Cockerel can’t raise his head

[karenls50]

Thank you.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Getting outside is a great idea, even for just a short period of time.
And yes, if he's paying some attention to the ladies, that is good for him!

Please keep us posted on how he's doing.

 

[karenls50]

He seems stronger today. He’s slept several times with his head tucked under but not in the ground. He seems to be eating constantly. But we never see him drunk and there are no food kernels in his water.

If I put A bowl under his chin while holding him on my lap, he’ll suck water up. But he never raises his head like most chickens do. We’re afraid he’s sticking his beak in but not drinking.

His poops are wet so he must be getting some water. Should we continue to hold the water bowl for him to drink? Otherwise even with two sources of water he doesn’t appear to be drinking.

 

[azygous]

Here's how you can tell if he's drinking the water you put under his beak. Use a small jar lid instead of a bowl. Place it under his beak and you will likely see that he's "slurping"it. If it disappears quickly, then refill the lid and give him more until he's had all he wants. That way you will know exactly how much he drank.

Chickens have tongues like we do. They can create suction with small amounts of fluid and it's not always necessary for them to tilt their heads back.

 

[karenls50]

That is so encouraging. Thank you. How do you know so much? You’re amazing!

 

[azygous]

My best friends are my chickens. We have spent a lot of time together over all these years.

 

[SmiYa0126]

My best friends are my chickens. We have spent a lot of time together over all these years.

They're the greatest friends!

 

[karenls50]

We’ll here we go again. The cockerel was doing so well this morning we decided to carry him out and put him in the coop with his two hens for a short visit. He had been eating and drinking the whole day before. He hadn’t put his head down and rolled in two days.

When we put him down in the floor of the coop it was such a sweet reunion. They all clucked. The hens squatted and he danced around like he wanted to mount them but didn’t. He immediately started to eat like crazy. Then he went to the waterer and drank six or seven times. He walked around with his head held pretty high.

We went to check on the about an hour later and he had jumped up on the box roost which is about a foot off the ground. There are steps up to it for when we have young chicks. (He was preening.)

We decided to leave him there a while longer. My husband as in the barn and heard a thud. When he went to the coop the cockerel was walking around but had wood chips on his back. He knew he had rolled. He dropped his ahead again and just rolled over like before.

We immediately carried him back in. He walked over and ate food a couple of times. Then he layed down with his head in the ground. He’s been sleeping for the last couple of hours.

Did we blow it by putting him out for a visit too soon? He seemed so strong. All day yesterday we were so happy. He was 80% back. Just not cocky.

We’re going to make sure he’s hydrated tonight. We’ve kept up with all his meds and supplements. He’s pooping huge poops again.

His comb is curled to one side. But it’s been like that for a week.

He just acts like he just wants to sleep. Any suggestions if what might have gone wrong? His eye opens and closes but I honestly don’t think he sees yet. He keeps turning his head to see us. I’m really sad right now. He back to where he was several days ago.
The other reason we let him out was when I went down this morning he was making loud noises at me. Like he was trying to crow. He’d look at me and let go a low screech. Then a loud cluck. He was trying to tell me something.

Suggestions? He seems exhausted. We’re going to hydrate him. He still doesn’t like the waterer in our basement. We hold a lid and he drinks.

 

[azygous]

You didn't do him any harm by letting him visit his girls. It almost always helps recovery.

With most wry neck cases, we don't know the cause, probably because there can be so many. It's also called torticollis. It's a symptom of a neurological disorder. It can happen from a blow to the head or a vitamin E deficiency or a tumor pressing on the brain. I've had this last one in my flock as well as very light cases of wry neck of short duration.

When I see a chicken relapse, I double the doses of E.

 

[karenls50]

We’ve been keeping up 2 400 IU capsules E a day. The food supplement the vet gave us has selenium. I crunched up a hazel nut which is a good source too.

We’ve been thinking the swelling of the eye both inside and out of the head has to be putting pressure on the brain. It’s down a lot but it’s still seeping and a lot of fluid, but no pus, and he closes it most of the time. Im afraid there still might be a small piece of the wood chip that we removed but we’ll never be able to find it and remove it. We thought all the fluid would have flushed it out by now.