Just hatched baby Serama chick having motor difficulties- can it be helped?

[chickcrack]

 Hi Kathy!  Nice talking with you again, hope you are well..

  The chick is still with us.  She's about the same.  Although she is stronger in her appetite and eating more now for me that I've got brave enough to open her beak and squirt a mush mix bit by bit into her mouth.   I feed her about 1/2 cc at a 'feeding' session- maybe once every two hours or so now... not sure if that is too  much but she looks desperate for food.  Furthermore, I'm not sure if its because her down fluff has been matted due to the messy feeding or if she really is not eating enough, but she looks a bit emaciated.  I did compare her to another one of the seramas that hatched and they seem to be about the same size, though I think she was a bit bigger than that one when first hatched    My point is that I think she is not up to par size wise.. and that has me nervous about how much food I should be giving her, hence the more aggressive feeding I've been doing.  

   Her stance, walk, and head tick have not really improved.  I did not get selenium yet (I live out in the boonies)  but hope to tomorrow or Tuesday.   She cannot walk forward at all except if I push her forward she manages to put one foot in front of the other, but only if I push.  When I feed her,  her feet push on my hand as I hold her and her head goes back (but not backwards or looking up).   She's got some very odd movements.  As I said before, her head kind of wobbles back and forth when she is still, which is most of the time.  

   She did a massive poop for me just a few moments ago after feeding-  she peep/screamed when she did it, so maybe she is a bit constipated?  Or maybe it burned on its way out?   It did not look hard, in fact it was the same consistency of the the mush I feed her.  The amount that came out so far has been a record for her.   I took that she had eaten maybe a bit too much?   When I get her beak near food she seems very excited to eat, almost as if she is ravished and desperately wanting.   I also provide sips of water for her too which she does without any problems.    She tends to get tired after all the stress and work of feeding too.   I let her rest.  I do think her coordination is improving slightly.   I do believe if she keeps at it- and if I keep at it- she could pull through this..  maybe end up a weird chicken with some strange movements, but she never seemed like a total lost cause to me... in fact, seeing some of these videos online of the same thing I would have given up on them- they look far worse, but people had them pull through.

  Anyway, I'm still not getting my hopes up...  I realize that anything can go wrong and she may end up seizing and dying on me...   I noticed today that her one eye seems to be just slightly bulged more than the other.  I'm hoping its not any sort start of infection.  Then again, her symmetry in her body seems off a bit, so maybe it just that.  ... or that she's growing.  ?   

  As far as a you tube post goes... do you have to have membership there?   I'll have to look into it. (just not tonight because I am way too tired and in desperate need of sleep!)     I really appreciate when others post their sick chicken videos on you tube and identify what it is and how they treated it... so helpful!  Maybe I should get started on doing that too.   I already have a few videos on my computer that could be uploaded and shared- not just of this chick but some other chickens too.    It would be really great to compile a sick chicken video with many person's home videos of their sick chicken's symptoms.... all put together in a collective that could help people diagnose and treat their flock!    (Yes, I dream of silly things like that!)  Its been like six years of chicken keeping and I am still very flustered at the first sign of illness in my flock! 

Your descriptions of your chicks movements sound exactly like my little guy. He would totally get into his "feeding position" and brace his feet against my fingers and push his head up. He knew that syringe and would hungrily peck at it. If you are going to try sunflower seeds I would get the unsalted/unshelled. Happy Gilmore (my wry neck guy) was very small and his feather growth was behind his hatch mates. He is still smaller than his father (except his comb lol). I didn't worry too much about that. I think you have to look at your little girl as an individual and gauge her growth and progress against where she was two days ago and not against the chicks that don't have her disability. Honestly I still consider Happy to be a special needs chicken and he will probably remain that way for life. I had many moments through his early treatment that I questioned why I started it and if I should be doing it. Lots saw him and said I was torturing him. But I think today if he could speak for himself he would disagree. Just being honest with you...she may always be different. Happy wants to be with my dogs and people more than chickens. We are his flock I guess!

