Chick can't stand up and her head flops around

[Ladyhawk1028]

I have a 12 week old cream brabalta (sp?) she was fine yesterday then this morning I found her laying on her side and unable to get up. She has no injuries. Bowel movements are normal. She's not eating much but will drink water. No other chickens are having issues. I've kept her separated but no improvement. She keeps laying on her back or side but always has her head tilted back with her beak pointing up. Please help if possible

 

[PatrickRoo]

Maybe she has Coccidiosis. Is she acting listless? Loss of yellow color in shanks? Is her comb and wattle pale, is she acting chilled?

 

[Ladyhawk1028]

She's not listless she can still flap her wings. She's been a little chilly off and on but I've been keeping her wrapped up in a towel when she gets chilly. Shanks and wattle are normal

 

[coach723]

Welcome to BYC, and sorry you are having trouble.
Can you post a picture or video of your chicken? I'm wondering if this is wry neck.
You can also google to find pictures and video to see if that's what is going on.
If it is then vitamin E supplementing would be the treatment. You also need a selenium supplement to help absorb the vitamin E. Here is a link with good info on how to proceed: http://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/wry-neck.html
Here is another link that discusses the more common vitamin deficiencies in general: https://www.tillysnest.com/2014/03/vitamin-deficiencies-in-backyard-chicks-html/
Let us know how she does.

 

[Ladyhawk1028]

My daughter was able to get this video taken. I hope that helps but it does look like she has the symptoms for wry neck which was in the first link you shared

 

[coach723]

Something neurological going on. I would go ahead and do the vitamin supplementing and see what kind of improvement you get. Also try to get her to eat some, scrambled or chopped up cooked egg, tuna, you can mix some water into her feed to make a mash and mix some of that in too. She needs to eat and especially, stay hydrated. Keep us posted to see how she does. If you have some nutri-drench give some of that until you get the vitamins. It has some in it and will give her a little boost. Just make sure she doesn't aspirate. You can give nutri-drench with a oral syringe, dropper, or just mix in the water if she's drinking.

 

[chitownhens]

I replied to another thread and I gave my hen raw pastured beef liver and it helped her recover from what appeared to be a neurological issue. Was it the beef liver which is nutrient dense or was it just luck I don't know. Hope your hen can recover.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wry-neck-stargazing-or-seizures.1184164/

 

[coach723]

I replied to another thread and I gave my hen raw pastured beef liver and it helped her recover from what appeared to be a neurological issue. Was it the beef liver which is nutrient dense or was it just luck I don't know. Hope your hen can recover.

Beef liver is very high in vitamin A, and has lots of other vitamins and minerals, so certainly could have contributed to a recovery.

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree with others in that it appears to be neurological, especially with the neck going to one side. But those symptoms can also be from possible dehydration, coccidiosis do to weakness, and the dreaded Mareks disease. Cocci and Mareks can show up at this age commonly. I would try making her a chicken sling to keep her upright in front of her food and water. Make a small bowl of wet chick feed with a lot of water. The vitamins should include thiamine (vitamin B 1,) vitamin E, and selenium found in egg or tuna. Liver is great for B complex vitamins. Chick vitamins, poultry NutriDrench and Poultry Cell contain multivitamins and may be easier to use. The ND and PC can be given 1-2 ml orally once a day. Do some reading about coccidiosis, and Corid can be used to treat that.

 

[Ladyhawk1028]

We've been giving her a combination of vitamins and electrolytes. Was able to get more water in her today plus some mush of her feed and water. She has also been eating more of just her feed. She's showing a little improvement.