Help!Rooster has a twisted neck past two days

[wendy and tom]

Two days ago our six month old rooster started twisting his head around to one side and he can’t hold it straight now. I almost thought it was broken but almost seems like more of a muscle or tendon issue. Otherwise he is fine. He tries to eat and drink but it’s awkward and tiring for him. Any idea what’s going on?

 

[coach723]

Sounds like wry neck. This can be caused by a vitamin deficiency, an injury, a disease like Marek's, or in some cases has a genetic component. I would supplement with vitamin E and selenium (the selenium is necessary for the uptake of the E) to see if you get improvement. You may need to help him eat and drink if he can't do it well on his own, the link below has a video at the end showing that: https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/wry-neck.html

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Two days ago our six month old rooster started twisting his head around to one side and he can’t hold it straight now. I almost thought it was broken but almost seems like more of a muscle or tendon issue. Otherwise he is fine. He tries to eat and drink but it’s awkward and tiring for him. Any idea what’s going on?

Welcome To BYC!

What type of food/treats do you feed?
Do you know if your cockerel was vaccinated for Marek's?
If you have photos those are always welcome.

From your description it sounds like your cockerel has Wry Neck. This is a neurological symptom caused by a few things like Marek's disease, vitamin deficiency and head trauma.

You can try offering vitamin therapy to see if there is improvement.
Give 400IU of Vitamin E daily along with 1/4 tablet of human B-Complex. Give him a treat of egg, sunflower seeds or tuna to help with the uptake of E.

You will need to help him eat/drink (see video below).
Here's some reading about Marek's
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq