Chicken is holding his head down, pic, Wont Take the POLYVISOL

[Miss Lydia]

Three Cedars asked if you could get predisone? I think you have to go through a vet for that. I really don't know what else to tell you. It might be watch and wait unless you take it to the vet and I'm not sure other than the steriod they could do. Are you also giving vit E?

 

[Lacrystol]

Yes giving Vitamin E and the Polyvisol, This mornining he was at the worst that I have ever seen him. Once I gave him the Polyvisol, he did manage to hold his head up and peep and I made sure he got some down him, unlike yesterday. I put the polovisol on the bottom of his beak with mouth opened, where yesterday I was tapping his beak to see if he would peck at it. Yesterday he kept shaking and scratching at his face, is this part of wry neck?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I would go get a container of Exact baby parrot food, and sprinkle their food heavily with it. I would also mix up vitamins and electrolytes from the cattle section of the feed store into their waterer. If they can't eat and drink, mix the parrot food with water into a loose pudding consistency and give them bits in their beaks. Stay at the front of the beak and use a syringe to give it to them in small amounts. This is a very concentrated, absorbable formula that ought to provide them with nutrients quickly. Dip their beaks in the vitamin water to get each of them a few mouthfulls every hour.

I found this in the archives. when looking to see if shaking and scratching is part of wry neck.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=31210

 

[Chickiebabyfluff]

I had one of my silkies develop this. I gave him everything everyone said to give him and do...he did not recover and passed away. Broke my heart but from what i understand this is not unusual for a silkie it is a common thing for them to develop this. I don't know anything else about it.....out of 20 only one developed it so. It seems like its a 50/50 thing either they recover with the vit e and poly visol or they don't Im so sorry you are having to experience this with your baby silkie.

 

[Lacrystol]

It's just one silkie that seems to be decreasing he is a blue silkie, the other silkie who is a splash wasn't as bad, the splash silkie all's he did was do circles, I gave him some polyvisol, he drank it right from the dropper no problems and immediately I would say within about an hours time, he had stopped doing the circles and acting pretty normal. Now the blue silkie, he is the one that we are having major issues with.

 

[Lacrystol]

Quote:
OK so the scratching is part of this problem. I sure hope he can pull out of this, so how much of the prolyvisol do you think I should be giving him? Half a dropper a full dropper, because like I said earlier this morning when I checked on him he had his head completely tuck under his legs, after I gave him some Polyvisol, he had his head up high. Or should I just give him some when his head starts to tuck under him? He's eating in fact the polyvisol seems to make him hungry.. He will sit in the food bowl so that he doesn't have to go far. he does drink as well. I don't want to come home from the store one of these days and find him dead. If I was to guess, I would say the older chickens pecked at him. I have one particular female that is just mean, when I put all the babies outside she went after them. She would even go out of her way to peck at them, I had to chase her away several times. I can see why she would be upset because she went broody and nothing hatched. She was in a terrible spot. Do you think i should be giving the older chickens some Polyvisol or is that not necessary?

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Although many people have silkies overcome wry neck over time, I have found that the prednisone is crucial in a quick recovery. Ask friends and family if anyone has some that you can "borrow". You may have to call your vet and ask if they would be willing to sell you prednisone for the birds.

Also...make a mash of their food and they can eat it a LOT better. Hold a small bowl of it up at the birds chest level and untuck the birds head and place it in the bowl. Chances are they will eat well. If he does eat well that way, be sure you feed him at least 5 times a day and let him eat as much as he wants. Do the same thing with the water. You can't leave him and hope he'll get enough to eat and drink.

 

[Lacrystol]

I don't have a clue of where to get prednisone, I called a vet and first thing they said is you would have to bring the animal in, when i told him it was for a chicken they bascially said, sorry can't help with a chicken...

 

[Lacrystol]

Quote:
Is prednisone an antibotic? Because I have Sulmet

 

[Miss Lydia]

predisone is a steriod, not an antibiotic,

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=367590 this will give you amounts