All about Encephalomalacia disease

Unlike most diseases, Encephalomalacia (try saying that three times quickly!), is not caused by a virus, bacterium, or fungus. Also known as "crazy chick disease," it is caused by a Vitamin E deficiency which results in neurological damage over time. You can keep this from ever happening to your flock by making sure they have free choice access to nutritionally-complete feeds appropriate to their age. Read on to find out more:

Encephalomalacia Also called
Crazy chick disease

Prevalence
Rare, particularly so in backyard flocks with access to pasture.

Signs
General signs -
Sudden loss of balance, circling, head shaking or tremors, eventually convulsions, paralysis, death

Cardinal or diagnostic signs -
Necropsy shows deteriorated brain

Cause/s
Nutritional deficiency of Vitamin E.

Communicability
Not communicable, but many members of a flock may share this problem if they're on the same deficient feed.

Communicability to humans
No.

Incubation period
None, but as a deficiency, it takes some time to develop.

Latent
No

Endemic
No

Home treatment and/or prevention
Prevention: Provide a good, fresh, nutritionally balanced feed for your flock. Don't make the mistake of offering something like scratch only, or kitchen scraps only.

Treatment: Supplement with Vitamin E and Selenium (which helps Vitamin E metabolism).

Veterinary care
A veterinarian can diagnose this problem and suggest good supplements.

Recovery
In birds that haven't sustained permanent neurological damage, full recovery with supplementation and a balanced diet.

Other conditions, illnesses and/or diseases with similar signs:
Early stages may be mistaken for other neurological illnesses such as listeriosis or polyneuritis..

Also consider browsing through this list of other chicken illnesses with neurological symptoms.