comatose, limber twisted neck, random head shaking, unable to eat, Help Please! VIDEOS & PICTURES AD

[sylviethecochin]

Hate to nag you guys, but I'm not sure what to do here:
@azygous @rebrascora @Wyorp Rock @casportpony @Eggcessive?

 

[mommaschicklets]

I just don’t know. Sounds neurological, possibly like wry neck to me, too. I think botulism poisoning might also cause these symptoms. Could she have had access to a rotting carcass of any kind? I am bumping this up in hopes more help arrives.

thanks for your reply! I did look up botulism and if i remember she should have bloody stool and our flock should be sick... im not sure but for some reason i ruled it out...our chickens are in a 4 x 8 coop with enclosed underneath attached to two 15 circles from trampoline frames that are covered as we have many predators around. Probably not from any carcas unless it slithered through and died. none noticed

 

[mommaschicklets]

I’m not sure. It’s only been 2 days since vitamin treatment was started, I think. I think OP should keep it up. I have not dealt with wet neck before, so have not conmitted the treatment t details to memory.

wry neck is the only thing i can come up with but my vet said shes too old... i just dont know but still treating her with vitamins and antibiotics... what is OP?

 

[sylviethecochin]

wry neck is the only thing i can come up with but my vet said shes too old... i just dont know but still treating her with vitamins and antibiotics... what is OP?

You're Original Poster. OP.

As for the vet... well, Merck vet manual disagrees with her, and so does my experience. That's best treated with B1, by the way. How much are you administering?

"Polyneuritis may be seen in mature birds ~3 wk after they are fed a thiamine-deficient diet. As the deficiency progresses, birds may sit on flexed legs and draw back their heads in a star-gazing position. Retraction of the head is due to paralysis of the anterior neck muscles. Soon after this stage, chickens lose the ability to stand or sit upright and topple to the floor, where they may lie with heads still retracted. Thiamine deficiency may also lead to a decrease in body temperature and respiratory rate. Testicular degeneration may be noted, and the heart may show slight atrophy. Birds consuming a thiamine-deficient diet soon show severe anorexia. They lose all interest in feed and will not resume eating unless given thiamine. If a severe deficiency has developed, thiamine must be force-fed or injected to induce the chickens to resume eating."--
Vitamin Deficiencies in Poultry By
Steven Leeson, PhD, University of Guelph


EDT: quotey-marks.

 

[mommaschicklets]

You're Original Poster. OP.

As for the vet... well, Merck vet manual disagrees with her, and so does my experience. That's best treated with B1, by the way. How much are you administering?

"Polyneuritis may be seen in mature birds ~3 wk after they are fed a thiamine-deficient diet. As the deficiency progresses, birds may sit on flexed legs and draw back their heads in a star-gazing position. Retraction of the head is due to paralysis of the anterior neck muscles. Soon after this stage, chickens lose the ability to stand or sit upright and topple to the floor, where they may lie with heads still retracted. Thiamine deficiency may also lead to a decrease in body temperature and respiratory rate. Testicular degeneration may be noted, and the heart may show slight atrophy. Birds consuming a thiamine-deficient diet soon show severe anorexia. They lose all interest in feed and will not resume eating unless given thiamine. If a severe deficiency has developed, thiamine must be force-fed or injected to induce the chickens to resume eating."--
Vitamin Deficiencies in Poultry By
Steven Leeson, PhD, University of Guelph


EDT: quotey-marks.

thank you soooo much! we are trying so hard to upload videos we added poo pics to first post. i have to go get my daughter right now, so stressful tring to carry on with life and figure out what to do for her ill come back shortly to contine i will add a picture of everything im feeding her currently its: exact baby parrot food mixed with her calvamox, water, milk for calcium, 5 drops totaling 45mg vitamin e and a pinch of crushed selenium tab 100mg, and 1/4 to 1\2 dropper (1ml) poly vi sol minus iron

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your sick chicken. It does sound as though she has wry neck symptoms if her neck is stuck down. Wry neck is a neurological symptom that can be a result of head injury, vitamin E or B1 (thiamine) deficiency, and is also seen in a few diseases, such as Mareks disease, fowl cholera, and some rare diseases. It doesn’t sound at all like botulism whepich causes a limp or flaccid paralysis of the whole body. Botulism does not cause blood in droppings though. That would be coccidiosis.

