Broody with wry neck

[christinethemac]

I have a hen that's been broody about 2 weeks. Couldn't seem to break her so got her some hatching eggs. She now seems to have developed wry neck. It's been extremely hot weather. I am treating her with Vitamin E, Selenium, Poly vi sol. Can I let her keep setting or should I move her in the house and try harder to break her?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is she able to eat and drink on her own?
Photos of your hen?
Do you have an incubator?

 

[christinethemac]

Is she able to eat and drink on her own?
Photos of your hen?
Do you have an incubator?

She is so far able to drink and eat still. She seems worse today and is walking backwards and running into things. She snaps out of it at times and behaves normally for periods. I do not have an incubator but i have a second broody hen setting.

 

[christinethemac]

She is so far able to drink and eat still. She seems worse today and is walking backwards and running into things. She snaps out of it at times and behaves normally for periods. I do not have an incubator but i have a second broody hen setting.

She is a nankin.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She needs supportive care. 400IU Vitamin E daily along with 1/4tablet B-Complex vitamin (no iron), give her egg or tuna for Selenium. She needs to be drinking very well and eating normally, so......being broody does not lend to the healing process.

Not sure about the eggs, if they are due to hatch very close (within a day or so) to when the other broody will be hatching hers, then tuck them under her.

fwiw-Wry Neck is a symptom of certain conditions like vitamin deficiency, head injury and disease like Marek's. With supportive care she may recover just fine, sometimes a bird may still decline.

 

[christinethemac]

I am giving her all those things, even gave her tuna last night. She was eating well and drinking well in the evening. I brought her in the house and put her in a cage and let her keep one egg. Made her a mesh with tuna, eggs, layer feed, mealworms, scratch and put nutridrench in it also. As of this morning, she's doing much worse. Backing up into corner of cage. Seems out of it. Can't even sit on the egg. Will see how she's doing when I get back home.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The backing up is a symptom of the Wry Neck. Poultry Nutri-Drench is very good for weak chicks and adults alike, but does not have the B-vitamins or enough Vitamin E for the therapy dose she needs.

You find find human vitamins at the drugstore or Walmart - the vitamin E you can either just pop the whole capsule in her beak and let her swallow it or you can prick it and squeeze the contents into her feed.

 

[Birds of a Feather]

I personally do not think it would be Marek's. I once had a perfectly healthy broody hen that developed a similar problem to what you describe.
I gave her some Rooster Booster powder on a small amount of Tuna. She also had plenty of water, and I took her outside and off the nest to get some fresh air. The problem recurred over the next few days, but I kept giving her Rooster Booster Vitamins and Electrolytes with Lactobacillus on some chicken feed or tuna (being careful not to overdose it).
She recovered completely after a few days, and has not had a problem since.
It's probably not a good idea to mix Rooster Booster with other vitamins you're already using.

 

[christinethemac]

Update: Have been treating hen for wry neck with selenium, vitamin E and poly vi sol for a few weeks. I was keeping her in the house which broke her from being broody, but she still struggles with the wry neck. It seems to come and go. She cannot roost and sleeps in the egg box at night. Still able to eat and drink. I don't know if i should continue treating her.

 

[as110]

Yes wry neck can take weeks to resolve.