6wk Bantam Neurological Issues

[WannabeHomsteader]

Hey everyone,

I have a 6wk bantam (I'm unsure of sex - leaning toward cockerel) that has some pretty severe neurological symptoms. Main symptom is lack of control of the neck/head. He ducks his head dramatically up and down, in circles, in a slow-motion way (think like slow-motion pecking almost, but way down to his chest feathers). He struggles with controlling his legs to walk, but he can walk. He stands still in the corner, hunched up, tail down, ruffled feathers, eyes closed. Very obvious that he feels bad. It seems like his symptoms (esp. head ducking) get worse upon attempting to move or having too much stimulus (like when I pick him up). He is not eating anything, not even scrambled egg. I am giving 1 ml Poultry Cell daily as a drench, and he's been independently drinking water w/ an electrolyte mix in it. I will try to post pictures of him, but I don't know that a static photo would be helpful. He just stands there mostly, and frankly I hate to disturb him.

Other notes:
- All my bantams (including him) just finished up on Corid treatment a week ago. I suspected a vitamin deficiency was causing his coordination issues, so I started putting a top-dress multivitamin in their feed. His symptoms started mildly about a week ago (minor head bobs, but still active), but have progressed rapidly in the last 2 days. I started Poultry Cell treatment yesterday.
- Poop is dark green today (likely due to not eating)
- He's got enough energy to complain at me when I take my other sick bird out of the cage to treat her (she has a pecking injury). They are very fond of each other, quite snuggly. The other bantams are in a separate area.
- All my bantams were just moved out of poor brooding conditions yesterday (I'm new to chick raising - I have been struggling greatly with keeping litter clean and dry, but their new setup I rigged yesterday is MUCH better). I am concerned that this is a mycotoxin issue for him, not a vitamin deficiency.
- No other broodmates have similar symptoms, although I am watching closely.
- From what I can gather online, it doesn't look like Marek's to me. He has spasms/involuntary movement, not paralysis. It also doesn't look quite as "twitchy" as stargazing, but maybe could be a similar problem.

Anyone have any ideas? If it's a vitamin deficiency, how long do I continue the Poultry Cell, and when might I expect improvement?

 

[nuthatched]

1 ml of poultry cell won't touch a severe deficiency, I'd try giving him 1 third of a B complex tablet every day for a few weeks, any brand from the grocery store.

 

[Tookie]

Poor guy!
For neurological issues or vitamin deficiencies, it's recommended to give 400IU of Vitamin E, and 1/4 - 1/2 a tablet of Vitamin B Complex. They're given daily. I would get those things and try it out, it could take many weeks for him to recover, if it works.

As for him not eating, you may have to feed him yourself. You could look into tube feeding or "torpedo" feeding.

 

[WannabeHomsteader]

1 ml of poultry cell won't touch a severe deficiency, I'd try giving him 1 third of a B complex tablet every day for a few weeks, any brand from the grocery store.

Thank you! Will try that ASAP

 

[WannabeHomsteader]

Poor guy!
For neurological issues or vitamin deficiencies, it's recommended to give 400IU of Vitamin E, and 1/4 - 1/2 a tablet of Vitamin B Complex. They're given daily. I would get those things and try it out, it could take many weeks for him to recover, if it works.

As for him not eating, you may have to feed him yourself. You could look into tube feeding or "torpedo" feeding.

Thank you for the suggestions! I'll pick these up tomorrow and start that.

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree he needs vitamin E and B complex to treat neurological symptoms. Also get a little cooked egg yolk or scrambled egg into him for a bit of selenium, which helps the E. Head injury, vitamin E or thiamine deficiency, genetics, and Mareks in older birds, can cause wry neck. Uploading a video of his movements to YouTube or similar site can be helpful.

 

[WannabeHomsteader]

I agree he needs vitamin E and B complex to treat neurological symptoms. Also get a little cooked egg yolk or scrambled egg into him for a bit of selenium, which helps the E. Head injury, vitamin E or thiamine deficiency, genetics, and Mareks in older birds, can cause wry neck. Uploading a video of his movements to YouTube or similar site can be helpful.

I was totally wrong about the problem. I am in way over my head. I went to feel for crop fullness to see if he was eating today, gearing up for some torpedo feeding and vitamin treatments... and he seems to have a broken wishbone. Without an x-ray, I don't know for sure what's broken where, but something is absolutely wrong on the inside. Above the keelbone, there are bones loose and freely moving. The right side of his body where his wing attaches (or should attach) feels wrong, compared to the left side. And that is the direction he bobs his head, to the right. I am totally dumbfounded as to how it happened, and also at a loss on what to do from here, besides a kind euthanasia. I was able to gently push some things around (probably not necessarily "back into place"), and the crazy head bobbing stopped. He immediately went to eat and drink for two minutes, and then the head bobbing began again. He felt pretty skinny in my hands, even for a bantam chick.

I know I probably need a vet's guidance and some proper x-rays, but if you or anybody has any suggestions, I am all ears.

@Tookie
@nuthatched

 

[nuthatched]

I was totally wrong about the problem. I am in way over my head. I went to feel for crop fullness to see if he was eating today, gearing up for some torpedo feeding and vitamin treatments... and he seems to have a broken wishbone. Without an x-ray, I don't know for sure what's broken where, but something is absolutely wrong on the inside. Above the keelbone, there are bones loose and freely moving. The right side of his body where his wing attaches (or should attach) feels wrong, compared to the left side. And that is the direction he bobs his head, to the right. I am totally dumbfounded as to how it happened, and also at a loss on what to do from here, besides a kind euthanasia. I was able to gently push some things around (probably not necessarily "back into place"), and the crazy head bobbing stopped. He immediately went to eat and drink for two minutes, and then the head bobbing began again. He felt pretty skinny in my hands, even for a bantam chick.

I know I probably need a vet's guidance and some proper x-rays, but if you or anybody has any suggestions, I am all ears.

@Tookie
@nuthatched

I'm not a vet, sorry.
I'm not sure how to even stabilize that.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is there any way to upload a video? His head bobbing could be some crop adjustment. Feel of the other bantams’ body parts and compare them. Did you get any food into him today? Mushy wet chick feed, cooked egg, and water can be added to most everything.

 

[WannabeHomsteader]

Is there any way to upload a video? His head bobbing could be some crop adjustment. Feel of the other bantams’ body parts and compare them. Did you get any food into him today? Mushy wet chick feed, cooked egg, and water can be added to most everything.

I haven't tried hand feeding today because I think he is still eating some on his own. I did compare to other bantams, and the main difference is this weird protruding thing on the right. It is about 1 inch long, hence why I thought bone. But bantam bones must be smaller than this thing, surely. I have never seen a chicken adjust their crop before, but videos online look similar. I SO hope that is what it is (and not a bone). Much easier to treat. Thank you for your patience while I iron out what the real problem is....I feel like I've run the gamut on "head bobbing" causes.