Wry Neck - Confused about treatment

[5Leepy!]

I posted before about my chick (she was 10 days old then) who had no energy and was sleeping a lot. I didn't really get many responses. Since then, she started to have weakness in her neck and her head started to roll to one side. She could barely eat or drink, she was so weak. My DH went to the feed store and the old-timers there felt it was a respiratory infection and suggested tetracycline hydrochloride, which we've been adding to their water every since. She was making improvements in her head not rolling so much and her energy increasing (less sleeping) until this afternoon. Now she seems kind of lopsided when she walks around and seems to have lost her depth perception. When I put my hand to one side of her she seems to not see it until it is very close to her but on the other side she sees my hand right away (reacts by running away). Her head seems to be rolling to the side again and I noticed when she was sleeping her head bobbing up and down as if she was pecking at something. This behavior when she's sleeping seemed to stop and start but almost in a pattern, as if it might be neurological.

I'm very worried about her... we've been babying her for quite a while. She is only with one other chick who is doing fantastic. She seemed to be in perfect health the day we brought her home (1 day old) and for the first week of her life. Any ideas or help would be great.

5Leepy!

 

[DaughterOfEve]

Sorry you didn't get much help. Symptoms sound like either Mareks or a vitamin deficiency. People use liquid polysol vitamins made for infants. I like vital livestock vitamins. There is also one called chick saver found at tractor supply stores. Hope this helps get you a few more opinions.

 

[5Leepy!]

Thank you. She was vaccinated against Mareks so I'm thinking no to that. I was giving her polyvisol in a mixture from this post http://www.bucknrunranch.com/blog/2011/11/02/wry-neck-in-baby-chick-video/. But, when the feedstore guy mentioned respiratory issues, I stopped trying it. I'll start again, though... I really hope she makes it, she seems worse than before.

 

[DaughterOfEve]

Sometimes no matter how hard we try to help, something is just wrong inside that we can't help. Try to keep her as comfortable as possible. Best wishes.

 

[5Leepy!]

I just changed the name of this thread... I'm pretty sure she has wry neck. She's now mostly walking and running backwards when she's excited/scared. She doesn't have full control of her head and frequently misses whatever she's pecking at. She has trouble eating but I've been helping her by crushing her crumbles more in a food processor and keeping her food piled high so she practically can't miss it. I'm giving her Polyvisol but she's not taking it well and I only get maybe a drop into her with 5 minutes of trying. She gets so stressed that I don't want to try for a super long time at a stretch. I'm also sometimes trying to give her additional vitamin E.

I'm confused about what to give her... I've read about prednisone, polyvisol in conflicting amounts, vitamin E, and selenium. The dosages are either not mentioned or vary depending on the post I read. I'm just confused by it and want to make sure I'm giving her what she needs but not overdosing her.

She's 18 days old now but is the size of a 1 week old. She seems to have stopped growing when her problems started. Her brooder-mate is easily twice as big as her now.

I'm thinking I'll have to start hand-feeding her and have no idea how to go about it... she's not comfortable being held and will not eat out of our hands. She's super skittish and has become skittish around her "sister" as well because she doesn't have full control of her body and her sister is now flying around and bonking into her.

Thank you for any help,
5Leepy!

 

[5Leepy!]

I feel like I'm just keeping a diary here...

I've put electrolytes in their water, about half water and half pedialyte without dyes. I've also used this water mix to make a slurry that includes her medicated chick feed (dust, I pulverized it), egg yolk, some polyvisol vitamins and some vitamin E. I tried to use a kid's medication syringe to feed it to her but no matter how thin I made it the syringe wouldn't pull it. I ended up thickening it a bit and using a spoon. I hold her and put her beak on the spoon holding the slurry and she shows little interest. I see her beak open and close a bit but not much. It's almost like she's possibly just using her tongue to lick the stuff instead of her beak to grab gobs of it. So, she seems to lick for a bit and then stop. I stimulate her by moving my hand a bit and she'll lick again (I don't actually know if she's licking because the tip of her beak is in the food so I can't see her tongue). Over and over we do this for about five or ten minutes with very little seeming to be gone from the spoon at the end of it. Then I put her back in the brooder.

How can I get more food into her? Sigh....

And, I seem to just be making a mess on her. She now has vitamins down the front of her chest (it's oil-based) and little pieces of the slurry stuck to her from when she occasionally flings her beak around. When I put her back in the brooder, her sister starts pecking at these parts of her. It seems gentle, like she's trying to clean her off but it just freaks her out. I feel like I'm just causing more stress rather than doing any good. Should I just stop doing anything and let her fend for herself?

 

[5Leepy!]

updating my diary... I've pretty much given up on hand feeding her. She just gets so scared that she closes her eyes and sits there. I've been giving her polyvisol, vitamin e with selenium and b-12. I cleaned her up with soap and water, which she hated but now she isn't all messed up and isn't being picked on by her sister. Her condition seems the same but she does seem to be losing weight. I don't see her poop much anymore so I think she's slowly dying of starvation. Will give her one more day of vitamins (today) and then cull her tomorrow if no improvement. We need to make a decision because if she ends up dying down the road her sister will be all alone and it will be harder to find her a brooder mate the older they get.

Any advice would really be helpful right now... I'm totally smitten with this chick and having a difficult time here.

 

[Suzie]

I am at a loss as to what to offer you - you need help right now for you and your chick! Maybe a little cooked egg or tuna will encourage her to eat - I do feel so desperately sorry that I can offer no help to aid you further - HOPEFULLY somebody on BYC can help you in the right direction.... I do know how it feels to be trying to help a chick and the frustration that ensues when nobody can help! Keep your strength up!

Best wishes

Suzie

 

[CapricornFarm]

So sorry you are having a rough time with this baby. I have started adding minerals to my chicken feed because this kept happening. I have not had much luck curing this unless you start with the vitamin E right away, and even then, not often. So sorry about your little one. Hugs...

 

[Lacrystol]

I have had my dealings with Wry Neck, it's a horrible sight to see them go through but I must advise you, they get worst before they get better. Here's how I treat them, First 1 full vitamin E, I usually give this at night. I usually try to put it directly on there beaks and let them drink it. It takes a long time to get the whole thing down because they don't care much for it, but you have to keep working with them. Then I give them 2 drops of Polyvisol without iron. make sure they drink it, which they usually do because my chickens for some reason LOVES the Polyvisol. I will give them this in the morning and at night. Since I work during the day it's hard to give them it for a third time but if you can give the polyvisol 3 times a day at 2 drops each shot that would be great... Some of my chickens that have had wry neck, will recover quickly, but I have had some that would get worst and worst each day to the point of "this chicken is not going to recover". then after about the 5th day sometimes longer. BOOM they start to hold there head up and recovery is on the way. It's very frustrated and heart breaking because you think what else I can I do. But if you stick with it, perhaps they will get on the road to recovery...

To get them to eat, I would take there food soak it with water until it's completely liquidfied. Then you can take a dropper and feed them that way. I would do this until "recovery" has occurred or they start to eat on there own. By soaking there food and giving it to them with a dropper not only do they get some food but also water. Just do drop by drop... Patients is a Priority because it does take a while before they improve.. Hope this help, good luck, please keep us updated...