Chickens can get infected with a variety of illnesses, diseases, and ailments. A variety of chicken diseases, ailments, and conditions aren’t serious, but some can be.
If your bird is shaking its head and closing its eyes then you can assume that your bird is ill. This article explores what may be wrong with your bird.
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Chicken shaking head and closing eyes:
Chickens try to avoid showing signs of being ill. They do this because showing signs of being ill, or injured, in the wild would attract predators.
If you do notice that there is something wrong with your bird, then this means that the bird is so sick that it can’t hide it. If your bird is shaking its head and closing its eyes then the bird likely has a respiratory disease.
Respiratory disease in birds:
Chickens are unlike humans, chickens don’t suffer from ailments like colds and flu but they can suffer from a variety of respiratory diseases.
Chicken respiratory disease can cause the birds to have symptoms like sneezing or wheezing, and they can also cause birds to shake their heads and close their eyes.
Symptoms:
In addition to birds shaking their heads and closing their eyes. Other signs of respiratory disease in chickens include:
- Coughing
- Lethargy
- Sneezing
- Loss of coordination
- Poor comb or wattle color
- Decreased appetite
- Wheezing
- Reduced egg production
If the bird shakes its head but stretches its neck out when it breathes, and if the bird has recently eaten worms, then the bird may have a tapeworm, and not a respiratory disease. You may need to take your bird to the vet for an accurate diagnosis.
Treatment:
Figuring out which respiratory disease your chicken has can be complex. If you think that your bird has a respiratory disease you can test this theory by listening to your bird’s chest as the bird breathes.
A major sign of respiratory disease in birds is a congested or phlegmy sound coming from the bird’s chest.
If you can, it’s advised that you take your bird to a vet to be examined and treated professionally. If you can’t get your bird to the vet then you can treat the bird at home yourself. This is what to do:
Isolate the bird:
The first thing that you’d need to do is isolate the bird, this will keep this sick bird from infecting other birds and allow it to recover in peace. You can isolate the bird in a chicken cage, a cat carrier, or a dog kennel.
Make sure that you give the bird its own feed and water as it recovers
Make sure that the bird’s enclosure is warm and comfortable and make sure that you keep the bird’s stress levels to a minimum or eliminate stress altogether as the bird recovers.
Stress in chickens can be caused by a lack of food and water, loud noises, too high or too low temperatures
Treating the bird:
A variety of illnesses will fall under the umbrella of chicken respiratory diseases. Some of them are caused by bacteria.
Bacterial infections can be treated using broad-spectrum antibiotics designed for chickens.
You can get over-the-counter antibiotics for your bird but you may want to consult with your vet for a prescription of antibiotics for your bird and for its particular disease.
Giving the bird a probiotic after or during a round of antibiotics will replenish the good bacteria in the bird’s body.
You’d need to treat your bird’s respiratory disease as soon as you realize that the bird has one. If you don’t then the infection can kill the bird and eventually infect and kill the other birds in the flock as well
Supportive care:
Making sure that your bird gets the nutrients it needs, through nutrient-rich foods and the appropriate supplements, as well as fresh clean water will also help the bird get through its recovery.
Giving the bird good quality food is important and hydrating the bird is very important. If the bird isn’t drinking enough water then you’d need to feed the bird water through a dropper, spoon, or syringe.
Keep other birds safe:
Keeping your other birds safe entails not only isolating the sick bird, but cleaning the coop as well.
Cleaning will get rid of any bacteria that may have contaminated the coop. Surfaces that the sick chicken may have come into contact with need to be thoroughly cleaned to keep a flock-wide infection from developing.
Giving the other birds a good probiotic will also help to boost the bird’s immunity allowing them to fight this, and other, infections
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other chicken related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Chicken Shaking Head And Opening Mouth, Home Remedies For Chicken Eye Infection, Baby Chick Shaking Head, White Pus In Chicken Eye, Yellow Pus In Chicken Eye,