help, name the desease!

[henpeckedmuch]

I have a cockerel that keeps looking towards the sky with his head tilted using one eye.
I've read somewhere but can't find the reference now, that this is a major symptom of a disease.
I've separated him from the flock and will have to deal with the problem but, would like to know if I can treat the others.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is called stargazing, wry neck, or crook neck. It can be the result of a vitamin deficiency, an injury to the head, or a disease such as Mareks disease. Placing him in a quiet isolation spot and giving with vitamins is the best treatment. Here is a good site for reading: http://oureggbasket.blogspot.com/2013/04/wry-neck-or-crook-neck-understanding-it.html

 

[BantamLover21]

I think what you're describing is known as wry neck, or possibly star-gazing. It can usually be treated by isolating the bird and giving vitamins. I would recommend purchasing some Polyvisol infant vitamins (without iron) and beginning to give them to your cockerel--give 1-2 drops each day. You can also just use plain poultry vitamins, but a more concentrated solution would probably more effective.

 

[Pyxis]

Is this constant, like his head is always that way, or is it like he stops what he's doing every once in a while and looks up that way? If it's the latter that's just normal bird behavior. When they're really focusing on something they look at it with one eye since their eyes aren't arranged like ours and that's how they see it best. He's probably spotting something like a hawk or other bird and checking it out.

If his head is really stuck like that all the time, that sounds like wry neck or maybe Marek's disease. Here's some info on Marek's.