EMERGENCY

mamabokbok · Jan 17, 2017

So I have went to check on my 5 little 8 week old Chicks and one has suddenly got its neck bent back and moving it in circles, when I went to pick it up it jumped up and backwards

I am very worried, I took it inside and tried to syringe it some water, when I googled the first thing that comes up is something called 'wiry neck'?? So call the stock feed to ask for vitamins and they said it's most likely marks disease

I am now unsure what I should do?? I'm not seeing anything wrong with the other chicks so far and this one was also looking fine thismorning and throughout the day, I check on them multiple times so I know that it hasn't been like this for more than maximum 3 hours, but it's SO hot here tha it surely would have dehydrated by now if it was like this even that long

so this photo is awful but it's showing what I mean by bent back. It's just sitting in a box now inside waiting for the multi vitamins poor thing.. I guess I need help to decide what to do? The chicks are not vaccinated and neither are my two adult hens who are also out in the yard BECAUSE I can't access vaccinations

and the vets in my area are unhelpful, I inquired nobody wants to deal with a chicken, I can't afford to take her anyway with them charging thousands (no kidding, it's ridiculous here) for tests etc. I need to decide if it's fixable, or if I should put her out of misery

Flock Master64 · Jan 17, 2017

Yes that is wryneck. It's not contagious so I wouldn't worry too much about the other chickens.

Wry neck can be inherited. It can also develop in the womb. This may happen if your fetus’ head is in the wrong position. It can also be due to damage to the muscles or blood supply to the neck.

Anyone can develop wry neck after a muscle or nervous system injury. However, most of the time, the cause of wry neck is unknown. This is called idiopathic torticollis.

You can improve congenital forms of wry neck by stretching the neck muscles. If started within a few months of birth, this treatment can be very successful. If this or other treatments don’t work, surgery can sometimes correct the problem.

Your doctor can treat acquired wry neck according to the cause if it’s known.

Treatments for wry neck include:

applying heat
massage
physical therapy
traction
stretching exercises
neck braces

I quoted a lot of that from an online article

Wyorp Rock · Jan 17, 2017

mamabokbok said:
So I have went to check on my 5 little 8 week old Chicks and one has suddenly got its neck bent back and moving it in circles, when I went to pick it up it jumped up and backwards

I am very worried, I took it inside and tried to syringe it some water, when I googled the first thing that comes up is something called 'wiry neck'?? So call the stock feed to ask for vitamins and they said it's most likely marks disease

I am now unsure what I should do?? I'm not seeing anything wrong with the other chicks so far and this one was also looking fine thismorning and throughout the day, I check on them multiple times so I know that it hasn't been like this for more than maximum 3 hours, but it's SO hot here tha it surely would have dehydrated by now if it was like this even that long

so this photo is awful but it's showing what I mean by bent back. It's just sitting in a box now inside waiting for the multi vitamins poor thing.. I guess I need help to decide what to do? The chicks are not vaccinated and neither are my two adult hens who are also out in the yard BECAUSE I can't access vaccinations

and the vets in my area are unhelpful, I inquired nobody wants to deal with a chicken, I can't afford to take her anyway with them charging thousands (no kidding, it's ridiculous here) for tests etc. I need to decide if it's fixable, or if I should put her out of misery

It looks like Wry Neck (Torticollis). This can be a neurological symptom from several conditions like Vitamin E deficiency, diseases (Marek's, Avian Lymphoid Leukosis, Newcastles) or from a head injury. Treatment for Wry Neck is with Vitamin E and Selenium.

You can give her poultry vitamins containing E and Selinium or childrens vitamins (Poly-Vi-Sol - no iron). If you can't find either one of those, give Vitamin E -400IU daily and add some egg or tuna to her diet for Selinium.

Keep her separated so you can assist her with eating/drinking. If she has trouble then you may need to consider tube feeding her.

Wry neck can take a while to resolve if it is due to Vitamin deficiency. So do the best you can, patience will be your friend.

Please keep us posted on her progress.

Info on wry neck:
http://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/wry-neck.html
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html

Here is a video that may be helpful in hand feeding her:

Info on tube feeding:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding starts at 15

mamabokbok · Jan 17, 2017

Wyorp Rock said:
It looks like Wry Neck (Torticollis). This can be a neurological symptom from several conditions like Vitamin E deficiency, diseases (Marek's, Avian Lymphoid Leukosis, Newcastles) or from a head injury. Treatment for Wry Neck is with Vitamin E and Selenium.

You can give her poultry vitamins containing E and Selinium or childrens vitamins (Poly-Vi-Sol - no iron). If you can't find either one of those, give Vitamin E -400IU daily and add some egg or tuna to her diet for Selinium.

Keep her separated so you can assist her with eating/drinking. If she has trouble then you may need to consider tube feeding her.

Wry neck can take a while to resolve if it is due to Vitamin deficiency. So do the best you can, patience will be your friend.

Please keep us posted on her progress.

