Crooked Neck Week Old Poult!?

[KayJay13]

Hello, I recently purchased 5 turkey poults, 3 Narragansett and 2 Black Spanish. I got them from a NPIP breeder, that even had great reviews. One of the black spanish has a crooked neck/wryneck. It is not star-gazing, rather is kind of turned like a letter "C", to the side and back up.
He is capable of eating and drinking himself with little problem, just slightly unbalanced when moving quickly.
I attempted to separate him, to ensure no one picked on him, but he became very stressed and upset, so I put him back.

The pictures show my normal black turkey Choctaw, nice long neck, then three pictures of Apache and his curled up neck. Sorry if the photos aren't great, but thought they could help.

He is eating a game-bird/show-bird starter. He has had Rooster Booster vitamin/electrolyte power in his water since I got him. I also use Nutridrench. I have also fed chopped boiled eggs. I read it may be a vitamin deficiancy and squeezed vitamin E capsules into his mouth. I also clean the brooder every day, full litter dump, and scrub it down, I am a clean fanatic!

He has no other symptoms. No mout breathing, no bubbles in his eyes, clear, dry and clean nostrils. His wings are held proud. His droppings are normal, very solid, no bad colors or blood and not runny at all.

The other black spanish poult showed some mouth breathing/panting? I checked him well. No nasal drip, no garggled sounds to his breathing, not labored by breathing, no bubbles and also has good droppings. He is quite active and flies about the brooder.

I am just quite concerned. I want opinions on if this sounds like just a vitamin deficiancy or if I should be worried I have brought home a bird with mycoplasma or worse?!
I am very worried for my pre-existing flock. We have a lot of poultry that has never had health issues. I also bought 14 Ameracauna pullets from the same breeder, and the chicks and poults were briefly exposed to each other. I had purchased 3 Silkie hens that day too. They did not have direct contact, but were in the same car as the chicks and poults and are now currently with my existing silkie flock.

Would there be other symptoms if it were more?

My husband is currently out getting my Poly-Vi-Sol without iron, and Selenium to accompany the vitamin E.
I do not want to over medicate by buying antibiotics and what not if it is just a vitamin issue.

***I have a video of him running about in the brooder with my other poults as a comparison, but cannot attach it here, I could email it to someone who thinks that they can give some advise from it.*****

Thank you!
-Worried Turkey Mom

 

[KayHartZZ]

A quick search on here (I have sooo much to learn so just I"m writing as support not as an authority!) but it seems you don't have to worry for the rest of your flock because more than likely it's either hereditary or a vitamin deficiency. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/97121/lets-talk-wry-neck-crook-neck

I've had minimal experience with this, I had a last hatch poult that was both blind in one eye and a crook neck. My boss thinks this was due to a temperature change (the hen left her mid-hatch in the nest to protect other poults) so when I found the egg it had noticably cooled before I placed under a brooder light and perhaps humidity would drop then too so anyway she hatched under adverse conditions.

Have you contacted the reputable breeder to see if they've seen this with other poults from the same hen? Or if they had treatment suggestions?

Good luck and please keep us posted!

 

[KayJay13]

A quick search on here (I have sooo much to learn so just I"m writing as support not as an authority!) but it seems you don't have to worry for the rest of your flock because more than likely it's either hereditary or a vitamin deficiency. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/97121/lets-talk-wry-neck-crook-neck

I've had minimal experience with this, I had a last hatch poult that was both blind in one eye and a crook neck. My boss thinks this was due to a temperature change (the hen left her mid-hatch in the nest to protect other poults) so when I found the egg it had noticably cooled before I placed under a brooder light and perhaps humidity would drop then too so anyway she hatched under adverse conditions.

Have you contacted the reputable breeder to see if they've seen this with other poults from the same hen? Or if they had treatment suggestions?

Good luck and please keep us posted!

Hi, thank you for your reply. I did contact the "reputable" breeder, and he seems uninterested in the situation. I am pretty sure he just cared about getting paid now. He told me it was most likely a head injury causing it, which I seriously doutb. I told him I believed it to be a vitamin issue and that he might want to make sure the hen who produced my poult was eating well and that the other poults did not get it. He did not offer any other help, refund or replacement in case of death.

I paid more then the average person does for my poults, and drove over 3 hours to get them, so I was disappointed in the lack of support/care by the breeder. Perhaps he really hasn't had any problems and is not very knowledgeable on the topic. So long as it is not a virus/mycoplasma/contagious then I am not too upset. I know things happen with chicks and poults. If my entire flock suffers from it I will be very furious!

