

parvo · **Joined:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:39 pm **Posts:** 735

Hi Nic,

Sorry to hear of your loss.

If it was a tick then he would have been floppy not rigid and they generally don't convulse with ticks.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you what caused the problem because it could have been one of several things, but some toxin- either eaten or injected by a bite- or a metabolic issue like a stroke or liver failure can all cause these signs.

The fact that he was the only one affected hopefully means that it was a one-off episode.

Hope the rest of your flock remains fit and healthy!

Cindys334 · **Joined:** Sun Jan 08, 2012 4:15 pm **Posts:** 39

you haven't been using super phosphate in your garden have you??

AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

convulsing chook

Who is on the Forum