5 week old silkie chick with wry neck :((

[The Backyard Bantams]

I just checked on my little ones to find that one of them has wry neck. I just lost my most precious silkie hens a month ago from some kind of neurological issue and wry neck.

I had checked on them probably an hour beforehand, he has not been exhibiting any symptoms for long. My nine others are perfectly fine.

At the moment it is winter, and they are almost feathered. They live inside during the night in a brooder I built, and outside in a little protected run with a small heat lamp during the day.

They are on medicated barastoc chick starter, with small daily treats of very nutrient rich foods like broccoli, chia seeds, herbs, chickweed, and egg.

I know that the most common cause of wry neck is a vitamin deficiency, but that would be very unexpected, considering they have a complete diet with extra supplements and vegetables.

I don't see why the chicks would be exposed to any toxins.

How do you know if a chick has a head injury? I see no signs of any physical trauma, but he does have a vaulted skull.

I'm happy to hand feed him and monitor him, as we're in lockdown anyways. I can feed him some vitamin E and selenium rich foods. What else can I do?

 

[Swbertrand1]

Hello. If you catch this quickly, like it appears you did, this can sometimes be overcome, but you'll need to start treatment as soon as possible. We raise Silkies and have had to deal with Wry Neck several times with success.

I see that you're in Melbourne, AUS too, so I'm not familiar with products available to you for chicken health. Which of the following do you have available to you for her treatment?

a) Vitamin-E
b) Selenium (transport for Vit-E)
c) Vitamin B-Complex (vitamins)
d) Vitamin B-4 (only because I can't find it in any B-Complex variant)
e) Nutri-Drench (vitamins)
f) Liquid Vit B-12 (high dose variant by Rooster Booster)
g) Prednisone (for swelling)
h) Yogurt (good bacteria for digestive health)
i) Syringes or Droppers for watering
j) a safe space for her to rest and recover

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Any Starter Feed for chicks will do. Don't worry about high protein as they need lots of protein for muscle development as chicks. She's a pretty little girl!

Medicated versus non-medicated is another topic for debate. Some say yes; some say no. Read this and decide for yourself:
https://thefrugalchicken.com/medicated-vs-unmedicated-chick-starter/#:~:text=Medicated chick starter has an added medication called,have Amprolium or any other medicine in it.

I'd stay on the Vitamins with E for at least a week so she doesn't backslide into Wry Neck again, certainly until you get some proper Starter Feed for her. Don't forget this is almost always a Nutritional Issue, so it's important that she continues to get those vitamins to help her develop.

I'm so glad to hear she's doing better - I needed that to start this day!

Update!!

She's happy as can be. Just entering the sassy teen stage

I need to get to naming her officially

 

[Swbertrand1]

Hi there, how much vitamin B12 can I give my 9 week old polish? She has wry neck she is still up and walking but her head is tweaking out and weaving on and off. I’m buying some vitamin E with selenium gel pills I heard you can break them open and give the chick a couple drops in the morning and at night. Is this true? If you could comment on my post that would be great I’m really trying to seek more advice on Wry Neck this is my first experience.

I haven't heard of Vit-E gel pills with Selenium in them, but since you did, check the amount of Selenium for each gel pill in micrograms (mcg), and check that you're using 400IU gel pills. If only 200IU or something different, you'll have to convert for the 400IU dosage, and be careful of the amount of Selenium. We try to stay below 50-60mcg per day, and even that is on the larger end of the dosing spectrum, but we mix the Selenium in as a separate ingredient, using 1/8 of a 200mcg tablet (25mcg) at each dose. If you have Vit B-Complex tablets, use 1/4 tablet once per day at the first dose only. Subsequent doses don't need it (or the Selenium, just the Vit-E).

Now, most feed a 400IU gel once or twice per day. I've gone to as many as three per day with 400IU Vit-E with success in severe cases, but two doses/day will probably work here since your chick is not exhibiting extreme symptoms. Getting a chick to take the E is the trick though.