Is she still holding her head down and is it stuck down or just hanging down? Does she move her head around normally? Do you think her head was just hanging low because she was lethargic? If she is not holding it down most of the time, that is not wry neck.

To me, it sounds more like she doesn’t feel well, and is refusing food. That could be due to a reproductive or crop disorder, or something else. Does she lay eggs? Can you feel of her crop and tell us if it feels empty, full, puffy, or hard? If you feel her lower belly down between her legs, does it feel enlarged compare to the other hens? Will she eat cooked egg, tuna, or watery chicken feed? I would check her all over, but especially under her vent for any lice or mites.

One last thing—have you added any new birds in the past few months?

 

[mommaschicklets]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxCqmpEu6Tz3SiTk4juRQw?view_as=subscriber

here are videos of her behavior! finally figured out how to add them. we added them to the OP also... I dont like to talk or be on videos so I just had my friend take them of her

 

[mommaschicklets]

Sorry about your sick chicken. It does sound as though she has wry neck symptoms if her neck is stuck down. Wry neck is a neurological symptom that can be a result of head injury, vitamin E or B1 (thiamine) deficiency, and is also seen in a few diseases, such as Mareks disease, fowl cholera, and some rare diseases. It doesn’t sound at all like botulism whepich causes a limp or flaccid paralysis of the whole body. Botulism does not cause blood in droppings though. That would be coccidiosis.

Is she still holding her head down and is it stuck down or just hanging down? Does she move her head around normally? Do you think her head was just hanging low because she was lethargic? If she is not holding it down most of the time, that is not wry neck.

To me, it sounds more like she doesn’t feel well, and is refusing food. That could be due to a reproductive or crop disorder, or something else. Does she lay eggs? Can you feel of her crop and tell us if it feels empty, full, puffy, or hard? If you feel her lower belly down between her legs, does it feel enlarged compare to the other hens? Will she eat cooked egg, tuna, or watery chicken feed? I would check her all over, but especially under her vent for any lice or mites.

One last thing—have you added any new birds in the past few months?

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxCqmpEu6Tz3SiTk4juRQw?view_as=subscriber
here are videos of her behavior! finally figured out how to get them on here... thank you!

 

[Bamabexchicks]

You're Original Poster. OP.

As for the vet... well, Merck vet manual disagrees with her, and so does my experience. That's best treated with B1, by the way. How much are you administering?

"Polyneuritis may be seen in mature birds ~3 wk after they are fed a thiamine-deficient diet. As the deficiency progresses, birds may sit on flexed legs and draw back their heads in a star-gazing position. Retraction of the head is due to paralysis of the anterior neck muscles. Soon after this stage, chickens lose the ability to stand or sit upright and topple to the floor, where they may lie with heads still retracted. Thiamine deficiency may also lead to a decrease in body temperature and respiratory rate. Testicular degeneration may be noted, and the heart may show slight atrophy. Birds consuming a thiamine-deficient diet soon show severe anorexia. They lose all interest in feed and will not resume eating unless given thiamine. If a severe deficiency has developed, thiamine must be force-fed or injected to induce the chickens to resume eating."--
Vitamin Deficiencies in Poultry By
Steven Leeson, PhD, University of Guelph


EDT: quotey-marks.

 

[Eggcessive]

Oh, the videos help a lot. She appears to keep her eyes closed all of the time. Are her eyelids swollen at all? She can stand, and when she was being held she did move her legs when she spit out the food. And yes, that is true wry neck (torticolis.)

I worry that she has something pretty serious, such as Mareks disease. What state are you in? That would help to know if you are near any Newcastles outbreak, which has been report in a few places in California. Will she eat watery feed for you in her hold it and touch her beak to the bowl? It can be dangerous to syringe feed her sicne they can choke to death easily. Tube feeding is much easier and quicker. Aquarium air tubing can be used as a feeding tube if you are intersted in learning.