help... c hen with possible wry neck

[1 true Phoenix]

This morning I found one of my guinea hens on the floor of the coop unable to stand or balance with her head to the side. i notice she had a few peck marks on the side of her face and neck. our 2 guineas are not friendly and are nervous around people so this will not be easy to treat. We started treatment for wry neck... gave her poly visol (no iron) and vitamin E. She will not eat or drink by syringe feeding as she's too nervous and starts mouth breathing. I was wondering how much and how often to tube feed her. We have exact bird formula and what we need to tube feed, just want to make sure we give her enough but not too much. We've successfully treated wry neck 3 times in chickens but never guineas. Any advice appreciated.

 

[R2elk]

This morning I found one of my guinea hens on the floor of the coop unable to stand or balance with her head to the side. i notice she had a few peck marks on the side of her face and neck. our 2 guineas are not friendly and are nervous around people so this will not be easy to treat. We started treatment for wry neck... gave her poly visol (no iron) and vitamin E. She will not eat or drink by syringe feeding as she's too nervous and starts mouth breathing. I was wondering how much and how often to tube feed her. We have exact bird formula and what we need to tube feed, just want to make sure we give her enough but not too much. We've successfully treated wry neck 3 times in chickens but never guineas. Any advice appreciated.

Guinea hens when laying are susceptible to Calcium deficiency. Advanced stages can cause loss of motor control meaning the inability to stand or walk.

The quickest way to get the Calcium levels back to where they belong is to mix liquid calcium in their water. Because high Calcium levels can be harmful to males, it is best to make the treated water available to the affected hen only.

Wry neck is a symptom and not a disease. If your hen is suffering from Calcium deficiency, the only way to cure it is by increasing her Calcium levels.

 

[1 true Phoenix]

Thank you for your response... how much calcium should i give her and should i continue with the poly visol and vitaminE?

 

[1 true Phoenix]

can i just get the liquid calcium anywhere that has a pharmacy section?

 

[R2elk]

Thank you for your response... how much calcium should i give her and should i continue with the poly visol and vitaminE?

I would follow the directions on the bottle. The vitamins won't hurt her but they will not cure her if it is a Calcium deficiency.

can i just get the liquid calcium anywhere that has a pharmacy section?

I don't know but have been told that it is readily available in pet shops. A quick google search shows that Walgreens has it available with vitamin D3. Vitamin D deficiency can cause Calcium to not be absorbed properly.

Good luck.

 

[1 true Phoenix]

this is all i could find... we don't have any pet shops anywhere near here so had to go with the people stuff, so I'm still not sure how much is safe to give her... the bottle says 2 softgels per day for adult person.

 

[1 true Phoenix]

Does anybody know the liquid calcium dose and also how often and how much to tube feed?

 

[R2elk]

this is all i could find... we don't have any pet shops anywhere near here so had to go with the people stuff, so I'm still not sure how much is safe to give her... the bottle says 2 softgels per day for adult person.

Without seeing the full label, I cannot tell how many mg of Calcium are in each softgel. Often the bottle information shows the amount based on their recommended dose. If each softgel is 600 mg Calcium, dissolve one softgel in 1/2 gallon of water. If each softgel is actually only 300 mg Calcium, dissolve one softgel in 1 qt. of water.

 

[R2elk]

Does anybody know the liquid calcium dose and also how often and how much to tube feed?

You can do a search on BYC for tube feeding. When entering the search fields, enter casportpony in the member section.

 

[1 true Phoenix]

Without seeing the full label, I cannot tell how many mg of Calcium are in each softgel. Often the bottle information shows the amount based on their recommended dose. If each softgel is 600 mg Calcium, dissolve one softgel in 1/2 gallon of water. If each softgel is actually only 300 mg Calcium, dissolve one softgel in 1 qt. of water.