 

[Bocktobery 10]

*sigh* I just don't like what I'm seeing.. Perhaps its my fatigue setting in, but I just don't feel hopeful about this. She looks awful. I don't know if its because the feed and water has dribbled down her 'chin' so much and onto her down feathers that she looks emaciated or if she really is too thin. I've been at this for many days now, and I'm exhausted trying to keep up with everything (home life, chores, plus other chicks and chickens, etc.) I worry she is not going to recover. She seems to scramble backwards with more gusto now- she's got more power in her kick, BUT she also seems more subdued like she is exhausted too. Her eyes- they just seem lackluster. Perhaps she is merely depressed about feeling so awful all the time (I'm sure its not fun twitching all the time like that). I will try and find some time to take her to her hatch mates to 'hang out' (at a distance of course)... perhaps just the sounds of it will encourage her.

She does want me to feed her- and in fact, since I've been opening her beak and squirting the mush food in she seems even cooperative with that since she keeps her eyes closed and keeps still now when I do it. You see, she is so small I have to brush my fingers up near her eyes when I open her beak. I noticed it wasn't until I let her go from my grasp that she'd open them again. She doesn't like it when I open her beak though, and squeaks. This is just so exhausting from the constant stress. I want to see her get to the point she can feed herself... otherwise, I'm terrified I started a nightmare of a situation and it will only get more painful as time goes on. I don't mind helping a little one out a bit of the time, but this is constant-if its going to be temporary, like a week or so, I'm ok with that. Its just that I'm not seeing any change in her motor problems and that concerns me greatly. Just adds to the stress with the thought of having to possibly put her down someday in the future. I know there was no guarantee going into this, but I wish there was just some signs of improvement... maybe there are and I'm just too tired to see it.

Anyway, yes, I have been mixing egg yolk in with her feed, so hopefully that will help give her some much needed selenium.

She just looks , well, sick. Before, she seemed more like a bright chick with some simple motor problems... now, she seems troubled.

Awful to watch.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Your descriptions of your chicks movements sound exactly like my little guy. He would totally get into his "feeding position" and brace his feet against my fingers and push his head up. He knew that syringe and would hungrily peck at it. If you are going to try sunflower seeds I would get the unsalted/unshelled. Happy Gilmore (my wry neck guy) was very small and his feather growth was behind his hatch mates. He is still smaller than his father (except his comb lol). I didn't worry too much about that. I think you have to look at your little girl as an individual and gauge her growth and progress against where she was two days ago and not against the chicks that don't have her disability. Honestly I still consider Happy to be a special needs chicken and he will probably remain that way for life. I had many moments through his early treatment that I questioned why I started it and if I should be doing it. Lots saw him and said I was torturing him. But I think today if he could speak for himself he would disagree. Just being honest with you...she may always be different. Happy wants to be with my dogs and people more than chickens. We are his flock I guess!

Thank you for this.. it is very helpful. As you can see, I'm feeling worn out from this. Your little Happy gives me hope. He is definitely a success story. This little one does get into that 'feeding position' as you put it. Its so darn cute when she does it too. She tries to peck at the syringe (or the tiny bowl of food) but misses the mark a lot.

I don't mind if she grows up to have some remaining problems. I just hope she can eat on her own. At this moment, it doesn't look like that will happen for her.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

If you don't have the Selenium you can mix some egg into her feed formula.

I'm sure Kathy can explain the Amprolium much better than I can, but it is not an antibiotic. It is a coccidiostat. Essentially it is a Thiamine blocker which helps inhibit the over growth of cocci.

Anyway, your little is adorable, I do hope she improves.

And No, you don't have to be on the "team" to post on the Go Team Tube Feeding thread, if you post there, Kathy may see it more quickly.

I see now about the Amprolium. Thanks for clearing that up for me! I will have to check out the Go Team Tube Feeding thread soon! She's eating ok for me right now.. just afraid that one of these times a glob of food will go down wrong and choke her.. too easy for that to happen.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

I completely understand how you are feeling. It's daunting to not know if all of this additional care/time and commitment that you are doing will lead to an eventual cure. Nobody can tell you what is the right thing to do for you and your little chick. All I can tell you is that I was there many times and doubted A LOT. Happy couldn't stand on his own until he was 2 1/2 weeks. At that point it became much easier as I knew he could eat something (maybe not enough but something) on his own and I didn't have to be on call 24/7. Once he reached that milestone his progress and growth accelerated and it became easier to see tiny improvements every day. Before that point I kicked myself for playing mother nature. Happy's mom had left he and his brother unhatched 2 days after her other 4 eggs hatched. I candled the eggs and saw movement and couldn't just let them die so I placed them in an incubator. They hatched 5 days after their hatch mates. Happy's brother had curled toes and Happy hatched out screaming. Clearly mother hen knew something wasn't right or things had gone wrong during her incubation. If I had it to do again I'm not sure I would make the same choice. Who am I kidding I probably would lol.
Have you tried feeding moistened chick starter? Make a little formed loaf of it on the floor and try to teach her to peck. That way she has a large area to aim for and not have to connect with one crumble to eat. Warning-you will need to watch her nares if this works because they will get cemented shut with food! I noticed the most progress after I started the B complex...I added it after seeing no progress when he was about 1 1/2 weeks old. How old is your little one now? Hugs. I know what you're going through and whatever your decision moving forward is the right one. You are trying your best but we can't always fix everything.

Thank you for this. This helps a lot. I am really doubting right now.

The b-complex- was this in brewer's yeast or an actual supplement crushed up and given?

I only have the medicated chick starter here- The medication in that inhibits thiamine, so I want to avoid that. I have put down a glop of the mixture that I've been feeding to her (egg yolk, exact chick hand feed formula, a bit of water and milk kefir plus nutridrench) , but she doesn't seem to have much luck at all in hitting the mark. Plus, after a few misses, she gives up, rests. I have a few small chunks of watermelon in there now with her. She seemed to really want it, but could not hit it. I left it in there for her to keep trying. She tends to move backwards very fast now. She can't move forwards at all. Her neck she has troubles controlling, though she can scratch under her wings and backside with her beak very well and also put her feet up to her beak to scratch. There isn't much else she can do. She still seems drunk with her wobbly head. I'm also worried that her eyes seem to be either getting larger. Swelling, normal, or getting emaciated? There is also something new that's developed with her eye color- I'm a bit afraid its Marek's. I did not notice eye color before, and now, you can see her pupils. I would not say it is grey in color, but it doesn't seem normal to me. I mean to go out and check one of her hatch mates, but I have not even had time to do so yet.

I know what you mean about the eggs.. there were several this year that developed to the end but did not hatch. I think I had about 3 seramas fully formed that died before hatching, and also had about 2 standard sized chicks under another broody that fully formed but did not hatch. I almost put them in the incubator, but I saw now signs of life when I candled them. Its amazing that Happy and his brother hatched 5 days later... I would not even have thought they were viable after that many days.

Oh and I did notice the thing with the nares getting plugged up. Its good to point that out. She does have some food stuck around them and its very difficult to get it off!

Again, thank you for the encouraging message and taking the time to respond. It helps so much and I appreciate it! I'm not giving up on her yet. Just extremely exhausted, which perpetuates the discouragement too!

 

[chickcrack]

 Thank you for this.   This helps a lot.   I am really doubting right now.

  The b-complex- was this in brewer's yeast or an actual supplement crushed up and given?

