Help me! New with ducklings! Wry Neck??

[juliarosewe]

Hello, my family recently got 6 chicks and 2 ducks and we are very new and have never had them before. This morning we noticed our one duckling had her head tilted so we looked it up and thought it could be wry neck. We’ve separated the ducklings and chicks into their own containers together since it looked like it was getting worse. The duckling with the head tilt is named Rain, we are also thinking she was the runt. she’s much smaller than Fin, our other duckling, and they came to our local Tractor Supply at the same time. I am very attached to this little girl and need some advice on what to do. Her neck is now totally tilted to the ground and she cannot walk forward. She can only stumble backwards and when she does she often flips upside down. At first she was eating and drinking fine but now i need to guide her to where the food and water is. I’ve been keeping a very close eye on her and refuse to give up on her. We are giving them the probiotics and electrolytes in their water and crushed feed. I’ve heard many things about wry neck but am not sure what to do. Please help!!!!

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC! Can you post a picture of the duckling?

 

[juliarosewe]

Welcome to BYC! Can you post a picture of the duckling?

 

[Knighstar679]

View attachment 1741137 View attachment 1741138 View attachment 1741139

When one of my ducklings looked like that I did liquid b complex from tractor supply. It was 1ml a day that I gave. I also made a mush that had the complex in it. Took my little guy a bit to recover but he did. I also mixed in vitamin e with his mush, or fed him fresh vegetables that were high in vitamin e and selenium. I avoided supplements for selenium.

 

[juliarosewe]

When one of my ducklings looked like that I did liquid b complex from tractor supply. It was 1ml a day that I gave. I also made a mush that had the complex in it. Took my little guy a bit to recover but he did. I also mixed in vitamin e with his mush, or fed him fresh vegetables that were high in vitamin e and selenium. I avoided supplements for selenium.

thank you for the advice! did his neck straighten out eventually? i’m scared her neck won’t straighten, it seems like she cannot hold the weight of her head up yet at all, she drags it while she stumbles backwards.

 

[Knighstar679]

thank you for the advice! did his neck straighten out eventually? i’m scared her neck won’t straighten, it seems like she cannot hold the weight of her head up yet at all, she drags it while she stumbles backwards.

He eventually was walking straight with a normal head carriage. He stumbled about really bad and everything. Do the complex and after it gets better keep doing it for a week after at least. I stopped too soon the first time and he back tracked.

Also the best source of selenium I found was boiled eggs. I mashed it up and put it in a mash every morning. It helps with the absorption of the other too.

 

[casportpony]

Do try the vitamin b complex for cattle and some vitamin e, that might help.

The b vitamin that is needed to treat this is thiamine, do if you can't find the cattle stuff, look for something that contains thiamine.

How does it's belly feel compared to the others? I ask because yolk sac infections can cause this too.

 

[juliarosewe]

hello, i’ve been giving her more electrolytes with vitamin b and e in them in her water and tried the egg “mash” with food and water. she seems to be getting worse. i’ve checked her belly and she doesn’t seem to be any different from our other duck, unless i’m not checking right. is there supposed to be a big difference if it is the infection? she’s wobbling backwards and cannot walk forward much. she is drinking on her own but keeps falling into the water dish and is getting soaked. i keep having to dry her off and let her lay under the lamp to get her warm again. she woke me up every hour last night because of her falling in. she’s starting to shake and i’m afraid she is getting way worse.

 

[happy duck]

hello, i’ve been giving her more electrolytes with vitamin b and e in them in her water and tried the egg “mash” with food and water. she seems to be getting worse. i’ve checked her belly and she doesn’t seem to be any different from our other duck, unless i’m not checking right. is there supposed to be a big difference if it is the infection? she’s wobbling backwards and cannot walk forward much. she is drinking on her own but keeps falling into the water dish and is getting soaked. i keep having to dry her off and let her lay under the lamp to get her warm again. she woke me up every hour last night because of her falling in. she’s starting to shake and i’m afraid she is getting way worse.

Good advice has been given. Wry neck can be caused from several things but some of the main things is lack of vitamin B1(which was recommended vitamin B-Complex) and lack of vitamin E. Also genetic things or signs of aspergillosis. Also getting into toxins or metals. Has your duck at all been outside or inside for that matter and gotten into any kind of toxins that you know about? The best way is to keep giving him vitamin B-complex. For some more natural stuff feeding him bran, sunflower seed(unsalted) and wheat germ are all things to add to there diet(occasionally) to give them vitamin B1. For natural stuff feed dandelion, basil, cloves, and rose hips as great sources of vitamin E. I know you said that you are having to help her eat so if you can't feed her these things make sure she is getting the B-Complex. I am hoping she pulls though and hope some of the stuff said will help.

 

[juliarosewe]

Good advice has been given. Wry neck can be caused from several things but some of the main things is lack of vitamin B1(which was recommended vitamin B-Complex) and lack of vitamin E. Also genetic things or signs of aspergillosis. Also getting into toxins or metals. Has your duck at all been outside or inside for that matter and gotten into any kind of toxins that you know about? The best way is to keep giving him vitamin B-complex. For some more natural stuff feeding him bran, sunflower seed(unsalted) and wheat germ are all things to add to there diet(occasionally) to give them vitamin B1. For natural stuff feed dandelion, basil, cloves, and rose hips as great sources of vitamin E. I know you said that you are having to help her eat so if you can't feed her these things make sure she is getting the B-Complex. I am hoping she pulls though and hope some of the stuff said will help.

Thank you for the advice. I have a friend who has owned ducks for years and she said there could also be a problem neurologically. She said the duckling might not know the difference between up and down? I’m not sure if this is a real thing or not, i’m still convinced it could be wry neck but am not sure as i’m not too familiar with ducklings. The ducklings have not been outside at all and have been in their container since we’ve gotten them, other than us holding them. Do you think they could have gotten into something while they were under the care of Tractor Supply? In the picture below you can see that is how her neck is constantly and you can see her side is all wet from stumbling into the water dish. When she walks she waddles backwards and her head drags with her even lower then it is in the picture. You can also see the significant size difference in the two girls. I’ve dried her off the best i could and put her back to cuddle with her sister and hope for the best for this little one. Thank you everyone for all the advice.