Crooked neck

[threeepeat]

My second hatch has wrapped up. I had four with curled toes and all four seemed to resolve quickly. I can no longer tell which chicks had the issue. Is it normal for some chicks to have this problem temporarily after hatching?

In the first hatch about a month ago, one chick seemed to have significant wry neck issue and an inability to walk for about a week. It fully resolved and he is now one of two falb fee roos. Out of 5 falb fees, three are hens. I'm not able to sex the two Scarletts yet.

In this second hatch, I broke down and helped six chicks that were struggling to zip out for an extended period of time (I suspect this is more about a crappy incubator than genetics) and based on my vast previous experience (1 hatch lol), I suspected that some of them were about to expire. Out of the six, three are thriving, one passed away on the first night (it had great spirit but sadly it somehow had its feet out in front of it's wings and tried to be mobile like a crab in a way but also rolling around), and two have an identical crooked neck issue, which I have never seen before (again, in my vast experience).

All this to say, I'd appreciate if anyone could lend some insight on the crooked neck (not wry neck) issue. They both have their heads shifted to the left out of alignment with their bodies. Both seem to be eating and drinking, and surviving fine (so far). My only interventions have been to show them where the food is, and to provide vitamin water for all the chicks. Is there anything else I can do for them? Has anyone else kept crooked neck chicks? Should I expect them to be otherwise normal and fine as long as they are eating and drinking?

Thanks!

 

[muddy75]

IME, both conditions seem to be related to humidity and malposition in the egg. (Among other factors) luckily, yours were correctable with minimal intervention. I have raised some with crooked necks successfully until natural selection or quality of life became an issue.

 

[007Sean]

My second hatch has wrapped up. I had four with curled toes and all four seemed to resolve quickly. I can no longer tell which chicks had the issue. Is it normal for some chicks to have this problem temporarily after hatching?

In the first hatch about a month ago, one chick seemed to have significant wry neck issue and an inability to walk for about a week. It fully resolved and he is now one of two falb fee roos. Out of 5 falb fees, three are hens. I'm not able to sex the two Scarletts yet.

In this second hatch, I broke down and helped six chicks that were struggling to zip out for an extended period of time (I suspect this is more about a crappy incubator than genetics) and based on my vast previous experience (1 hatch lol), I suspected that some of them were about to expire. Out of the six, three are thriving, one passed away on the first night (it had great spirit but sadly it somehow had its feet out in front of it's wings and tried to be mobile like a crab in a way but also rolling around), and two have an identical crooked neck issue, which I have never seen before (again, in my vast experience).

All this to say, I'd appreciate if anyone could lend some insight on the crooked neck (not wry neck) issue. They both have their heads shifted to the left out of alignment with their bodies. Both seem to be eating and drinking, and surviving fine (so far). My only interventions have been to show them where the food is, and to provide vitamin water for all the chicks. Is there anything else I can do for them? Has anyone else kept crooked neck chicks? Should I expect them to be otherwise normal and fine as long as they are eating and drinking?

Thanks!

View attachment 3375352

That crooked neck, is still called wry neck! That chick's neck isn't that bad, it may or may not straighten out but it most likely will be ok and survive, I wouldn't use it for a breeder, though!

Although I wouldn't call it normal, and it isn't genetical, they sometimes hatch with curled toes, due to the various reasons already been discussed. Better incubators and better incubation practices will help but not totally eliminate those issues.

IMHO, it's only genetical in nature when a chick hatches with the same defect as the parent bird(s). This is why it is imperative to not breed birds with defects, either genetical or from incubation processes.

I had a male Reeves pheasant that I thought had a clubbed foot due to taking a long time to escape the shell but when I used him for a breeder he threw clubbed foot offspring....it was also a sexlinked trait, because only male offspring had the clubbed foot and it was the same left leg/foot as their daddy!

 

[threeepeat]

IME, both conditions seem to be related to humidity and malposition in the egg. (Among other factors) luckily, yours were correctable with minimal intervention. I have raised some with crooked necks successfully until natural selection or quality of life became an issue.

