Chicken has neck bent or head upside down somtimes

[SwabyQuail]

Yesterday my silkie chick began to walk a bit funny and tuck it’s head into its belly. Now the chick has its head bent down ward and sometimes has it’s head upside down. Intially i thooght it had something stuck in its throat but nothing. Tomorrow im planning on taking it to the vet because i cant seem to know whats wrong with it.

 

[Skyle]

Does it has any respiratory symptoms?

 

[Banana01]

I'm not asserting anything, but that looks like the initial symptom of botulism. If it is botulism he would have initially been acting like he's very drunk, and unable to hold his head up. Death from botulimsm is by suffocation due to paralysis.

If it is botulism poisoning setting in, you can give him clean natural wood charcoal pulverized with water, to absorb whatever toxin is remaining in his system, and you can keep his head propped up so he can breathe. Put him in the ventral recumbancy position and prop up his beak in front, that may allow him to breathe. You'll have to find a balance where he is able to breathe and keep his head near that position because he may have full neck paralysis.

Did he eat maggots or free range where an animal may have died? I have treated one hen that made a full recovery, but it took 5 days.

 

[Banana01]

Here is the photo of my hen that survived botulism. She was fully paralysed 5 days and I was able to feed her and water her, while keeping her beak balanced in front of her. I didnt even have to tube feed, I figured out how to feed without the tube.

Honestly do not go to the vet for botulism if you wish to try to treat her yourself. All botulism acedemic information says botulism is fatal, there aren't any references to successfully treated cases and a vet will not do anything but put her to sleep. Since the toxin wears off, I figured I would keep her alive and she is fully recovered but it took 5 days of intensive care.

The first photo is not the position she should be kept in. But here is the position her head should be propped up with something.

My hen is alive today and she is one of my most gentle and special hens because of what we went through.

So if you think it may be botulism, are you prepared to treat him for several days and monitor him? I'm sorry for the long post, but there is hope if you have the willingness he can recover. If not, then he won't suffer long. I also had several chickens die in my arms from this, and it was hard, but I wouldn't have had them die any other way.

 

[Swbertrand1]

Yesterday my silkie chick began to walk a bit funny and tuck it’s head into its belly. Now the chick has its head bent down ward and sometimes has it’s head upside down. Intially i thooght it had something stuck in its throat but nothing. Tomorrow im planning on taking it to the vet because i cant seem to know whats wrong with it.

First thing to do here is separate the chick from the flock, and put her in a spot where she won't be disturbed by other chicks or adult chickens. Make sure she's got food and water, even if it doesn't look like she can eat/drink on her own - the symptoms sometimes come and go, so she'll be looking for food/water if she gets her head up but you aren't around.

In the photos the chick looks almost dead though, eyes closed, head on the ground, but I sense from reading the post above that you just caught her with her eyes closed. Am I correct there? Is the chick awake and can move, although she moves like she's drunk or has motor-skills issues?

We raise Silkies, and I might be able to help. This looks more like Wry Neck to me than it does botulism, and I can help you treat that. Assuming this has not happened to this chick earlier, you've caught it early and sought help to treat, so you're WAY ahead of the curve right now.

Silkies, as a breed, are more predisposed to Wry Neck, but that is a symptom of other underlying issues/causes. The three primary causes of Wry Neck are a) Genetics, b) a hard hit or peck to the head, or c) vitamin deficiency. Treating for b and c often yields good results, and as much as we'd like to treat for a, there's nothing we can do there.

I've got a few questions:
1) How old is the chick?
2) Can she eat or drink at all on her own right now?
3) What is the chick's primary diet?
4) Is he/she allowed to free-range?
5) Does the chick get treats? What is fed as treats and how often?
6) Does the chick get any vitamins or supplements?

 

[Eggcessive]

Wry neck is very common, and the neck can be twisted to one side, upward, or downward between the legs. It is a neurological symptom of head injury, vitamin E or thiamine deficiency, and is sometimes a sign of certain diseases that affect the brain. Those can be Mareks, respiratory diseases, avian flu, fowl cholera, and Newcastles. Most use human 400 IU softgels of vitamin E, a bit of thiamine from human B complex or other vitamins, and give a little egg yolk daily. If the chicken cannot get food and water, you will need to hold her 2-3 times a day, and feed her moistened chicken feed, water, and egg. Hopefully, she will recovered within a few days or a week. If it does not get better with vitamins, and you notice other symptoms let us know.

