Help! Possible wry neck, heavy feather loss, walking backwards...

[Broody_Mama]

I have a Australorp, around 6 weeks old, that is acting odd. I noticed the other day that one of my black chickens (I have two australorps) was losing feathers. It seems early, but I'm new to chickens so I figured it was fine. When do chickens start losing a lot of feathers?

Anyway, this morning I went out to the coop and noticed her by the door with her neck curved sharply downward. Nothing I did encouraged her to do otherwise (tried to lure her with snacks and she didn't want any part of it), so I started to worry. She seemed to be trying to frantically scratch herself with her beak. I can't tell if her skin is itchy or her nose, mouth or even ears are maybe bothering her. Her neck was bent so sharply downward that I was scared she had a broken neck.

I stuck her beak in some water thinking maybe she was dehydrated (need to buy a dropper). And suddenly she perked up.

However, she's still acting off and scratching at herself with her beak alot - somewhat frantically.

Mites? Lice? Something stuck in her beak or throat? I tried to look, but couldn't really see in. Should I be concerned about her feather loss?

Thank you.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Check her skin for tiny beige/tan bugs crawling under vent and elsewhere. Chicks may scratch at themselves because they are itchy, growing new feathers, or to groom themselves.

She may be being pecked by other chicks if she is losing feathers in patches. Can you post a picture?

Is her neck still bent or is she moving it all around okay now? Wry neck can be a problem in chickens and they can have a twisted neck up, down, or to one side. Vitamin E, thiamine, and selenium should be given for wry neck symptoms.

If you find lice or mites, use some permethrin garden dust or spray on the chick.

 

[Broody_Mama]

Welcome to BYC. Check her skin for tiny beige/tan bugs crawling under vent and elsewhere. Chicks may scratch at themselves because they are itchy, growing new feathers, or to groom themselves.

She may be being pecked by other chicks if she is losing feathers in patches. Can you post a picture?

Is her neck still bent or is she moving it all around okay now? Wry neck can be a problem in chickens and they can have a twisted neck up, down, or to one side. Vitamin E, thiamine, and selenium should be given for wry neck symptoms.

If you find lice or mites, use some permethrin garden dust or spray on the chick.

Thank you so much for your response. I'm a very worried chick mama right now. She's walking forward now - she was going backwards, so that's good, but her neck is constantly arched downward. I looked into wry neck and it looks very similar.

I called two different vets and neither see chickens. I went to Tractor Supply and was given some vitamin supplements and diatomaceous earth. Any other suggestions?

I knew I would eventually lose a chicken, but I'd be heartbroken to lose one so soon. She is one of my favorite of the flock.

I don't think she is being pecked by the others. I seem to have a mostly kind flock... they don't bother each other much, except for the expected pecking order establishing.

 

[Eggcessive]

Diatomatacious Earth would do nothing to treat wry neck, and it does little for anything else. I would return it and get my moneyI would check the vitamins to see if they have thiamine and vitamin E. If they do not have selenium, you can feed some cooked egg, chopped tuna, or sunflower kernels for that.

Walking backward and in circles is also a sign of wry neck. Wry neck is a symptom, caused by vitamin deficiency, a hereditary predisposition, head injury, and in certain diseases, such as Mareks. Make sure that she gets enough to eat and drink, and you may have to help her by dipping her beak into a mash of watery chick feed. Here is some reading about wey neck:
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html

 

[Broody_Mama]

Diatomatacious Earth would do nothing to treat wry neck, and it does little for anything else. I would return it and get my moneyI would check the vitamins to see if they have thiamine and vitamin E. If they do not have selenium, you can feed some cooked egg, chopped tuna, or sunflower kernels for that.

Walking backward and in circles is also a sign of wry neck. Wry neck is a symptom, caused by vitamin deficiency, a hereditary predisposition, head injury, and in certain diseases, such as Mareks. Make sure that she gets enough to eat and drink, and you may have to help her by dipping her beak into a mash of watery chick feed. Here is some reading about wey neck:
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html

I would think if it was a hereditary thing, she would have shown signs earlier. I suspect it is the result of a neck injury. I tried to pick her up the other day and she flew out and did kind of a cartwheel... I assumed she was fine because she was walking around OK after.

The feather loss and scratching make me think there's something else going on, though. Maybe some kind of illness. At first I thought mites or lice, but then why is her neck arched down all the time today?

I put the suppliment into her water, but it has electrolytes in it and I understand that's not good for them for more than a couple days. I need to find some vitamin E. I did give her tuna and, wow... gobbled it up!!!

 

[Broody_Mama]

Small update - By tonight, my chicken has definitely not improved. She is keeping her neck arched downward at all times (wry neck, it seems), is digging into herself with her beak and frantically walking backwards. It's a horrible thing to watch. Sometimes she loses her balance and flips over. Also, I saw her poop and it was very watery - unlike their normal poop.

Because of the scratching of herself and heavy feather loss - I did keep the DE and used it. I doubt the issue is mites or lice related, but I figure it can't hurt to cover my bases.

Squeezed out some Vitamin E tablets and mixed with a small snack. She ate a lot of it.

Put vitamin supplement and electrolytes into her water.

Gave her tuna for selenium.

After tomorrow, I will stop with the electrolytes, but continue the rest - although I might try to find some unsalted sunflower seeds for Vit E instead of the supplements.

On the bright side, the rest of my flock are being kind to her. And she is eating. Although not drinking enough.

 

[Eggcessive]

Thiamine or vitamin B 1 also important to supplement in wry neck. Some people use liquid baby vitamins (polyvisol without iron) for treatment of wry neck as well.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a long thread with many wry neck experiences:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lets-talk-wry-neck-crook-neck.97121/

 

[Broody_Mama]

Thiamine or vitamin B 1 also important to supplement in wry neck. Some people use liquid baby vitamins (polyvisol without iron) for treatment of wry neck as well.

I will try the polyvisol, but not looking promising this morning. Her neck is arched sharply into her chest and she's frantically digging her beak around and moving backwards. It almost looks like she's having seizures. I couldn't get her to eat or drink anything - I will buy a dropper today. Unfortunately, I had to come into work this morning.

I'm feeling this is going to end with having to put her down. Thanks so much again for all of your tips.

 

[Broody_Mama]

Here is a long thread with many wry neck experiences:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lets-talk-wry-neck-crook-neck.97121/

Ok, so reading through that was helpful and gives me some hope maybe she can recover. I'll give it another week or so. If after that time, she's the same or worse I just don't want her to keep suffering. Poor thing was chirping in pain last night. She almost seems like she can't see well too.