newborn tossing head back and side to side

[BeastyBird]

I had to help a serama hatch last night, got half unzipped then sat for an hour. I noticed the behavior right away but I was hoping it thrusting its head back was a reflex from being trapped in the egg, but 12 hours later it's still doing it, and it may be worse. It also tosses its head side to side as if horribly confused and then sits staring straight up, it sometimes falls over backward. It can stand and act normally but not for long, I have been keeping it under a broody hen as that seems to be best for it.

So, is this wry neck? I got some vitamin E gel caps and gave it a tiny bit (this chick is so small how much do I give it omg) and will be seeking selenium, but I wonder if this is genetic and hopeless? Wry neck from what I am reading is more about twisting and stay twisted, not tossing the head back and staring straight up? Can they be born with it? This chick was symptomatic from the moment it was born.

If I do continue to treat for wry neck how much Vit E and selenium do I give a chick so dang tiny????? Is there an overdose risk?????

 

[coach723]

Sounds like wry neck, the staring up is often called star gazing,
It can be genetic, or from a head injury, but could be a vitamin deficiency. Most posts recommend giving vitamin E with Poly Visol (without iron).
Do a search for wry neck treatment and hopefully you can find dosage info, there are quite a few threads.
I don't have the info, sorry, but this will bump the post and maybe someone else does.
There are some posts that say they saw improvement in days or weeks, some say a month or more. You will probably have to provide help in feeding and drinking until you have enough improvement to allow it to feed and drink on it's own.
You may also need to isolate it to prevent being pecked by others.
Best of luck.

 

[BeastyBird]

looking up "stargazing chick" this seems more likely than wry neck, especially since it can be caused by poor placement in the egg which it did need help (all my chicks unzip in 20-30 min, this guy I had to help after 90 min), but stargazing needs to be treated with vitamin B so now I am confused on what to give. The poor bugger sleeps flat and normal but spends most of its awake time sitting and staring up, and when it moves it sometimes goes forward normally but sometimes tumbles back, in all my 20 years after 100s of chicks I have never seen this before.

 

[BeastyBird]

I dosed with vit B and E and within 30 hours he was fine, I did not give him any further treatment as it is so easy for a chick this small to aspirate when forced medication, considering the symptoms did not reappear I am chalking this up to stargazing caused by poor placement in the egg.