Hen’s head is upside down…help

[PesterJay]

I have a hen whose head has been tilted sideways for several days. I wasn’t real concerned at first because she was still eating and drinking and was pretty mobile. When I went out last night, she was in spasms because her head was upside down and she couldn’t get it straightened. She finally came out of it and was ok but tired. She has only started seizing up like this last night but has done it often thru today. I saw a thread from this site where it was suggested to give Vitamin E. I did that earlier today but haven’t noticed any changes. Any suggestions?

The first pic shows how she is normally, or how she’s been for the last little while I should say.

This second pic is during her spasm. It’s hard to get a real good pic but hopefully it gives the idea.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Yes, it's very likely wry neck - for which the treatment is Vitamin E with Selenium (needed to absorb the vitamin E) given every day. It may take several days or a week or longer to show improvement. You'll need to dose her every day until she has recovered, and continue treatment for two weeks longer to ensure it doesn't recur. You may need to separate her from the flock to prevent bullying, and to make sure she's getting enough water and food - you might have to hand-feed her.

I'd add some Vit-E with selenium supplements to all of your birds' feed for awhile, in case the cause is nutritional deficiency. Stop giving treats that aren't high in these nutrients. (Balanced chicken feed should comprise 90% of their diet; treats only 10%.)

If the Vitamin E you have doesn't contain selenium, and you can't find it to purchase, you can add tuna or whole eggs (raw or cooked) to her feed.

Hoping she responds quickly and gets well soon!

 

[PesterJay]

What’s the dose of Vitamin E I should be giving her? I could only find the large softgels and dumped the liquid out of them because the liquid was for external use only and I didn’t know if it would be fine to use.

 

[coach723]

You can squirt the contents of the capsules into her beak, or mix in a bit of moistened feed for her to eat, if she's eating. I just use a big needle, poke a hole in the capsule and drip into the beak. Not sure what liquid is for external use only? Maybe post pictures of what product you have.

 

[Aunt Angus]

What’s the dose of Vitamin E I should be giving her? I could only find the large softgels and dumped the liquid out of them because the liquid was for external use only and I didn’t know if it would be fine to use.

I give the contents of 400 iu capsules.

 

[PesterJay]

The liquid I found at Walmart was an oil to only put on skin and hair. I decided to get softgels and will get some selenium tomorrow. One of the threads said to get extra strength…?

 

[Eggcessive]

That is is fine. Give a little cooked egg for selenium.