Please Help! Why is my pheasant rubbing his head on the ground and falling over?

[KaraKara]

One week ago I noticed that my pheasant was acting a little of balance. I checked him out and could find nothing wrong with him. Within a couple days his tail feathers started to look shabby and unkept. I put vitamins in his water and kept an eye on him. Now yesterday he started this weird thing where he constantly rubs his head on the ground and sometimes falling over. Then he will tuck his head way under and doesn't move with eyes closed like he's sleeping. When I touch him sometimes he will perk up and be alert but always exhibits the same behavior again. I started giving him st johns wart today along with vitamins. Even though he is not gasping for air, I stuck a q tip down his throat and twisted and pulled back out to check for gape worm but nothing. I am currently giving him fluids by syringe because he is not eating/drinking on his own. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[007Sean]

One week ago I noticed that my pheasant was acting a little of balance. I checked him out and could find nothing wrong with him. Within a couple days his tail feathers started to look shabby and unkept. I put vitamins in his water and kept an eye on him. Now yesterday he started this weird thing where he constantly rubs his head on the ground and sometimes falling over. Then he will tuck his head way under and doesn't move with eyes closed like he's sleeping. When I touch him sometimes he will perk up and be alert but always exhibits the same behavior again. I started giving him st johns wart today along with vitamins. Even though he is not gasping for air, I stuck a q tip down his throat and twisted and pulled back out to check for gape worm but nothing. I am currently giving him fluids by syringe because he is not eating/drinking on his own. Any help would be appreciated!

Sounds like it might have wry neck?

 

[KaraKara]

Sounds like it might have wry neck?

 

[KaraKara]

Sorry and thank you for responding. I thought I would receive a notification when I got a response and that didn't happen. So yes I figured that he had wry neck and started to treat him for that. I did research here as well as other sites and people who said they had experience with this did not have theirs recover. His name is Donald, he would not eat or drink and could not stop rubbing his head on the ground to the point of falling over and then starting over once he regained his balance. If I picked him up he would become limp and unconscious. I really thought he was a gonner. The reason I am going into specifics and taking the time to write this is because I really didn't know what to do and could not find anything that really helped me and I hope this might help someone.

 

[KaraKara]

The picture posted above is the first thing that I did. I wrapped him up like a new born baby and kept him propped up. I dissolved a high quality multivitamin in water and fed it to him in a syringe 4 times daily. I know he could have aspirated but honestly without it he would have died. I rubbed his throat to encourage him to swallow. The second day I started taking this same vitamin water and putting it in a bowl with gamebirds pellets until it was liquid enough to suck up with a large syringe and feed him that again rubbing his throat to encourage swallowing. The second day I also started using ozonated oil. I put some in his ears and way up his vent with a q-tip. I did this for 4 days and on the 5th day he was struggling to get unbundled and then he just got up. He was a little off balance and he would stand up ok but when he would lean forward to sleep he falls over. So I started putting him like this...

 

[KaraKara]

The picture posted above is the first thing that I did. I wrapped him up like a new born baby and kept him propped up. I dissolved a high quality multivitamin in water and fed it to him in a syringe 4 times daily. I know he could have aspirated but honestly without it he would have died. I rubbed his throat to encourage him to swallow. The second day I started taking this same vitamin water and putting it in a bowl with gamebirds pellets until it was liquid enough to suck up with a large syringe and feed him that again rubbing his throat to encourage swallowing. The second day I also started using ozonated oil. I put some in his ears and way up his vent with a q-tip. I did this for 4 days and on the 5th day he was struggling to get unbundled and then he just got up. He was a little off balance and he would stand up ok but when he would lean forward to sleep he falls over. So I started

The picture posted above is the first thing that I did. I wrapped him up like a new born baby and kept him propped up. I dissolved a high quality multivitamin in water and fed it to him in a syringe 4 times daily. I know he could have aspirated but honestly without it he would have died. I rubbed his throat to encourage him to swallow. The second day I started taking this same vitamin water and putting it in a bowl with gamebirds pellets until it was liquid enough to suck up with a large syringe and feed him that again rubbing his throat to encourage swallowing. The second day I also started using ozonated oil. I put some in his ears and way up his vent with a q-tip. I did this for 4 days and on the 5th day he was struggling to get unbundled and then he just got up. He was a little off balance and he would stand up ok but when he would lean forward to sleep he falls over. So I started putting him like this...

 

[KaraKara]

 

[KaraKara]

2 days after he first got up and he is doing amazing. I've tried to post a video but it is telling me that " the uploaded file does not have an allowed extension" . He is making a full recovery and is able to sleep on his own now without me propping him up.

 

[007Sean]

2 days after he first got up and he is doing amazing. I've tried to post a video but it is telling me that " the uploaded file does not have an allowed extension" . He is making a full recovery and is able to sleep on his own now without me propping him up.

To post the video, you will have to upload it to YouTube or another video site, like Vinemo, or another!