The poult is doing about the same, he is eating and drinking and running around. He just has a weird looking neck! If his neck never got worse, he could actually live a full life in his current condition, but I am hoping it does not get worse and that it has a lot of improvement. I say "he" but he could very easily be a she, lol. "He" is my go-to pronoun, we have mostly boys on the farm other then me and the hens!

I'm going to read that link you sent and see what info I can find!

Thanks again!! All help and opinions helping me put my mind at ease are warmly welcomed!

 

[retlaw]

It happens sometimes.
Had it happen to one in a fight.
He lost the fight and lost his fighting ability.
He still functioned for a couple months until I slaughtered him.
It hurt my neck just looking at his.LOL
Can you imagine walking around like that?
The axe can't come fast enough.

 

[KayJay13]

We don't k

It happens sometimes.
Had it happen to one in a fight.
He lost the fight and lost his fighting ability.
He still functioned for a couple months until I slaughtered him.
It hurt my neck just looking at his.LOL
Can you imagine walking around like that?
The axe can't come fast enough.

We don't kill our animals. They are strictly pets. If he/she does not get better and seems in pain/miserable we are prepared to have him/her humanely put down. We bought the turkeys as pets, we love turkeys so much and enjoy owning them, so he/she will be put to rest as any other pet, such as a dog normally would. Plus, it's a week old poult, it's not like we could even eat it if it was our intentions. The poult is doing okay though. The neck is still odd, but he/she can eat and drink fine. And isn't being picked on by brooder mates, so I'm still giving it a chance for recovery and praying that it does recover as quickly as possible. I've read about too many recovery stories on this type of problem to give up now!!

 

[RogerTheChicken]

We don't k
We don't kill our animals. They are strictly pets. If he/she does not get better and seems in pain/miserable we are prepared to have him/her humanely put down. We bought the turkeys as pets, we love turkeys so much and enjoy owning them, so he/she will be put to rest as any other pet, such as a dog normally would. Plus, it's a week old poult, it's not like we could even eat it if it was our intentions. The poult is doing okay though. The neck is still odd, but he/she can eat and drink fine. And isn't being picked on by brooder mates, so I'm still giving it a chance for recovery and praying that it does recover as quickly as possible. I've read about too many recovery stories on this type of problem to give up now!!

Same here, I love all my animals, I would only kill one if it was in deep pain

 

[retlaw]

No different then if your pure breed German Shepherd had it's hips go out.
Putting a pet down is for the animal not the people.
Putting peoples feelings before the pets health and well being is selfish.
So don't think you are being mean or barbaric. You are showing empathy and compassion.
Good luck.

 

[KayJay13]

No different then if your pure breed German Shepherd had it's hips go out.
Putting a pet down is for the animal not the people.
Putting peoples feelings before the pets health and well being is selfish. 
So don't think you are being mean or barbaric. You are showing empathy and compassion.
Good luck.

And if he/she shows signs of pain I will have it put down. It's neck is still curved, but is totally calm when I touch it and can eat and drink just as easily as the rest. The normal ones don't pick on him/her at all, luckily and to my surprise. I use a syringe to give vitamins once or twice a day. It doesn't drink them down as well as I'd like, but I don't really blame them. Lol. It acts just like a normal bird other then the neck. It even pecks the other birds and plays. Just doesn't fly like the others are lol. So I'm giving it more time. I just don't see the point of putting it down until I know there is no recovery and it shows signs of becoming depressed or in pain. That's all.

 

[KayJay13]

Update; The turkey poult still has an odd neck. It is running now though! It's balance is almost 100% normal now and it is running and still has no difficulty with eating or drinking. My dad and husband built me a huge brooder for them so they have tons of space to run about. They are loving it and besides a slightly odd look to the neck, all is normal. Hopefully the poult makes a good recovery, if not, hopefully it does not how signs of pain and the condition doesn't get worse.

We are praying for it every day!

 

[KayHartZZ]

Thanks for the update! I hope as your poult continues to grow and you continue with vitamins that the neck will straighten out. That is one lucky turkey to have someone like you tending to him and taking such care! My little one-eyed hen (her blindness makes her twist her head neck/head to see) at 14 weeks oddly enough seems to be the clutch mascot since she gets along with all the other poults from the same hatch, no pecking at her and she's learned how to hop on the perch to roost at night!.