3 week old Silkie - possible wry neck?

[pacifictearx]

My 3 week old silkie potentially has wry neck, but I am really not sure and am worried I may be missing something. I also can't get the chick to take the vitamins in any form/way I have tried. I will add pictures and try to post all the details...I wrote a whole thing in a note, but it won't fit.

 

[pacifictearx]

Hi. We have 5 silkies we got from a hatchery. We originally had 6 but one died of unknown cause within the first few days. 4 of them have developed quickly with many feathers now, but one has fallen behind in size and feathers.

The one that has fallen behind we noticed yesterday was keeping its head somewhat tilted downward and does not tilt it fully upward even when drinking. Other than that, this Silkie has been keeping up with the rest in terms of activity for the most part and ate and drank okay it seemed.

I started researching and was worried it may be the start of wry neck though I couldn't find anything that quite described such a mild form.

I could not find polyvisol anywhere in my area yesterday...

 

[pacifictearx]

so I followed what several other articles and posts said got vitamin E and selenium supplements. I first tried mixing them into a small bit of food and using some water, but the chick did not eat it. I tried a couple of other ways and then saw someone say boiled or scrambled egg was a good source and safe at this age and decided to give them their first bit of scrambled egg. I know the little one ate some but I'm not sure how much.

This morning things were worse. The little one ends up with its head underneath it seemingly via 2 ways: 1. Falling asleep while standing and the head slowly lowers AND 2. the chick suddenly and quickly(I would almost describe as convulsively or spasmotically) lowers the head as far as it can go underneath and shakes its head, almost like trying to wipe its beak on its chest or stomach, then may relax and it hang down some and rock back and forth or rest in some variation. When it first lowers the head quickly, it will also backup quickly into the wall, sometimes flipping itself over. If I gently lift the head, it holds it up and goes back to doing things pretty normally and it can get its head up on its own sometimes quickly and sometimes after a few minutes.

I have tried multiple ways to get the chick to take the vitamins, and I am at a loss! It won't eat the food with the vitamins mixed in no matter how I fix it even with the egg. Just picks a little. I put regular food back in after a bit because it was worrying me that it wasn't eating. It doesn't seem to be eating much today but is drinking (not excessively). I tried wrapping the chick up in a towel like multiple videos I had found showed to support the chick with the food held up for it. I tried squeezing the vitamin E gel into the beak like is also suggested places, but the chick just starts freaking out really bad.
It has been sleeping seemingly more today and doesn't seem to have much trouble while asleep. It just tucks its head around to its wing though sometimes, it looks like it is maybe having a small muscle contraction that pulls the neck closer to the body slightly maybe? But it pops up, peeps, and walks around like everything is fine for awhile at a time. Still doesn't like the separation.

The chicks is separated from the others now though only with a piece of fence in between because it panics when completely separated.
Also, we found out that the chicks weren't vaccinated at the hatchery unfortunately, so it could be anything but I can't find a much better fit than wry neck other than Mareks, but it doesn't seem to fit it either.

I know this is really long. I just can't figure it out and am very worried for the little baby and would love any help/advice on what it could be if not wry neck or confirmation that it is wry neck and how to get the chick treated since nothing has worked that I have tried.

Thank you very much for reading and any help.

 

[pacifictearx]

The first is to show how the head stays tilted. The second is just the chick walking around. The third shows the chick backed up into a corner with its head underneath it.

 

[pacifictearx]

Update: Finally able to get a couple of doses in our chick yesterday and this morning using some raw egg to mix the vitamin into and using a syringe to offer drops. Had to get it on the tip of the beak over and over each time until the baby would respond by seeming to realize it was actually food and eating it. Not much noticeable improvements. Symptoms are the same so far, but may be more interested in food today.
After additional research, mostly in posts on this site, we switched the starter food from medicated to unmedicated due to possibility of it interfering with absorption and have ordered rooster booster cell liquid supplement. Found posts that described their situations closer to ours that I didn't see prior to making this post. Considering trying to give some molasses due to seeing a few successes using that along with rooster booster or other supplements.
I will try to make sure to update in case this might help someone out in the future.
Still definitely up for any advice if anyone has any though! Thanks!

 

[MMARC234]

I’ve got a baby right now (Scolly, aka Scoliosis) that has wry neck positioned almost identical to yours. I was (still am, honestly) in the same boat— freaking out about the fact that my chick wanted nothing to do with their vitamins no matter how I tried to give them. I finally ordered some pipettes (small plastic syringes used to drop in small amounts of liquids) and they work like a charm. Because my guy is tiny none my other syringes worked. These are super little though and I can just squeeze a small drop of nutridrench and vitamin e directly on his beak to make him drink. Maybe this could help your guy too?

 

[pacifictearx]

Thank you for your reply! I didn't even think about trying to use little pipettes. That makes so much sense for better control and the much smaller tip. I was just using a 3ml syringe which is really too big for trying to aim properly and the plunger is not the easiest to control for only small drops at a time. And I just remembered where I may actually have one! Thanks!
I hope both our tiny babies improve soon!

 

[MMARC234]

Thank you for your reply! I didn't even think about trying to use little pipettes. That makes so much sense for better control and the much smaller tip. I was just using a 3ml syringe which is really too big for trying to aim properly and the plunger is not the easiest to control for only small drops at a time. And I just remembered where I may actually have one! Thanks!
I hope both our tiny babies improve soon!

No problem! I’m glad I could help. I was using a 1ml syringe that was still too big for my little guy. Hope your baby takes to it!

 

[pacifictearx]

To update: After continuing to hand feed the vitamins directly with the egg, our little chick has seemed to improve with more vigor in eating and seemingly fewer episodes of dropping their head. Even when their head dropped down they pulled it back up much quicker through the day yesterday. And with the increased vigor eating, we have been able to give the vitamins mixed in with some starter feed softened with water. We will probably still treat with the rooster booster when it arrives to round out the range of vitamins and maybe help them get a jumpstart catching up to the others.

 

[pacifictearx]

No problem! I’m glad I could help. I was using a 1ml syringe that was still too big for my little guy. Hope your baby takes to it!

I would say so. They're just so tiny! And thank you. I hope your baby is doing well!