How long to treat for wry neck?

[Imachicklvr2]

I have been treating Nigel, my Silkie (surprise) for wry neck for three weeks now. He is still no better than he was when it started. I was just wondering how long some of you have treated for wry neck and had a bird recover. Based on what I have read, I have been optimistic but that optimism is starting to waiver as I see him continue to struggle. He is only 11 weeks old and for over a quarter of his life he has been contorted and unable to eat and drink without assistance. I guess I am just looking for some hope....or a reality check.

My treatment plan has been:
vitamin E - 1 capsule in the morning and one in the evening
Selenium - 25 mcg in the morning
Polyvisol (no iron) - 6 drops in the morning and 6 drops in the evening

I feed a mixture of half scrambled egg and half organic chick starter mixed with water and made into a mash 3 times a day
he has also just finished a 10 day course of Duramycin-10 because he was sneezing, but he drank so little I don't know how effective it was. I would like to try some prednisone at this point but I worry about his immune system (he is still sneezing) and the nearest vet who will treat a chicken is an hour away. Not that I mind the drive, it is more my concern that the stress will make it even worse.

He is separated from the other chicks and currently lives in a plastic tub in my bedroom. He shivers sometimes, which I don't know if it is from being cold or if it is something neurological, so I keep a heat lamp nearby but not directly on him. I have been using towels as bedding. I swear I do more chicken laundry than people laundry.

If anyone has any suggestions, traditional or even homeopathic, please let me know. I just feel like there is something I am missing. I read so many posts here and on other forums where the chicks were better in less than a week and others where chicks have been treated for over a month but then I don't know what happened, did it recover or not make it?

Nigel's quality of life is very important to me but I will fight as long as he is willing to fight too.

 

[Ruby Mia]

sorry to hear this has happened to your roo, it happened to mine when he was about that age and it sure does take a lot of hard work! my cockerel Shanty, a sultan, has had it. i took him to the vets not knowing what to do, they did nothing, but offer to put him down, but i wasn't going to give up and he's still here today! Shanty had his for about two- three weeks and in that time i tried to give him as much veg and scrambled egg as possible and also gave him vitamin tablets with fish oil tablets as well. also make sure he gets plenty of pellets and drink, if he cant eat or drink because his necks all twisted, then just mush up the pellets with some warm water and syringe it into his mouth. we had to do that, so we held him like a baby and after the first syringe, he was opening his mouth for more! another thing, i don't know if it really works, is check he has enough hens. someone said to me that because i only had one hen this could be causing this, so now i have nine and he is happy as anything and hasn't had it since. and one last thing, don't give up! if i had listened to the vet i wouldn't have three great chicks today! Good luck!

 

[Imachicklvr2]

Thank you. I hope he recovers as well as your Shanty did. It would be nice to see some bit of improvement though.

I stabilize Nigel's body by putting him on my lap and placing my hand on top of his body with just a little pressure, then kind of untwist his head and once he calms down (he likes his food a lot) he can relax and eat on his own. If I take my hand off his body though, he tenses and gets twisted up again.

I will look into the fish oil too, thank you for the suggestion.