Broody Silkie with droopy head

[debattikitoo]

Hi. I'm new to raising chickens. I have a broody Silkie who has been sitting on 3 eggs for approximately 4 weeks. No babies. This morning she was moving around a bit and looked somewhat strange. I took her out of her nestbox to eat because I felt like she needed to. She's having trouble keeping her head up. She continually tucks her head under her neck as if to shift the eggs and she somersaults. She did eat and walk around a little. We disposed of the eggs and closed off her nest. She is now sitting on 2 chicks of another Silkie, but is still having the head problem and being off balance. Please HELP! I LOVE these babies! She is now 7 months old. Thanks.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. She may have a vitamin E and selenium deficiency due to being broody so long, or from an injury. Wry neck is the name of the syndrome, and symptoms can include a twisted or drooping neck, walking backward, flipping over, or running in circles. Most chick vitamins for the water contain vitamin E, and some vitamin tonics such as Poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell contain selenium as well. Eggs, tuna, and some nuts and seeds contain selenium as well. Here is some reading about wry neck (crook neck
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/97121/lets-talk-wry-neck-crook-neck

 

[debattikitoo]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You were the only one who responded and I took your advice. I started her on Poultry Cell, but after 5 days, I did not see the level of improvement I was hoping for, so I switched to NutriDrench and after 5 days, she is soooooooooooooo much better. In fact, she is better to the point that it is difficult for me to pick her out of the little group of four! We polished 2 of her nails today so we can more easily identify her.
How long should I keep her on the NutriDrench?
Again, thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

The 2 products are virtually the same, but I usually recommend Poultry
Cell because it contains riboflavin, usefull for curled toe paralysis. However, for wry neck they are both good, so maybe it just took a little while for the vitamin E and selenium to help. Wry neck is kind of mysterious, happens with not only a vitamin deficiency, but also with head injuries, and in certain infectious diseases. I'm glad to hear that she is much better, and I would continue the vitamins for another week or two, and then a couple of days a week. Make sure that your feed bag is fresh dated, since feed vitamins can leech out as it sets on the shelf or in the can.