A very strange thing happened.

[Boo71]

Hi. I have / had a young Wheaten Ameraucana roo about 4 1/2 months old. Last evening we went out to do the daily feed and water run like normal. I picked up the little guy and gave him him some attention. When I put him down he just fell over on his head. When I stood him up to see what the heck was up...his left wing was drooping and he could not balance. We guessed dislocated wing so I bandaged him up and isolated him. I checked him this morning and he seemed no worse for wear. Now here is the weird part...when I got home....the bandage was off...he was upside down with his head turned completely around...and he had absolutely no control of his body. He was in distress to the point where I thought he was near death..just the final twitches and he would be gone. I picked him up and noticed his eyes were clear and he seemed alert, however his body did not seem to work anymore. Due to this it seemed unnecessary to allow him to remain in distress so I dispatched him quickly.

Has anyone come across something like this before? I did not observe anything wrong with him before last night so I am kind of puzzled here.

Thanks.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Wry neck will do that. Some cull chicks immediately and others cure it. I have a chick now that had wry neck from hatch. It seems to be getting better but as soon as she is nervous/excited her neck twists and bats eyes uncontrollably. It's very odd. My hope is she moves on from it but know the condition can return in stress related instances for life. Say I get her on the mend and into adulthood with no problems then there is a predator attempting to break in or what have you and bang! Out comes the condition again. I'll likely cull her. Was hoping it would be gone in few days and now it's few weeks...see how it goes. If she is normal next week will keep and see if it comes back later then cull. If not normal by the time they go out to grow out coop I'll cull anyway.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. I would be afraid that he could have had a neurological disease, such as Mareks, botulism from eating a toxin in dead animals or fish, or aflatoxin poisoning from eating mold in food. Was he vaccinated for Mareks? Usually with botulism, the whole body can become paralyzed starting with the feet, legs, wings, then the neck. With Mareks, there can be paralysis of one or both legs or wings, and the neck can twist or be limp. Here are a few articles to read about the various diseases:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/19/botulism/
https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf

Aflatoxin Poisoning

Aflatoxicosis is one of the most common intoxications in modern poultry production systems. Certain species of Aspergillus and Penicillium can produce aflatoxins in feedstuffs. The production of aflatoxins can occur either in the field where the crops are grown or during storage. Acute aflatoxicosis is characterized by inappetence, ataxia, convulsions, opisthotonos, depression, and death. A gross lesion often seen with acute aflatoxicosis is an enlarged yellow liver. All poultry are susceptible to aflatoxicosis; however, ducks and turkeys are particularly sensitive.

 

[Boo71]

I think I have determined what the problem was. It appears somehow that this young roo's coracoid bone detached from the humerous and caused him to loose the use of his wing and the his ability to stand or balance. I have no clue as to how this happened because he was in the Playpen coop with 3 other young birds from the same hatch. He either had a weak joint from day one or he caught his wing in something and caused the damage.