2 wk old chick - neurologic problems

We ordered the "all heavies" batch of 25 chick cockerels from Murray McMurray. They are 2 weeks old now. We lost 4 chicks due to shipping stress. All has been fine until now. I came home to find a chick going backwards and in circles with his head down. He occassionally falls over on his side or back - gets up - and then does the circle thing again. As I said, he has been fine until now. Any ideas? If he's contagious I want to get him away from the other chicks. Thanks!

We had a chick do that - we named her "Merry" (as in Merry Go Round). She ended up coming out of it eventually, but would still "go round" when excited. She's 4 or 5 now - no more spinning. I would imagine he lives long enough to fulfill his purpose, though I'm sure there are a couple horrible maladies I know little about that could cause spinning (brain worms, protozoans, etc). If you're really worried, you could separate him and see if extra TLC helps, but then you'll have to name him !

Kinda sounds like wry neck. Can he hold his head up and straight for any length of time? If not best thing to do is go to the drug store and buy poly-vi-sol WITHOUT iron and put 2drops in his mouth twice a day. You may also have to feed and water the chick by hand. I fed the last one that I had here cooked egg yolk and used a eyedropper to water the chick. Took about a week and he came out of it.
The running in reverse and in circles is because he cannot balance himself properly if it is wry neck.

So what exactly IS wry neck? What causes it etc? I have one that was like that. The chick improved greatly but still does circles when excited or upset.

I have heard of several reasons for chicks having wry neck of anything from the way the chick laid in the shell to a head or neck injury, to a mineral deficiency. No one seems to know the true reason why it happens but it typically shows up in 2 to 4 day old chicks.
All I really know about wry neck other than what I have put above is that it is either a neurological problem (head trama version) or a twisted/constricted muscle from the way the chick was inside the egg. I have only ever had 2 that have had it and the first one I had no clue on and someone told me about the poly-vi-sol and that has cured both of them. The second one which I still have had a weird head bob for a few weeks after holding its head normally but seems to have lost the head bob. The other one I have sold the chick to a lady locally because it only had 4 toes on one foot and she has not said she has not had any problem with it as far as head bobbing or other symptoms from the wry neck.
Take what I say as information I have received from others and I may not be 100% right on what causes it and why it happens. There may be someone else out there who has a better desciption. I know if you search BYC for wry neck there are TONS of threads about it.

Wry neck is a result of scoliosis. This sounds more like crazy chick disease.

Check my web site I have the treatment listed on my page under the incubation to babies tab. I have gotten several over wry neck with the very same treatment. But I do have acess to vet meds. Good luck. For a 2 week old I would give 1/2 a 5 mg pred and .2 of the enrofloxin 1/2 of a vit E cap. as well as a few drops of the b 12 complex. Do this 2 times a day.