We use a moist paste mix of a few ingredients in a small bowl or ramekin to get the chick to eat this on their own. Your results may vary.
We start with the 1/4 tablet of Vit B-Complex (or a Liquid Vit-B complex like Poly-Vi-Sol - about 3-4 drops of this in the mix you're making).
Since you're using Vitamin B in tablet form, crush/pulverize the Vit B-Complex tablet, and mix it into about 1/2 TBSP of dry Starter Feed.
Add about 1/4 TBSP of Yogurt (any flavor; ours seem to like "mixed berry").
Then puncture the Vit E gel and squeeze it over the Yogurt/Feed/Vit-B in the bowl.
Mix thoroughly to a moist paste that's about the consistency of a dough ball for baking cookies.
If the mix is too dry, add a bit more Yogurt; if too wet, add a little more feed. We try to get this mixture moist enough to stick to our fingers, but dry enough that it will break apart if prodded with a fork.

Feed to your baby first thing in the morning. If using a second dose per day, leave the Vit B-Complex out, but mix all the other ingredients together and administer in the late afternoon, early evening. You may see positive results in as little as a few hours to a few days. However, this can sometimes take weeks to get past, so be ready for that. We had a little Silkie with a severe case of Wry Neck that began treatment on June 22 and is just now beginning to trail off of those treatments...

Run a search on the web or on this Forum using "WRY NECK" as your search parameter, and you'll find TONS of info. The Search window on this site is at the top of the page. Find the Forums tab, then look on the line just below it, and you'll see "Search Forums" in a tan-colored bar. Follow the dropdown boxes that follow.

Good luck with your Polish! Let us know how she does?

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Hello. If you catch this quickly, like it appears you did, this can sometimes be overcome, but you'll need to start treatment as soon as possible. We raise Silkies and have had to deal with Wry Neck several times with success.

I see that you're in Melbourne, AUS too, so I'm not familiar with products available to you for chicken health. Which of the following do you have available to you for her treatment?

a) Vitamin-E
b) Selenium (transport for Vit-E)
c) Vitamin B-Complex (vitamins)
d) Vitamin B-4 (only because I can't find it in any B-Complex variant)
e) Nutri-Drench (vitamins)
f) Liquid Vit B-12 (high dose variant by Rooster Booster)
g) Prednisone (for swelling)
h) Yogurt (good bacteria for digestive health)
i) Syringes or Droppers for watering
j) a safe space for her to rest and recover

Hi! She's still with us and making slow but steady progress

I must've checked on her within an hour or two of her first symptoms!

The products are by vetsenseanimalhealth, check out their website or insta! Would recommend! What suburb in Melb are you in? I'm in Wantirna sth, in southeast melbourne.

I have been giving her hand-rearing bird food instead of the medicated starter, it is 23% protein. Supplementing this with organic brazil nuts (VERY high in selenium), sunflower seeds (vitamin e), hemp seeds (high in protein and omega 3), lcm, pepitas, cinnamon, Tumeric, thyme, oregano, vitamin b complex, avi-vital, dried goji berries, papaya, etc....


I do have yogurt, I make my own with goat's milk. I also have soy, almond, cashew milk, etc for dairy-free options. Avi- vital does contain prebiotics, and I can give her some chicken-safe kombucha.

I do have a little syringe, and she has learned to drink from my finger

I never force feed chickens, as they can choke or inhale liquids. She is eating just fine as long as she's in a comfortable position.

Her legs were slightly splayed. for the first few days, I had to keep her in a little wooden box with pine shavings and a sock stretched over it, to stop her flailing around. I was concerned she wasn't building any muscle strength. I let her roll around a little more, and put a gentle straw & rubber band brace on her legs for a day.

Her legs are perfectly fine now

She is very chirpy and happy, as long as she's not panicked and rolling around.

She is able to stand and preen, but not walk quite yet.