Interesting! Did some start out okay but deteriorate over time, based on the neck issue?

 

[threeepeat]

That crooked neck, is still called wry neck! That chick's neck isn't that bad, it may or may not straighten out but it most likely will be ok and survive, I wouldn't use it for a breeder, though!

Although I wouldn't call it normal, and it isn't genetical, they sometimes hatch with curled toes, due to the various reasons already been discussed. Better incubators and better incubation practices will help but not totally eliminate those issues.

IMHO, it's only genetical in nature when a chick hatches with the same defect as the parent bird(s). This is why it is imperative to not breed birds with defects, either genetical or from incubation processes.

I had a male Reeves pheasant that I thought had a clubbed foot due to taking a long time to escape the shell but when I used him for a breeder he threw clubbed foot offspring....it was also a sexlinked trait, because only male offspring had the clubbed foot and it was the same left leg/foot as their daddy!

Wow interesting. I did not know that crooked neck and wry neck are part of the same thing! During the first hatch, I had read that there were two types of neck issues, one where the impacted chicks were looking up (aka stargazing) and one where the chicks were looking down (called something else). People were suggesting that they were two different conditions, requiring different supplements. Does this sound correct in your experience? Or are these all different presentations of the same wry neck issue?

 

[muddy75]

Interesting! Did some start out okay but deteriorate over time, based on the neck issue?

Basically same severity exacerbated by growth…..but more severe had lower survival rate. And as stated, should never be included in breeding program due to genetic links

 

[007Sean]

Wow interesting. I did not know that crooked neck and wry neck are part of the same thing! During the first hatch, I had read that there were two types of neck issues, one where the impacted chicks were looking up (aka stargazing) and one where the chicks were looking down (called something else). People were suggesting that they were two different conditions, requiring different supplements. Does this sound correct in your experience? Or are these all different presentations of the same wry neck issue?

Most people that refer to it as wry neck are gauging that on the 'star gazing' appearance but it can also be when the neck and head is turned down....I had a ringnecked pheasant that had severe wry neck, it started out with it's neck skewed to it's left, much the same as you're chick, as it matured, it advanced to where his head was underneath its breast, almost to it's belly.
His wattles were white and not red, his irises were also white, other than that his feathers were normal and his conformation was normal, he look normal outside of the wry neck. I couldn't make myself cull him and he lived for 6 years this way. He ate and drank without problems but I doubt he had a very good quality of life, it would have been better to have culled.

ETA- I tried every remedy for wry neck without any success, mainly the successful ones have been with chickens but I personally, have never had a pheasant or quail respond to treatment.

 

[threeepeat]

Update - one passed last night. It didn't have a good life. Their necks seemed to get worse, kind of falling lower and turning upside down, even though they were both managing to eat and drink.

Related question, not everyone's favorite question, what is the best practice for culling a wee chick, when needed?

 

[Nabiki]

Update - one passed last night. It didn't have a good life. Their necks seemed to get worse, kind of falling lower and turning upside down, even though they were both managing to eat and drink.

Related question, not everyone's favorite question, what is the best practice for culling a wee chick, when needed?

I'm sorry for your loss. Culling a chick is never easy. I use sharp shears just like for the adults. They're so small that it's very quick.

 

[threeepeat]

I'm sorry for your loss. Culling a chick is never easy. I use sharp shears just like for the adults. They're so small that it's very quick.

I meant to update this earlier, but I soon realized that the chick that passed was not actually one of the two crooked neck chicks. I just made that assumption, as we humans tend to do. I suspect it was one of the other late hatch rescues.

Out of the two crooked neck chicks, it's surprising how well they are doing. One now seems worse than the other in terms of how low its head is dropping. Interestingly, even with their necks out of alignment, they are both able to raise their heads to use the raised waterer without any problem, and they are able to groom themselves, or do we say preen or something? I'm still new lol