 

[SwabyQuail]

First thing to do here is separate the chick from the flock, and put her in a spot where she won't be disturbed by other chicks or adult chickens. Make sure she's got food and water, even if it doesn't look like she can eat/drink on her own - the symptoms sometimes come and go, so she'll be looking for food/water if she gets her head up but you aren't around.

In the photos the chick looks almost dead though, eyes closed, head on the ground, but I sense from reading the post above that you just caught her with her eyes closed. Am I correct there? Is the chick awake and can move, although she moves like she's drunk or has motor-skills issues?

We raise Silkies, and I might be able to help. This looks more like Wry Neck to me than it does botulism, and I can help you treat that. Assuming this has not happened to this chick earlier, you've caught it early and sought help to treat, so you're WAY ahead of the curve right now.

Silkies, as a breed, are more predisposed to Wry Neck, but that is a symptom of other underlying issues/causes. The three primary causes of Wry Neck are a) Genetics, b) a hard hit or peck to the head, or c) vitamin deficiency. Treating for b and c often yields good results, and as much as we'd like to treat for a, there's nothing we can do there.

I've got a few questions:
1) How old is the chick?
2) Can she eat or drink at all on her own right now?
3) What is the chick's primary diet?
4) Is he/she allowed to free-range?
5) Does the chick get treats? What is fed as treats and how often?
6) Does the chick get any vitamins or supplements?

1) the chick is about a month and so old
2)she cannot eat or drink on its own
3)the primary diet is just chicken feed
4) chick does free range
5)just gets some veggies here and there
6)does not get vitamins or supplements

 

[SwabyQuail]

Wry neck is very common, and the neck can be twisted to one side, upward, or downward between the legs. It is a neurological symptom of head injury, vitamin E or thiamine deficiency, and is sometimes a sign of certain diseases that affect the brain. Those can be Mareks, respiratory diseases, avian flu, fowl cholera, and Newcastles. Most use human 400 IU softgels of vitamin E, a bit of thiamine from human B complex or other vitamins, and give a little egg yolk daily. If the chicken cannot get food and water, you will need to hold her 2-3 times a day, and feed her moistened chicken feed, water, and egg. Hopefully, she will recovered within a few days or a week. If it does not get better with vitamins, and you notice other symptoms let us know.

Ill try to do that, but how do I feed it. So far ive been only giving it water through a tube but haven’t figured out how to give it food

 

[SwabyQuail]

First thing to do here is separate the chick from the flock, and put her in a spot where she won't be disturbed by other chicks or adult chickens. Make sure she's got food and water, even if it doesn't look like she can eat/drink on her own - the symptoms sometimes come and go, so she'll be looking for food/water if she gets her head up but you aren't around.

In the photos the chick looks almost dead though, eyes closed, head on the ground, but I sense from reading the post above that you just caught her with her eyes closed. Am I correct there? Is the chick awake and can move, although she moves like she's drunk or has motor-skills issues?

We raise Silkies, and I might be able to help. This looks more like Wry Neck to me than it does botulism, and I can help you treat that. Assuming this has not happened to this chick earlier, you've caught it early and sought help to treat, so you're WAY ahead of the curve right now.

Silkies, as a breed, are more predisposed to Wry Neck, but that is a symptom of other underlying issues/causes. The three primary causes of Wry Neck are a) Genetics, b) a hard hit or peck to the head, or c) vitamin deficiency. Treating for b and c often yields good results, and as much as we'd like to treat for a, there's nothing we can do there.

I've got a few questions:
1) How old is the chick?
2) Can she eat or drink at all on her own right now?
3) What is the chick's primary diet?
4) Is he/she allowed to free-range?
5) Does the chick get treats? What is fed as treats and how often?
6) Does the chick get any vitamins or supplements?

The chick is alive however O think it got worst because now the body is really hot and its moving its head rapidly while having curved downward.

 

[Swbertrand1]

The chick is alive however O think it got worst because now the body is really hot and its moving its head rapidly while having curved downward.

