Chicken with head back, possibly wry neck?

[Aj1987]

Hi all!

I need some help with my girl Mama Cass.

She started yesterday holding her head back, and not completely balanced. I noticed around 9pm when I went to shut them in for the night and she wasn’t inside, and was laying with her neck back. She usually is a bit flighty and not a people bird. So when she let me just pick her up I knew something was very wrong. I separated her immediately. She did eat a bit last night as seen in the video, however after a few minutes she went back to laying with her head back and eyes closed, no other chickens are exhibiting this behaviour. From research it looks like maybe wry neck, however she is not a young chicken, and is fed a balanced layer ration. I managed to get her to eat a bit of scrambled eggs and a couple sips of electrolyte water. But nothing substantial. She was standing to eat last night and will not today.



1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) ameraucana cross, she seems slightly underweight , but nothing drastic . She is over 2, but I don’t know her full age.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Described above but videos are best attached
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? Since last night, under 24 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’m aware of.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
A little bit of layer ration, two bites of scrambled eggs, and two gulps of electrolyte water
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Slightly runny
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Trying to give her high vitamin foods and layer ration. Everything is closed for the holiday so no way to buy vitamins etc till tomorrow
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?
Treat ourselves , no local vets who treat chickens
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use indoor outdoor enclosure . Straw inside and dirt outside

 

[nuthatched]

It does sound like wry neck, to treat, get 400 i.u of gel cap vitamin E and B complex people vitamins. give her one E daily, you'll likely have to squeeze out into her mouth. Give her about a third of the b complex daily, that can be mixed into eggs.

 

[Aj1987]

It does sound like wry neck, to treat, get 400 i.u of gel cap vitamin E and B complex people vitamins. give her one E daily, you'll likely have to squeeze out into her mouth. Give her about a third of the b complex daily, that can be mixed into eggs.

Perfect I managed to find some vitamin e and b complex. So I gave her her first dose. She doesn’t want to eat much. I’ll do some syringe of water in a bit here, to ensure she stays hydrated..

 

[Aj1987]

Unfortunately Mama Cass passed away.. she started having seizures, I believe. Thank you for your help

 

[coach723]

If you want to know for sure what happened, contact your state lab for necropsy information. In some states it's not terribly expensive. It's a good idea particularly if you suspect that it could be something that might affect the rest of the flock.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf