Wry Neck - Confused about treatment

[Dawn4127]

I did add a multi vitamin just to cover everything that might be missing and I have some B complex. I'll add some.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

My favorite hen contracted wry neck after she was bullied and stopped eating... pretty sure it can be brought on by a nutritional deficiency or underlying crop issue. She was in real bad shape for awhile... lying on the ground in a contorted position, unable to walk... I thought she was done for. I kicked myself for not hand-feeding her sooner, but we live and learn. She was also dehydrated so I made sure she drank fresh water a few times a day. Her crop seemed totally deflated, so whether this was the cause of her problems or a symptom is unknown.

I started giving her Ultra B-12 complex in the morning which seemed to pep her up. For lunch I made a mush out of plain greek yogurt, organic chick starter, Nutri-drench, a dash of Chicken Crack, probiotic powder, and a quarter capsule of Magnesium supplement. She gobbled this mess up like crazy, which was amazing since she wasn't eating at all before. I kept this up for a few days and she finally started eating regular feed again on her own. She can walk now and is doing much better. I still feed her the yogurt mix every few days, but she is eating well and her crop seems almost back to normal. It is full during the day again. Her comb is pale and she still looks sickly, but at least she can live again.

I also gave her a bath in epsom salts (Magnesium Sulfate) which really seemed to make a difference. She made a dramatic improvement after that. Magnesium deficiency is an epidemic, even in chickens! It is a huge component in myriad systemic processes and I think deficiency can be an underlying cause of most nervous disorders.

I highly recommend probiotics/yogurt and vitamin/mineral supplementation, especially Magnesium. Worked for my hen.

Hope this is helpful...

 

[Lacrystol]

I did add a multi vitamin just to cover everything that might be missing and I have some B complex. I'll add some.

I beleive multi vitamin has Iron in it and they don't need that. causes future problems, I would exclude that..

 

[Lacrystol]

My favorite hen contracted wry neck after she was bullied and stopped eating... pretty sure it can be brought on by a nutritional deficiency or underlying crop issue. She was in real bad shape for awhile... lying on the ground in a contorted position, unable to walk... I thought she was done for. I kicked myself for not hand-feeding her sooner, but we live and learn. She was also dehydrated so I made sure she drank fresh water a few times a day. Her crop seemed totally deflated, so whether this was the cause of her problems or a symptom is unknown.

I started giving her Ultra B-12 complex in the morning which seemed to pep her up. For lunch I made a mush out of plain greek yogurt, organic chick starter, Nutri-drench, a dash of Chicken Crack, probiotic powder, and a quarter capsule of Magnesium supplement. She gobbled this mess up like crazy, which was amazing since she wasn't eating at all before. I kept this up for a few days and she finally started eating regular feed again on her own. She can walk now and is doing much better. I still feed her the yogurt mix every few days, but she is eating well and her crop seems almost back to normal. It is full during the day again. Her comb is pale and she still looks sickly, but at least she can live again.

I also gave her a bath in epsom salts (Magnesium Sulfate) which really seemed to make a difference. She made a dramatic improvement after that. Magnesium deficiency is an epidemic, even in chickens! It is a huge component in myriad systemic processes and I think deficiency can be an underlying cause of most nervous disorders.

I highly recommend probiotics/yogurt and vitamin/mineral supplementation, especially Magnesium. Worked for my hen.

Hope this is helpful...

Wonderful to hear about Her recovery. WOW you really put a lot into it..

 

[Fancychooklady]

I beleive multi vitamin has Iron in it and they don't need that.  causes future problems, I would exclude that..

I agree, no iron. human or baby drops are fine in an emergency and we all know that chemists are always open ,but a good poultry vitamin is specifically designed for poultry. Many people add lots of things into the mix and then it is hard to say what worked or didn't work. Nutri drench has everything they need and the science points directly to thiamine being the deficiency, so treat the symptoms .

 

[Deleted member 94844]

I agree, no iron. human or baby drops are fine in an emergency and we all know that chemists are always open ,but a good poultry vitamin is specifically designed for poultry. Many people add lots of things into the mix and then it is hard to say what worked or didn't work. Nutri drench has everything they need and the science points directly to thiamine being the deficiency, so treat the symptoms .

Both the Ultra B-12 and Nutri-drench contain thiamine, so that makes a lot of sense... One other thing, if you supplement magnesium be sure to alternate with extra calcium as the two compounds compete for absorption. I've been feeding her egg shells with hard boiled egg as a treat on the off days.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Both the Ultra B-12 and Nutri-drench contain thiamine, so that makes a lot of sense... One other thing, if you supplement magnesium be sure to alternate with extra calcium as the two compounds compete for absorption. I've been feeding her egg shells with hard boiled egg as a treat on the off days.

Magnesium actually depletes the phosphorous levels and unless there were obvious symptoms of a deficiency I wouldn't add it. In layers if the phosperous - calcium levels aren't right you will usually end up with soft shelled eggs and egg binding.

 

[Dawn4127]

You're right..I completely forgot about the iron. So none of my multi vitamin will be added since it has a tiny bit of iron in it. I can't take iron either! LOL. But the poly-vi-sol should be enough and add the B complex. I'm grinding up the B and adding it to the crumbles after I've added the Vitamin E and the poly-vi-sol (also non-iron) so that the powder sticks to it. What do you think of Avian Anti Biotic? I have some of that but only did 10 days of that. I have Epsom Salts. I can bathe her (provided the day is warm enough) and then do a soak in that for a bit. She seemed to like the warm running water..

We're feeding her a half dozen times during the day, maybe more and offering water first.

 

[Dawn4127]

I will try that real soon! I usually make my own yogurt but haven't in a bit and so the good stuff in the yogurt (the cultures) aren't there. I freeze portions of it to make my breakfast waffles (long long story because I've also had weight loss surgery too) but I will need to make some yogurt in a couple weekends. It's hard to use up a gallon of yogurt before it's bad around here but I sure can share with my girls..

 

[Deleted member 94844]

Magnesium actually depletes the phosphorous levels and unless there were obvious symptoms of a deficiency I wouldn't add it. In layers if the phosperous - calcium levels aren't right you will usually end up with soft shelled eggs and egg binding.

Nervous disorders are almost *always* a symptom of Mag deficiency... given the dramatic improvement in my hen's motor coordination after dosing I can guarantee that this was a factor. Magnesium is also a muscle relaxer and will help with the spasms and cramping associated with these conditions. Most people dealing with advanced cases of wry neck probably aren't as worried about egg quality, if the hen is laying at all