Many people who look for backyard birds to raise will choose to raise chickens. These birds are relatively easy to raise but that doesn’t mean that they never get sick.
You may think that a chicken who is not eating and is walking around in circles is sick. This article looks into why the birds do this.
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Chicken not eating and walking in circles:
Walking around in circles is quite odd behavior in chickens, while dogs may run around after their tails and go in circles, a chicken walking around in circles indicates that something is wrong.
Here is why your chicken is not eating and is walking around in circles.
Listeriosis:
One reason why your bird may be walking in circles may be that the bird has a condition called listeriosis. This is a bacterial infection that can affect both animals and humans.
There are two major forms of this disease, the encephalitic form, and the septicemic form.
The encephalitic form will cause your bird to walk in circles, other signs of the encephalitic form of listeriosis include incoordination, a loss of appetite, depression, hyperthermia, and torticollis.
Your bird may have caught this infection after inhaling the bacterium that causes this condition, ingesting it, or the bacteria getting into the bird’s body through a wound.
What to do:
If you suspect that your bird has this condition then you would need to isolate it as soon as you can. Keep it in a safe and comfortable place with its own food and water.
This illness can be treated with antibiotics so it is recommended that you take your bird to the vet for an examination and treatment.
The vet will be able to discuss the usage of the antibiotic medication before you start giving it to your bird.
Choosing an antibiotic for your bird without the help of your vet, and not discussing usage instructions with your vet, is not recommended as the medication that you choose and the amount given may not be effective.
Newcastle disease:
Another illness that may cause your chicken to walk in circles and lose its appetite is Newcastle disease. This is a viral infection that affects wild and domestic birds.
Symptoms of this illness in your bird include walking in circles, tremors, convulsions, leg and wing paralysis, and neck twisting.
If your bird is already circling then this means that the bird has a severe case of this disease.
Other signs of the disease include a loss of appetite, sneezing, depression, green watery diarrhea, twisted head, paralysis, droopy wings, muscle tremors, and swelling of the eyes and neck.
What to do:
This disease is also highly contagious so it is recommended that you isolate the bird. Keep the bird in a warm comfortable space like a dog crate or a pet carrier.
This is a viral infection so there is no treatment or cure for its condition. If the bird develops a secondary bacterial infection then antibiotics will be prescribed by your vet to help treat this.
Prevention of this condition will look like having strict biosecurity measures in place as well as giving your healthy birds a vaccination.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Chicken Making Weird Neck Movements, Chicken Shaking Head And Lethargic, How To Make A Baby Chick Sleep, Baby Chick Bleeding From Vent, Baby Chick Acting Drunk, Baby Chick Stumbling, Why Is My Baby Chick Wobbly, Quail Throat Movement, Quail Laying On Its Side