Anyone ever seen this VERY strange behavior??

[ssledoux]

I have a buff silkie, appx 4 months old, who has been acting SUPER strange the last couple of days. She has her head all the way back, touching her back, staring up into space and sort of waving her head around. (I've been calling her Stevie Wonder because it is the movement he has always made with his head when he is singing - and I mean that in a nice way, not to be mean) It is VERY weird.

I know something has GOT to be wrong. She isn't making noises as if in pain. She CAN put her head straight up. She drank water today and when she went to swallow, she put her head all the way to her back.

Could her crop be blocked? Neck be broken or damaged?

I'm to the point where I am almost certain we will have to put her down but I have just GOT to know what in the world this is!

Any ideas?

 

[Turtle]

I have no idea but will post to bump your thread up. I am sure you will get an answer by tomorrow afternoon. I know there are a lot of good advisers on this site. Just some will not see this until morning. Hope you get your answer soon and sorry I couldnt help more.

 

[rebecca10782]

It sounds nerological, could she have encountered any sort of posion or fertilizer? I am so sorry, the poor thing. I hope you can help her. Let us know how things progress.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Try mixing 1 teaspoon of epsom salt in 1/2 cup water. If she is not drinking, you may have to use a syringe (without the needle) to get in in her crop. You will need to do this twice a day for 2 to 3 days.
This will help if it is from her ingesting something she shouldn't have.

If it is nerological, then I don't know what you can do.

Jean

 

[Sequin]

Is she doing everything else normally? Walking, pooping, eating, etc.? I have a young chick who drinks like that, head resting on back when swallowing. My theory is that he has an extra vertebrae or something and the neck cannot support his head when he looks upward. But don't quote me that that is what it is. It is just my own thoughts on the matter. The feed store gal said the chicks head was really wobbly when they first arrived, but the chick was doing better - and now the chick is really just fine.

 

[jenni2142]

Do a search here for wry or crook neck. It happens to silkies a lot but can be treated. It sounds like it isn't too bad in yours. I know somewhere there is videos, links to youtube in different threads, so you can see if it looks like what yours is doing.
this one has treatment info https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=187727

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Quote:
I agree with this. Sounds like you have some wry neck beginning to form. And show up now. Doesn't sound very bad if the bird is able to fight it and drink. But it will get worse if unaided.

 

[cluckingcanadian]

One of my broilers got wry neck. When I first spotted her and the behavior I was sure I was going to have to do the deed. I searched for info on BYC and started giving her infant vitamin drops (without iron). I also made sure it was getting food and water. Sometimes that meant sticking her beak in the water and giving her own pile of food on the ground.

I did not seperate her from the flock and within one week I could not pick her out of the group.

Good luck.

 

[tulie13]

Sounds like probably wry neck based on your description and everyone else's comments. However, I'd check the crop, too, just in case. If it's bloated/sour or impacted, you may have another issue.

NOTE: I'm probably hypersensitive to the possibility of sour crop, having just nursed one of my babies for 3 weeks through it. She's doing fine now, in with the rest of her sisters, but smaller from the ordeal. But it can never hurt to check for it.