I got the particulars; thank you! Chicken feed might be your culprit as it's for adult hens, not for chicks. Do you have (or can get) any Starter Feed for this 1-month old chick? At a month of age, this is probably her first bout with Wry Neck, so I think your chances of her recovery are good. I know Wry Neck looks horrible, but try not to focus on the outward signs. Instead focus on the treatment right now and getting her fed/watered.

This is a bit long - sorry, but it's comprehensive.

I see that Eggcessive has posted above - you can trust their advice, and I would give you the same advice, but I might offer different products or vehicles to achieve the same result: The three things you need to try to get into the chick besides food/water are
1) Vitamin-E
2) Selenium (can come from egg yolk or from Selenium tablets)
3) Vitamin B-Complex.

Vitamin-E (400IU) geltabs, Selenium (200mcg) tablets, and Vitamin B-Complex tablets can all be found in most vitamin sections of Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aid, and other drug stores. Try to get one or two small containers of Yogurt in a berry flavor (ours like that), and the Starter Feed (has the right mix of nutrients for chicks). A small 3/10cc (3/10ml) syringe will make giving water MUCH easier too! They're good to keep with your chicken "medical" supplies too!

When you have the things above in hand:
- put some Starter Feed (about 1/2 TBSP) into a small bowl.
- crush 1/4 of a B-Complex vitamin and mix it into the feed in the bowl.
- Add about 1/4 TBSP of Yogurt to the bowl, and mix this up into a moist paste.
- Puncture the Vit-E geltab and squeeze the contents over the moist paste, and stir it in.
- We fry the egg yolk and mix some of that into the paste OR use 1/8 of a 200mcg Selenium tablet crushed/pulverized to the mix, and stir all of this together. You're trying to achieve a mix that is moist but not watery, moist but not so dry that it falls apart when you push on it.

In the end, you want a quantity that's about the size of a marble (as big around as a dime). Now, you've got to feed it to the patient. This might require an assistant the first few times you do this since the bird's head is going to want to stay upside down, twisted, etc, and she's going to squirm. Get your mash ready on a tabletop in front of you and sit down in a chair with the bird.

We're right-handed, so my instructions are for that orientation. Put the chick on your left lap with her chest resting just inside your left forearm so that the back of her head and neck are against your chest and her tailfeathers are protruding out the back under your left armpit. This next step is where you might need an assistant: Use the hand of that left arm to rotate her head up and gently grasp her beak between your thumb and index finger while GENTLY pulling downward. Her mouth should open readily. Try this process a few times until you get it, then pinch a little piece of the mash between your thumb and index finger of your right hand and open her mouth with the left. Drop the mash into her mouth trying to get it to the back of her mouth. Don't worry if she slings it out or spits it out -this is normal and she'll do it as often as she can. Be persistent and get ALL the mash into her.
Feed her this mix twice per day, giving her all the mash...

Now, we need to get some water in her. A small dosing syringe or regular syringe (WITHOUT the needle of course) will work. I use a 3/10cc (3/10ml) syringe because it's very small and thin, thus easy to get into a chick's mouth.

Holding her the same way, we're going to give her about 1/4cc (1/4ml) of water at a time. This is just a drop, but we don't want to give too much at once. At the end of this paragraph, there is guide so that you know where to and where NOT to put water given orally. In short, you need to be sure you don't aspirate the chick (put water in her lungs). After you've read the short direction on how to administer water, pay special attention to the last photo before the comments. It shows the anatomy of the bird, where to put the syringe, and the pathway to the lungs that you want to avoid.
NOTE: If you're unsure about your placement of the syringe, the chick squirmed, etc, and you're not 100% sure your water shot is going to the right spot, DON'T push the plunger or squeeze the bubble to administer the water. Pull the syringe out, and start over with opening the bird's mouth, and placing the syringe.

https://bitchinchickens.com/2020/02/06/how-to-safely-give-oral-medications/

I know this seems daunting, but it's really not. It takes a little patience and practice to do this right, but this is what you're going to need to do to help this chick if Wry Neck is the case, and it CERTAINLY looks like it to me. We've done it, and it works. Give it a try and let us know how she does...