Older hen with crooked neck

[rogerf]

a month back one of my hens developed a crooked neck to the left.
Additionally her face on the left side is droopy.
She continues to eat and groom herself byt her walking in wobbly.
I'm considering putting her down but would like to know what this is.
I've considered wry neck but not all the symptoms are the same.
My biggest concern is that it may be Newcastle.
Ant help appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @rogerf I'm sorry your hen is not doing well.

How old is she?
Have you added any new chickens to your flock in the last 30days?
Do you have photos or a video of her?
Is it possible she suffered some kind of injury?
Has she ingested anything rotten/dead, toxic, etc.?

You are worried it could be Newcastle Disease - have you noticed mucous from the nostrils, labored breathing - symptoms that would indicated a respiratory issue?

There can be several reasons for having a crooked neck - injury, vitamin/nutritional deficiencies and disease (Newcastle, Marek's).

Without testing, there's no way to know for sure if the cause would be a contagious illness. If you do end up culling her, it's best to send her to your state lab for necropsy for answers.

In the meantime, you can try treating as if it is vitamin/nutritional deficiency to see if there is improvement. Offer E and B Vitamins and Selenium. You can give 400IU of Vitamin E and crush a human B-Complex vitamin - add these to her food. Give egg or tuna for Selenium. Try to keep her hydrated and see how it goes.

 

[rogerf]

Wyorp, thanks for the info.
She is almost 8 years old
There is no evidence of mucous or respiratory issues.
There was no injury that I know of.
I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.
She's looking pretty bad and I don't want her to suffer much longer

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry she is not improving.

8years old is quite an advanced age, you have done very well

She may just be suffering from old age instead of a disease. The neck and droopy eye could be she had a stroke or something similar.

 

[rogerf]

Thanks and that makes sense. She shows no other symptoms.
It's not easy seeing her like this and it doesn't seem right to put her down. I'll keep an eye on her until she gets worse

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks and that makes sense. She shows no other symptoms.
It's not easy seeing her like this and it doesn't seem right to put her down. I'll keep an eye on her until she gets worse

There's a few things you can do to help her out. Check her over for any lice/mites - if she is not getting around too well, then she is probably not preening and dust bathing. Give her a dusting or spray her with poultry dust.

Extra vitamins won't hurt and she more than likely won't turn down some chopped egg, beef liver or tuna Watch to see if she is drinking and give her a little "me time".

I really am sorry, I wish I had better answers. It's so hard to see something that is a part of your life start to decline. It sounds like she has been well loved and cared for.

https://hencam.com/henblog/2013/11/caring-for-feeble-old-hens/

 

[rogerf]

Thanks for the support and suggestions. The article was quite enlightening and reassuring.
With everything I've read it does seem like old age is taking its toll.
She still eats and preens herself so she still has some spunk left

 

[NY Chicky]

I just had to put down a Silkie of mine that had a crooked/wry neck. I had been giving her extra vitamins, eggs, flax seed oil and she seemed to be doing better, but the past week it has gotten cold and snowy here and every night I would find her out in the run area in a heap, unable to go back into the coop, so I decided to put her down since she wasn't improving anymore and starting to deteriorate (not grooming herself, and getting very cold out in the run) She was about 3 years old.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I just had to put down a Silkie of mine that had a crooked/wry neck. I had been giving her extra vitamins, eggs, flax seed oil and she seemed to be doing better, but the past week it has gotten cold and snowy here and every night I would find her out in the run area in a heap, unable to go back into the coop, so I decided to put her down since she wasn't improving anymore and starting to deteriorate (not grooming herself, and getting very cold out in the run) She was about 3 years old.

I'm sorry for your loss

It sounds like you were doing everything you could for her and you made the right decision to end her suffering. Thank you for sharing with us.

Sadly, Wry Neck is a neurological symptom of several conditions, so even with vitamin therapy, extra care and specialty diets, a chicken doesn't always improve, depending on the cause.

 

[NY Chicky]

I'm sorry for your loss

It sounds like you were doing everything you could for her and you made the right decision to end her suffering. Thank you for sharing with us.

Sadly, Wry Neck is a neurological symptom of several conditions, so even with vitamin therapy, extra care and specialty diets, a chicken doesn't always improve, depending on the cause.

Thanks, Wyorp Rock - It's never easy to have to put one of the girls down (she's actually the first I've had to do myself)