Droopy neck Legbar

[Berd Man]

I ordered hatching eggs this year and I hatched 6 Legbar chickens. 3 males , 3 females. Recently something has been going on with them. They seem to be lethargic and have a drooping necks. One was also twitching and couldn’t keep still. I have kept chickens on my property for 4 years and never had a single sick bird.

I’m a bit unsure of what I should do. The two who showed signs of being off were put down to make sure nothing spread to the rest of my flock at the beginning of the week.

Yesterday I noticed one more was drooping and lethargic. The bird eats and drinks. Has passed normal poop and white runny bird poo type stools. I photographed the runny poop.

I ordered some poultry cell and ivermectin to start.

 

[LaFleche]

First thing I would do is to treat them for coccidia whick causes watery/bloody droppings.

After coccidia treatment they need a vitamin boost, so provide water additives containing E, D and B complex.

When did you last deworm them? Internal parasites deprive them of essential vitamins leading to all kinds of issues like stunted growth, neurological symptoms like wry neck, dizzyness and even death.

 

[Berd Man]

First thing I would do is to treat them for coccidia whick causes watery/bloody droppings.

After coccidia treatment they need a vitamin boost, so provide water additives containing E, D and B complex.

When did you last deworm them? Internal parasites deprive them of essential vitamins leading to all kinds of issues like stunted growth, neurological symptoms like wry neck, dizzyness and even death.

Thank you for the response. I ordered some vitamins and Ivermectin, took about a week and a half for post to get it to me. During that time the birds all bounced back on their own… the only thing I changed was feeding dry instead of fermented. I now suspect that there was likely mold contamination in the wet feed or the buckets. I never have had this occur before feeding fermented feed, but I’m going to continue to feed dry.

I’ve also got a mobile coop for the chickens, they’re never on same ground for long and I’ve been rotating for about four seasons without ever seeing an issue from parasites. I have the treatment and vitamins now, so if it flares up again when feeding dry, I suppose that would be what I try next.