Help! Hen neck drooping suddenly,

[JustinVero]

One of my SLW pullets that is right around 6 months old suddenly developed a drooping neck tonight. We were watching her and then all of a sudden her neck started drooping and it looked like she was straining to poop and she pooped a little bit. I picked her up and checked her vent and it seems to be okay, but her neck is very limp. Her crop felt a bit firm to me and I tried to give her oil and massager her crop for a bit . She does try to drink water . Is there anything else I can check for to try to figure out what's wrong with her? I Have her separated from the rest of the flock in a cage. Here's a picture of her. Other than her droopy neck she seems perfectly fine her feather

s look beautiful they don't pull out . Any help or suggestions would be appreciated thank you very much!

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[JustinVero]

Meant to also say that she did poop in the cage and it seemed very runny like clear liquid.

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[Eggcessive]

Check out threads on wry neck/crook neck. Treatment is isolation for quiet, Vitamins (polyvisol baby vitamins (no iron), Vitamin E with selenium. Here is a site for info: http://oureggbasket.blogspot.com/2013/04/wry-neck-or-crook-neck-understanding-it.html

 

[Wyandottes7]

I would watch for any other symptoms, as there is a possibility that this is Botulism. Botulism is poisoning that often occurrs when a chicken eats moldy/rotten food, scratches in wet litter, or is otherwise exposed to the poison. So far, not all of the symptoms of Botulism are there, but if her legs become paralyzed or she starts drooping her wings as well, it is important to start treatment immediately.

Treatment consists of a molasses flush. Mix four tablespoons of molasses into one quart of water. Give this flush to her for no more than 24 hours. The purpose of this flush is to draw the poisons out of her body.

Hopefully, this is just wry neck caused by a vitamin deficiency, not Botulism. I'm just putting another possibility out there.

 

[JustinVero]

Thanks for the replies! I did start giving her vitamins last night. This morning her neck is still drooping. She can still stand and walk, but her wings seem to be drooping for sure. Should I go ahead and do the molasses flush? How can I be sure this isn't something more serious like Marek's? I keep researching all these symptoms and it just makes me worried. It has been raining here a lot here and their feed gets wet sometimes but I'm usually pretty good about getting the wet feed out and thrown away if they don't eat it right away. Here's an updated picture from this morning. And a picture of her poop this morning. Thanks again!

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[BantamLover21]

Its probably either botulism or a vitamin deficiency. If it were me, I would go ahead and try the molasses flush that Wyandottes7 explained. It won't really hurt her if it isn't Botulism (though, because its a laxative, you'll have to make sure to keep her clean), and if it is Botulism, you don't want to risk waiting.

Also, it might take a while for the vitamins to take effect, so just because they having worked in less than 24 hours, it doesn't mean that they are doing nothing for her. You can keep giving the vitamins, and do the molasses flush at the same time. Just put the vitamins in the molasses flush water. If she won't drink the water on her own, try giving it to her by dripping some on the side of her beak.

I don't think that it is Marek's, as that is generally characterized by limping, paralysis of the legs, and/or an irregular or greyish pupil. Do her eyes look normal to you?
Lastly, make sure she is eating and drinking. If she isn't try enticing her with wet feed, applesauce, mealworms, fresh fruit, or anything else that she will eat.

I hope everything turns out all right!

 

[JustinVero]

I would watch for any other symptoms, as there is a possibility that this is Botulism. Botulism is poisoning that often occurrs when a chicken eats moldy/rotten food, scratches in wet litter, or is otherwise exposed to the poison. So far, not all of the symptoms of Botulism are there, but if her legs become paralyzed or she starts drooping her wings as well, it is important to start treatment immediately.

Treatment consists of a molasses flush. Mix four tablespoons of molasses into one quart of water. Give this flush to her for no more than 24 hours. The purpose of this flush is to draw the poisons out of her body.

Hopefully, this is just wry neck caused by a vitamin deficiency, not Botulism. I'm just putting another possibility out there.

OK, I will go ahead and do the molasses flush. After I mix the solution, do I give it to her through an eyedropper? If so, how much at a time? She does try to drink by herself, but with her head hanging down, I honestly don't know if the water goes down her throat or if it just leaks back out. I will try to give her some with an eyedropper, and then should i leave the rest in her water dish in case she is drinking some? Should I also mix the electrolytes in the molasses mix as well? Thank you!

 

[JustinVero]

Its probably either botulism or a vitamin deficiency. If it were me, I would go ahead and try the molasses flush that Wyandottes7 explained. It won't really hurt her if it isn't Botulism (though, because its a laxative, you'll have to make sure to keep her clean), and if it is Botulism, you don't want to risk waiting.

Also, it might take a while for the vitamins to take effect, so just because they having worked in less than 24 hours, it doesn't mean that they are doing nothing for her. You can keep giving the vitamins, and do the molasses flush at the same time. Just put the vitamins in the molasses flush water. If she won't drink the water on her own, try giving it to her by dripping some on the side of her beak.

I don't think that it is Marek's, as that is generally characterized by limping, paralysis of the legs, and/or an irregular or greyish pupil. Do her eyes look normal to you?
Lastly, make sure she is eating and drinking. If she isn't try enticing her with wet feed, applesauce, mealworms, fresh fruit, or anything else that she will eat.

I hope everything turns out all right!

Yes, her eyes do look normal, not like to ones I saw online with Marek's. I just checked on her and she was on her back wanting to flip over.

 

[Wyandottes7]

OK, I will go ahead and do the molasses flush. After I mix the solution, do I give it to her through an eyedropper? If so, how much at a time? She does try to drink by herself, but with her head hanging down, I honestly don't know if the water goes down her throat or if it just leaks back out. I will try to give her some with an eyedropper, and then should i leave the rest in her water dish in case she is drinking some? Should I also mix the electrolytes in the molasses mix as well? Thank you!

You can put the solution into whatever container her water is in right now. But I'd also try to give her some in an eyedropper. Just drip some on her beak, and see if she swallows it. Get as much of the solution into her as you can. You can also try holding her head up and dipping her beak into the water. You can mix the electrolytes into the molasses mix.

Hope this helps!

 

[JustinVero]

OK, just to update for anyone who might find this later (I hate when I find something similar going on and then nobody posts back the results good or bad).

Last night I mixed up the molasses flush and electrolytes and gave her around 5ml or so directly down her throat - if I couldn't drip it in the side, I would open her beak all the way and have a second helper squirt it slowly in so it went past her air tube. I left a dish of it for her to drink also and when I left her for the night she was drinking the water/molasses/electrolyte mix. I also gave her the poly-vi-sol in the water. I then also squirted 3 400IU capsules of vitamin E with Selenium in her mouth (I actually did this before the flush was given to her).

This morning when I went out, she looked like normal. She was alert in the cage and holding her head up like normal looking around and making noises, and all of her water with the flush mix was gone and it appeared she had drank it all not spilled it. I scrambled an egg and squeezed the vitamin E capsules on top of the egg and gave it to her. Also gave her fresh water with electrolytes only. She did not eat it right away. I will check when I get home and see if she ate the eggs with vit E. If not, I will give her the Vitamin E again directly in the mouth and give her moist feed.