She has gotten so fluffy, although gets so grotty after a meal, I have to bathe and blowdry her sometimes. A couple of times she fell into the water bowl and got very wet

I thought she was a cockerel, but I'm almost certain she's a hen now

She should be very bonded to me, hopefully, she'll become my new emotional support chicken <3

I'll make sure to keep you updated, and send you some photos!

 

[Swbertrand1]

I wanted to share a couple photos of one of our Silkies before/after photos from the six week journey she's been on.
This little girl was fine on June 21, 2021. On June 22, her head was upside down (first photo). The second photo is five (5) weeks later after treatments with Vit-E, Selenium, B-12 vitamins, Yogurt, and Starter Feed. Yes, it may take time, and we're still treating her...

 

[Swbertrand1]

Thank you!!

She is doing AMAZING

She looks almost normal now. Can run around without trouble.

A very experienced silkie friend on IG recommended i have it on hand for weak birds or chicks. I think it is safe however not the best thing to have her on long term. I have stopped giving it to her, as she does not need it. Atm she's been eating some game bird starter which is ok, a bit newer than the chick starter. It is probably a tiny bit too high in protein to have her on for very long but otherwise it's safe. I think it is unmedicated. I really do need to order some chick starter, what would you recommend? Unmedicated? It would be very helpful if I could get it off petcircle since that's where I usually order from.

Vetsense says that they don't claim avi-vital as a cure for wry neck, but the vitamin E will definitely help.

She is such a perfect little angel. I'm actually stumped whether she has a small beard or is non-bearded. Same with most of them actually. I was sure most of them were bearde as chicks, but they've gone through stages where they look different. They have their first pullet feathers now though.


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Any Starter Feed for chicks will do. Don't worry about high protein as they need lots of protein for muscle development as chicks. She's a pretty little girl!

Medicated versus non-medicated is another topic for debate. Some say yes; some say no. Read this and decide for yourself:
https://thefrugalchicken.com/medicated-vs-unmedicated-chick-starter/#:~:text=Medicated chick starter has an added medication called,have Amprolium or any other medicine in it.

I'd stay on the Vitamins with E for at least a week so she doesn't backslide into Wry Neck again, certainly until you get some proper Starter Feed for her. Don't forget this is almost always a Nutritional Issue, so it's important that she continues to get those vitamins to help her develop.

I'm so glad to hear she's doing better - I needed that to start this day!

 

[Thiccen]

My recommendation would be to separate her from the rest of the flock and bring her inside so she doesn't have to use any strength she has keeping warm other then that your using vitamin e and force feeding her so that's good you should also try to get selenium so it's easier for her to obsorb the vitamin e. If it's been affecting your other hens it could be a genetic problem I've only had limited experience with wry neck in a guinea chick and he didn't make it sadly I hope yours fairs better then Kermit did

 

[sadiemartin]

Hello. If you catch this quickly, like it appears you did, this can sometimes be overcome, but you'll need to start treatment as soon as possible. We raise Silkies and have had to deal with Wry Neck several times with success.

I see that you're in Melbourne, AUS too, so I'm not familiar with products available to you for chicken health. Which of the following do you have available to you for her treatment?

a) Vitamin-E
b) Selenium (transport for Vit-E)
c) Vitamin B-Complex (vitamins)
d) Vitamin B-4 (only because I can't find it in any B-Complex variant)
e) Nutri-Drench (vitamins)
f) Liquid Vit B-12 (high dose variant by Rooster Booster)
g) Prednisone (for swelling)
h) Yogurt (good bacteria for digestive health)
i) Syringes or Droppers for watering
j) a safe space for her to rest and recover

Hi there, how much vitamin B12 can I give my 9 week old polish? She has wry neck she is still up and walking but her head is tweaking out and weaving on and off. I’m buying some vitamin E with selenium gel pills I heard you can break them open and give the chick a couple drops in the morning and at night. Is this true? If you could comment on my post that would be great I’m really trying to seek more advice on Wry Neck this is my first experience.

 

[Swbertrand1]

How is the Silkie chick doing?