I only have the medicated chick starter here-  The medication in that inhibits thiamine, so I want to avoid that.  I have put down a glop of the mixture that I've been feeding to her (egg yolk, exact chick hand feed formula, a bit of water and milk kefir plus nutridrench) , but she doesn't seem to have much luck at all in hitting the mark.  Plus, after a few misses, she gives up, rests.   I have a few small chunks of watermelon in there now with her.  She seemed to really want it, but could not hit it.  I left it in there for her to keep trying.   She tends to move backwards very fast now.  She can't move forwards at all.  Her neck she has troubles controlling, though she can scratch under her wings and backside with her beak very well and also put her feet up to her beak to scratch.   There isn't much else she can do.   She still seems drunk with her wobbly head.  I'm also worried that her eyes seem to be either getting larger.   Swelling, normal, or getting emaciated?   There is also something new that's developed with her eye color- I'm a bit afraid its Marek's.   I did not notice eye color before, and now, you can see her pupils.  I would not say it is grey in color, but it doesn't seem normal to me.    I mean to go out and check one of her hatch mates, but I have not even had time to do so yet. 

  I know what you mean about the eggs..  there were several this year that developed to the end but did not hatch.   I think I had about 3 seramas fully formed that died before hatching, and also had about 2 standard sized chicks under another broody that fully formed but did not hatch.  I almost put them in the incubator, but I saw now signs of life when I candled them.   Its amazing that Happy and his brother hatched 5 days later...   I would not even have thought they were viable after that many days. 

   Oh and I did notice the thing with the nares getting plugged up.  Its good to point that out.   She does have some food stuck around them and its very difficult to get it off! 

 Again, thank you for the encouraging message and taking the time to respond.  It helps so much and I appreciate it!   I'm not giving up on her yet.   Just extremely exhausted, which perpetuates the discouragement too!

I'm not sure what is in brewers yeast. I was trying anything that I could find on Google...most of it was on BYC. I got human B complex vitamins and gave him 1/2 pill crushed into food. B vitamin is safe because any excess is flushed from the body. I have never bought vitamins for myself lol. My medicine cabinet is full of stuff for chickens!

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Thanks again for the response. This helps. I will pick that stuff up soon. Good to have it around for the chicken medicine cabinet!


Unfortunately, she isn't doing well. She's hungry but does not seem to have the strength to swallow anymore. She will if I force feed, but she just tires out so quickly, getting only one or two swallows a feeding session. I did not get much food into her this evening because she just didn't do her part. She's been crying out, and stops when I pick her up, but when it comes to feeding, she's hungry but does not really try to eat like she used to. She looks so tired and disheveled.

I'll keep trying, but things don't look good.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

UPDATE! She's doing better, remarkably! I'm stunned. Last night, she just wasn't being as responsive as before. I decided to use one of my old woman's one-a-day vitamins that has a ton of B vitamins in it because I figured I didn't have much to lose to try. By this morning, she perked up and is even moving better... She walked forwards!!!!!! YAY! All this time she has never walked forwards! (She still walks backwards quite a bit though) She had a tremendous amount of energy too. She looks strong, her twitch is not as pronounced. She even had better skills at eating and seemed to have a desire to eat- putting her face in the dish and nibbling. She never did it so skillfully before.

Since then she has lagged a bit. I suppose this is normal in recovery. Two steps forward, one step back.. I hope so.

I was able to get to the store and get the specific vitamins needed too, so no more worries about giving her the one-a-day vitamin with lots of added vitamins.

Thanks everyone for your help! She might have pulled through! I'll keep updating.

 

[chickcrack]

Yay!!!
Yes ups and downs seem to be the rule in recovering from wry neck. The odd movements they make seems to be exhausting for them. I sort of related it to a person with epilepsy having a seizure and all those nerves and muscles firing at super speed causes them to need recovery afterwards. Evenings were the worst for Happy and even when almost normal looking through the day I would often find his head bent over and he was far less mobile at night. So glad to hear you are seeing progress today. Keep up the great work!

 

[BoomChickaPop]

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YAY I am sooo happy keep us updated