HELP! Wry neck

Swurts

In the Brooder
Apr 28, 2016
37
3
26
Mid Illinois
I have a 21 week old hen with what I think is wry neck. I got a different food the last time I bought it and I think it was lacking in vitamins. She is going down hill fast. I found her yesterday with the classic twisted neck. She's not eating or drinking so I have been giving her vitamin E suppliments, electrolytes, and water with a syringe. I tried crushing some crumbles and watering them down a bit to feed her, but she acts like she is choking. Today her neck isn't twisted but she still can't hold it up. She's not opening her eyes. She does however fight like a mad woman when I take her out of the crate to give her water and such. How long should I give her? It seems like she still has some fight left in her but she's definitely struggling. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Wry neck or torticolis is a symptom of many different conditions. Head injury, Mareks disease, vitamin E deficiency, and other diseases that affect the brain are possible causes. Vitamin E and the mineral selenium are used to try it. Feeding can be a problem, if her neck does not relax enough to get food and water. Some wrap the chicken in a towel and a few times a day, feed them chicken feed mixed with a lot of water, to get enough fluids into them. Poultry NutriDrench and Poultry Cell vitamins 2-3 ml per day have the selenium and vitamin E, or you can use other poultry vitamins, and give her some chopped egg, tuna, or sunflower seeds daily for selenium. I hope she gets better. Here are some articles and threads to read:
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/97121/lets-talk-wry-neck-crook-neck
 
Thank you for the reply! Sadly she didn't make it. I gave her some electrolytes and then made the kids some lunch. Checked on her about an hour and 15 min later and she wasn't breathing .
 
I'm sorry that you lost her. If you want to find out if she had Mareks or if you want to find a cause of death, your state vet or local poultry lab may be able to do a necropsy. The body should be refrigerated and shipped or taken to the lab.
 

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