Chicken with elongated and weak neck

[MomDto6]

When going to lock our chickens up last night, my daughters found one of our 3 month old Australorps sticking it's head into a crack that she has stuck her head through many times. It was not stuck, seemed to pull it's head back out without effort, but the girls quickly noticed the chicken was unable to hold up it's head and came running for me.

The young hen does not seem overly distressed. After holding her in my lap for a bit, supporting her head, we put her in a tote with a Gatorade bottle on its side, draped with a towel to support her head. We let her rest in the garage overnight. This morning, she was alert, able to stand, and lift her head for brief periods then it slowly droops down.

I soaked chicken feed in water overnight. She did eat a bit of this, with some assistance of supporting her neck/head. Her neck remains elongated. I do not feel any apparent breaks, there is no swelling. She is able to ruffle her feathers and eating bits of wet food every few hours. Her stools appear normal.

My question is, is this a strain due to sticking her neck through a hole too long or is there something else going on? If it is a strain, will this subside or will she likely have long term issues?

Anyone have suggestions for recovery?

 

[MomDto6]

Videos I took of her today...

 

[chickcrack]

Search wry neck. I'm not sure that's what it is as typically the head is turned to the side or upside down or even flipped onto their back. Moist food is a great idea as I can't image she can swallow water if she can't tip her head back. You may need to assist her with that. There's several YouTube videos demonstrating assisting a bird with wry neck to eat/drink. If she were mine I would begin polyvisol children's liquid vitamins (without iron), vitamin E, vitamin B complex and selenium. That's an all out attack on wry neck and neurological symptoms. If it is wry it may get worse before it gets better so starting treatment quickly is best.

2 drops polyvisol twice a day
1 vitamin B complex crushed into food every day
1 capsule vitamin E squirted into mouth twice a day
1/2 50 mcg selenium tab crushed into food every day

Those are all human pills so should be easy to find. They won't hurt her if it isn't wry neck so I think it's worth a shot. Let us know how she's doing and good luck.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

When going to lock our chickens up last night, my daughters found one of our 3 month old Australorps sticking it's head into a crack that she has stuck her head through many times. It was not stuck, seemed to pull it's head back out without effort, but the girls quickly noticed the chicken was unable to hold up it's head and came running for me.

The young hen does not seem overly distressed. After holding her in my lap for a bit, supporting her head, we put her in a tote with a Gatorade bottle on its side, draped with a towel to support her head. We let her rest in the garage overnight. This morning, she was alert, able to stand, and lift her head for brief periods then it slowly droops down.

I soaked chicken feed in water overnight. She did eat a bit of this, with some assistance of supporting her neck/head. Her neck remains elongated. I do not feel any apparent breaks, there is no swelling. She is able to ruffle her feathers and eating bits of wet food every few hours. Her stools appear normal.

My question is, is this a strain due to sticking her neck through a hole too long or is there something else going on? If it is a strain, will this subside or will she likely have long term issues?

Anyone have suggestions for recovery?

It's most likely an injury.
Keep her separated and make sure she is eating.
If she doesn't seem to be getting enough to eat, then you can syringe food into her. Look up tube feeding or there is a helpful video link below.
The course of vitamins given to you by @chickcrack won't hurt, just make sure to get "no iron" formulas.

Block up the crack where she was sticking her head through.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It also could be botulism, or limber neck from consuming mold feeds.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It also could be botulism, or limber neck from consuming mold feeds.

Good point.