Info on wry neck:
http://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/wry-neck.html
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html

Here is a video that may be helpful in hand feeding her:

Info on tube feeding:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding starts at 15

Thanks for replying I have the worst fear that it's markes but the hope that it's the vitamin deficiency and I have just got a multivitamin which has what I need, I'll cook her some eggs but she won't drink or eat I'm syringe feeding her the water and it's so hard coz she's resisting

.. I gave the others the multivitamin as well in their water and so far they all still look normal, they are hot but healthy looking

I really hope that she's going to be ok, I guess if the vitamins will help then I should see some kind of progress in the next few days or? I'm going to look at the tube feeding link omg.

mamabokbok · Jan 17, 2017

I have another question

how much vitamin water should I give her and how often? I have a 1 Mil syringe and she fights me to even have 1 Mil

I managed to get 6 Mil into her over the past hour but obviously forcing her is risking her breathing it in so it's stressing me out!She's using her legs and body to try and struggle away from me, she's still strong enough to struggle away, she moves her head around and around like she's trying to fix herself but then goes to sleep I put her head on the teddy I put for her to cuddle, she hasn't been standing up though she's just sitting down

she's inside the house with us. I am just going to try to feed her.. Does anyone know, if it's markes will she stay like this for long or will she deteriorate quickly? I really don't want to keep her going like this if it's fatal

it's actually horrible

Wyorp Rock · Jan 18, 2017

mamabokbok said:
I have another question

how much vitamin water should I give her and how often? I have a 1 Mil syringe and she fights me to even have 1 Mil

I managed to get 6 Mil into her over the past hour but obviously forcing her is risking her breathing it in so it's stressing me out!She's using her legs and body to try and struggle away from me, she's still strong enough to struggle away, she moves her head around and around like she's trying to fix herself but then goes to sleep I put her head on the teddy I put for her to cuddle, she hasn't been standing up though she's just sitting down

she's inside the house with us. I am just going to try to feed her.. Does anyone know, if it's markes will she stay like this for long or will she deteriorate quickly? I really don't want to keep her going like this if it's fatal

it's actually horrible

Follow your daily dosing for your sick girl - it should be on your package/bottle. For the remaining flock, it won't hurt to give them extra vitamins once a week. Tube feeding/hydrating is a good way to do this. @casportpony 's thread that I linked for you (tube feeding) has some useful information. If you run into trouble you can usually pm her or post on that thread with questions/concerns - she is very helpful.

It can take several weeks to see improvement if it is Wry Neck, sometimes it can be difficult to treat even if the cause is vitamin deficiency. Sometimes it can present as a symptom of an illness like Marek's so that is still a possibility.

If it is Marek's she will most likely deteriorate further. Some chickens can recover, but there can be long-term problems- weakened immune system, reduced egg production and I would assume susceptibility to other illness/diseases.

There is no way to know for sure what is the cause without testing.

Please keep us posted.

mamabokbok · Jan 18, 2017

Wyorp Rock said:
Follow your daily dosing for your sick girl - it should be on your package/bottle. For the remaining flock, it won't hurt to give them extra vitamins once a week. Tube feeding/hydrating is a good way to do this. @casportpony
's thread that I linked for you (tube feeding) has some useful information. If you run into trouble you can usually pm her or post on that thread with questions/concerns - she is very helpful.

It can take several weeks to see improvement if it is Wry Neck, sometimes it can be difficult to treat even if the cause is vitamin deficiency. Sometimes it can present as a symptom of an illness like Marek's so that is still a possibility.

If it is Marek's she will most likely deteriorate further. Some chickens can recover, but there can be long-term problems- weakened immune system, reduced egg production and I would assume susceptibility to other illness/diseases.

There is no way to know for sure what is the cause without testing.

Please keep us posted.

Yeah there is no instructions on the bottle other than the amount per Litre to add

and that's not helpful for this circumstance since she's refusing to drink on her own

I've just made up a litre in a bottle and I'm trying hard to get as much into her as possible, I've been putting it on her food as she's been eating it coz she IS eating on her own although struggling to get her head around to do it. Her heads more on the side than backwards now and unless she's eating it's kind of tucked up near her wing

good news is that she managed to make it through the night and she can stand up and run backwards so not paralysed.. I gave the others the vitamin water too, they still seem normal cross fingers they stay that way hey ..

mamabokbok · Feb 7, 2017

Hey just an update to show how this little one is going, we named her chancy and she's much MUCH better

thank you for the advice.

We syringe fed her vitamin water about 6 times a day until she could manage to drink from a bowl on her own, but didn't see much progress until about 6 days ago, 2 days ago she actually stood up on her own holding her head normally and today she went for a short walk in the grass, she's not moving very far but we definitely have hope now

.. Now I am just hoping that Chancy us actually a she

dare I ask?... Is this recovery a good sign of a vitamin deficiency vs it being a disease?

drumstick diva · Feb 7, 2017

I think you are seeing very positive signs of improvement. With wry neck they can get better and then have a relapse. If so don't lose faith, continue with what works for her. Usually bouncing back from a relapse occurs sooner than the first event. I wonder if she would enjoy eating watermelon - it would help in the heat and also be a novelty after water.

mamabokbok · Feb 7, 2017

drumstick diva said:
I think you are seeing very positive signs of improvement. With wry neck they can get better and then have a relapse. If so don't lose faith, continue with what works for her. Usually bouncing back from a relapse occurs sooner than the first event. I wonder if she would enjoy eating watermelon - it would help in the heat and also be a novelty after water.

all my chickens love watermelon

I have to limit the amount or they get the runs, but they get a few slices between them whenever we eat some, I will offer some to this chick this week.. I'm hoping that this is the end

I'm going to continue to add the vitamin supplement to the water for all of the chickens, so hopefully as long as she's getting this it will be ok? All of the others are still well and actually seem to be thriving, they are much larger and more shiny and very active and have a lot of love for getting under our feet

EMERGENCY

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