1 Year Old Wyandotte Can't Hold her head up suddenly- UPDATED with happy ending 😍

[mrskenmore]

Hi All-

Looking for some help this morning- my 1 year old blue laced red wyandotte hen Penny Marshall was found in the nesting box last night upon coop inspection. I put her on the roost and quickly realized something was off. She was not able to hold her head up at all, which was odd because I was sitting with her the day before and saw her in the coop that day. I do not know of any trauma or injury that may have caused this and no other hens (flock of 9) have this currently. She was vaccinated for mereks and is pretty healthy otherwise. I brought her in to a crate- she had some food and hard boiled egg with some rooster booster poultry cell mixed in. This morning she is the same- I just gave her 1 ML of nutridrench should it be a vitamin deficiency. Please let me know what I can do to help her get better and what it may be.

Thank you in advance for your help

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Allsfairinloveandbugs

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
1 year old blue laced red wyandotte hen- 5 lbs

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
cannot hold her neck up, seems weak

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
12 hours

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
no

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
no

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
nothing that I know of led to this

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
she has been eating her layer pellets and water

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
normal

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
1 ML of nutridrench this morning

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? I want to treat her- I do have access to a vet if this gets worse

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
video below

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
sand and sweet pdz in coop and run, dirt in outdoor fenced in area

 

[mrskenmore]

Hi all!

I just wanted to close out this post and update you on Penny Marshall's current status. She recently integrated back into her flock and has been laying perfect eggs again. She is enjoying her summer immensely. Her weight is close to what is was prior to her getting sick (5.2 as opposed to 5.6) but she has a fantastic appetite and eats and drinks regularly.

As you recall- in late May we found her in the nesting box unable to keep her head up. We immediately started vitamin e and b complex therapy and she appeared to be doing better and then suddenly took a turn for the worse. It was then that we took her to the vet. Her vitals were strong so she tested her blood for zinc and lead poisoning. Her zinc levels came back high and she was anemic but Penny continued to thrive with the Vitamin E and B complex therapy. We may not know what this was but some theories are wry neck, (I believe it was wry neck) zinc poisoning or possibly got into a daffodil that was within reach of the coop. The good news is she is 99% recovered. I have removed all the daffodils from surrounding the coop and I continue to monitor her and the flock. We have changed their feed to a higher protein feed as they don't have access to free-ranging. We have decided in the next month to build a new coop so they have more than ample space to run around and play. I am so happy to share this story with all for a happy ending for Penny Marshall living her best days as a chicken with her flock!

See attached video of a recent garden walk Penny took.

Thank you all so much for following Penny Marshall's story and for your advice in aiding to her recovery!! We could not have done it without you all!!

 

[mrskenmore]

Thank you, just gave her a second vitamin e dose and 3 ML of sugar water. Here is an updated video. I will keep you all posted of her progress, please keep her in your prayers, it has been a tough few weeks around the house for my family.

 

[mrskenmore]

Penny says hello! She found her voice again and is running to get away from me.

 

[mrskenmore]

She is eating on her own .. I will keep you all posted

 

[mrskenmore]

Good Morning! Update on Penny Marshall.. she is awake and more alert than yesterday, continues to poop normally and even laid an egg last night! I will keep fluids, feed and vitamins up today. She has regained more strength and is upright. I gave her vitamin e this morning and the b complex. She had 6 ML of sugar water and is eating her feed (a soupy mash) this morning. She also just laid another egg, so we are hopeful. Heading out to get the charcoal shortly.

 

[azygous]

I thought of botulism, too, but she does have some control of her neck. I lean towards wry neck. Keep up with the vitamin E and you might put a little sugar in her water and keep encouraging her to drink it. It will help by elevating glucose and brain sugar.

 

[mrskenmore]

She sounds much better.

She is heading in the right direction, probably not out of the woods yet, but slow and steady wins the race here. I will continue to keep you updated. Thanks for all the advice, hugs and well wishes for Penny! You all continue to make the world a much better place for us humans with their chickens

 

[azygous]

It's exhausting, all right. But boy is it ever worth it when you succeed in saving your chicken's life. You're doing a splendid job. Hang in there.

 

[mrskenmore]

Penny says, "I will survive!"

You can tell she is feeling better she is more and more vocal- she spent an hour in the coop with her flockmates. It was a good day!