chick with crookneck

[LocoPollo]

I have one little four week old chick that looks like he has crookneck. He seems to only be able to look straight down when he stands erect. Now if he is bent over, he can lift his head a little. It is odd for sure. I am giving polyvisol in their water and changed their feed to non medicated. He has been this way for three or four days. How long does it last, or at worst, how long should I wait for it to clear up before having to cull it? Thanks!

 

[the1much]

are you using it for breeding?

and it probably wont straighten out,, sounds like a deformity.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

I have got a weird little pullet that has this same problem. She l;ooks quite odd but seems normal otherwise. I have a hard time with the idea of culling her as she seems in no pain and leads a normal life. I also have a little marans pullet with a badly deformed leg. She hops around on the good one and leads a normal life other than having to hop instead of walk. Sometimes they adjust and are fine, other times when the problem causes pain or lessened quality of life I think it's time to cull and I have no problem doing so in that situation. It's something everyone has to decide for themselves. Good luck

Edited to add: I'm a soft case for injured animals. I'll probably end up running a rest home for injured, deformed and elderly chickens

 

[the1much]

if ya not using her to breed,, and she eats and drinks on her own,, she'll live life just like the others,, may even be your best layer,,, i had 1 that looked like she was always looking around the corner,, she is fine,, in fact a lady bought her ( well i let her have it) a few weeks ago,,, she loved her !!

 

[country]

I had a beautiful little Silkie hen that started the same thing at about the same age. It seemed like her head was stuck to her neck part of the time & sometimes she would drop it between her legs. (She would also do spins when she got excited.) She didn't seem to be able to relax her neck enough to eat on her own so I fed her fruit yogurt from a spoon while I supported her head. I had successfully treated crooked neck with vitamin E so decided to give it a try with this girl. I snipped the end off a capsule & dripped it into her mouth & I also gave her water with added electrolytes & vitamins - again, by spoon. I continued the treatment for about 6 days before she started to respond but the difference was like a miracle! The only remnant of her problem is a slight cock to her head - almost like she is giving me a coy look. Otherwise, completely normal & an absolute sweetheart. From what I've read, some of these symptoms can be a result of brain damage. Prednisone for inflammation is also recommended. Try doing a search for wry neck and/or crooked neck & read the articles on treating for it.
Good luck to you & your little guy. I'll be thinking positive thoughts for both of you.
Country

 

[ruth]

Start the chick on Poly-Vi-Sol (liquid baby vitamin/supplements) and the Vitamin E capsules (mentioned above) right away. You may have to help support it's head while eating, thus feed it while holding it. I've also wrapped their neck to keep them from doing the "roll". I used a square of tissue paper, folded it to about an inch width, wrapped it arond the neck and used tape to secure it - then the chick had a little neck brace. Took about two weeks before chick was good as new. I just had to take this approach with a chick last month. Of course, at first they don't like the brace and run around the brooder bin throwing themselves around but they settle down after awhile and it really helps them and keeps the muscles from contracting and permanent damage from setting in.

My very first chick, and namesake, Ruth, was a crook neck chick. I didn't start early enough with her and she nearly died but did recover and did have a slight tilt to her head for the next year and half of her life. She hatched many beautiful, perfect, little blue EE chicks.

This is probably more of a vitamin deficiency/malabsorption issue than a genetic defect or flaw in the chick. It shows up randomly in a batch of chicks somewhere around four weeks old. You can also feed the chick extra food like scrambled egg for the protein and nutrients.

I've also noted that I have not seen it in any of my freerange chicks - in the warm/hot months I put chicks out at one week old - but it's winter here and I'm having to raise them in brooder bins for at least four weeks and those are the only chicks I've seen crook neck/limp neck in.

 

[Gallus_domesticus]

Is this crook neck (or limber neck, etc)??? If not, any ideas?

I bought this Wyandotte (mix?) chick at the feed store a few days ago. Now she can't raise her head much above this level. It makes her look like she's looking sideways out of her eyes if that makes sense. Still eating and drinking on her own.

After doing some searching it seems that either a nutritional deficiency or a bacterial infection (botulism?) are to blame. Am treating with a vitamin/mineral supplement (Missing Link Avian formula) and Erythromycin (for gram-positive bacteria). I've seen the threads about treating with PolyVisol, Vitamin E, predisone, etc. But I'm a vet tech and wanted to try my own treatment. Just wanted a little reassurance that this really is crook neck (or wry neck or whatever you want to call it!)

Thank you!

 

[ruth]

Looks like it could be the start of crook neck/limp neck/wry neck. I would use the Poly-Vi-Sol and Vitamin E that has been tried by several and worked.

 

[Gallus_domesticus]

Thanks ruth, glad I'm on the right track. Couldn't find Polyvisol in my area, so I decided to use a natural vitamin/mineral supplement formulated for birds (contains vitamin E as well).

Didn't mean to hijack your thread, LocoPollo. Hope your chick is ok!

 

[hatchaholic]

I have a cockerel that has a severely crooked neck and cross beak. His name is Igor. He's around 20 weeks old. He gets around fine and free ranges with the rest of the 50+ chickens, turkeys and geese. I thought about culling him, but he is just so sweet. And, it's hard for me to justify culling him as long as he eats, drinks, and isn't in any pain. I just will make sure that I don't use him for breeding.

Good luck with your chick!