Chickens exhibit quite odd behaviors sometimes, some behaviors are odder than others. Many of us know how drunk people walk around but do you know why your bird walks around like it’s drunk? This article looks into it
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Chicken walking like it’s drunk
Stumbling everywhere and losing balance is not normal for chickens, these birds are usually very alert and focused, but this isn’t always the case. Here are reasons why your bird may walk around like it’s drunk:
Botulism:
Botulism can affect not only humans but chickens as well. If your bird eats fruits and vegetables that are either overripe or rotten then the bird may develop botulism.
Staggering like a drunk person is one of the symptoms of botulism and other symptoms include weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, and sudden death
What to do:
You may have rotting fruits and vegetables in your bird’s foraging area and not even realize it, if this is the case you’d need to remove this food from the birds feeding area as soon as you can.
You’d also need to flush out your bird’s crop using an Epsom salt or a molasses solution. Because you run the risk of aspirating the bird when flushing out the bird’s crop it would be best if you were to hire a vet to do this.
Mareks disease:
Mareks disease is a viral disease that can cause your bird to act drunk, it can cause your bird to stagger and have a lack of coordination when it moves around.
If your bird has this disease then the bird will lose coordination and start to stagger because its legs are becoming paralyzed. Other signs of this disease include difficulty breathing, dilation of the crop, depression, and death
What to do:
This disease is highly contagious and dangerous to birds. Unfortunately, this disease is not treatable. The best thing you can do for your flock is to remove the diseased bird and humanely get rid of it.
Equine encephalitis
This disease can affect a variety of animals including birds, mammals, and people. Equine encephalitis is mainly transmitted by mosquitoes.
In addition to the infected bird acting drunk and staggering, other signs of this ailment in your bird include a lack of appetite, blindness, muscle paralysis, twisting of the neck, drowsiness, weakness, and death
What to do:
You’d need to contact an avian vet and take your bird to be seen by one if you think that this is what your bird has. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for this illness.
However, you can prevent more birds from catching this infection by establishing mosquito control and getting rid of the source of the infection.
Vitamin imbalance:
Improper nutrition can cause a vitamin imbalance, this may be the reason why your bird is losing its balance and starting to walk around like it’s drunk.
Birds of all ages can suffer from a vitamin imbalance but young chickens are particularly susceptible to having a vitamin imbalance.
Too low levels of vitamin E or selenium in the chicken can cause the bird to develop neurological problems, these neurological problems can be the reason why your bird is staggering and has a lack of coordination.
What to do:
Making sure that your bird has access to all the vitamins and minerals that they need, by feeding them the right foods, is a must.
You’d need to check how many nutrients the bird needs based on its breed, weight and it’s age. You can also offer the bird a vitamin supplement to stop the staggering and walking drunk.
Dehydration
Dehydration can cause birds to stagger around and walk around as though they are drunk.
If the weather has been hot recently, if the bird has been confined to its coop, and if the bird is kept away from its water supply by bird bullies then the bird may simply be dehydrated.
What to do:
Offer the bird a supply of water and notice how the bird starts acting after it has taken its fill of water.
A dehydrated bird is not difficult to rehydrate, all it needs is some water. You can also offer the bird water-filled foods like cucumber or watermelon
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 Walking Funny, Chicken Stumbling And Falling Down, Chicken Walking Like A Penguin
