Let's talk Wry Neck/Crook Neck

[Lobzi]

Maybe maybe not. If so it doesnt look too bad. Keep an eye on it and it it needs your help eating and drinking you should assist. Dont give up on it in any case as like I say id doesnt look bad at all. Vitamin supplementation might help.

 

[MadieWestbrook]

We had a chick with wry neck. She was fine the first few days. She then began wobbling. We thought she wouldn't make it. After some research, I figured out that it can be caused by a vitamin E deficiency. After a week of poking the pill and force-feeding it to the chick in question, SHE WAS FINE. She is now just a bit smaller than her sisters, but she is as healthy as can be! Anyone struggling with wry neck NEEDS TO TRY VITAMIN E. It truly was a life-saver.

 

[JackyJ]

I'm so glad it is doing better! And good for you for saving it.

 

[harveyhorses]

I've got an 8 week old SS who came down with this yesterday morning. I started her with all the recommended supplements, last night she hardly responded when I picked her up,
I also have a 17 yo cat that has an abscess on a broken tooth, so this morning as I was dosing the chick I managed to give her about .5 ml of the cats antibiotic before I reliazed I got the syringes mixed up. (I have to keep the cats loaded and grab her when I can, if you gave ever tried to fill a syringe with an angry cat you will understand) anyway, she is walking around like nothing happened. I am still keeping up Vit E, selenium etc.
Has anyone else heard of antibiotics helping?
How long do I keep her on the supplements & isolation ?

 

[may88888]

I nursed my wry neck chick 24/7 for his 1st two weeks after hatching. Week 3 he showed significant improvement.At that point he was able to eat on own, but did not drink enough water, so I syringed water into him for an additional week (****** him off but kept him hydrated) By a month old he was eating/drinking on his own.

 

[GildedCage]

I am having an awful time with a bantam EE pullet, about 3 months old. She has developed wry neck and she also has scissor beak. I am wondering if this is the cause of the wry neck because she may have issues getting enough food. She was healthy one day and the next incapacitated. I have been treating her for a week with vitamins and egg and yogurt. She has stopped taking the food. I have to use a toothpick and gently place it in her crooked little mouth. She is wasting away. She has been standing a bit the last 2 days. Today she seems worse. I wonder if she survives will she be able to ever eat on her own or should I have mercy and put her down?

 

[Clackamas]

I want to thank everyone on this thread for the advice. We had a Silver Pheasant chick (about 10 days old) that I first thought was a neurological disease and was about to put the chick down but my daughter urged me to look it up. I did, it was wry neck. I went out at 10 PM to Safeway and got Enfomil Poly-Vi-Sol. It was suggested to get the without iron, but they did not have it so I got the with iron version. We started out first by crushing a B complex vitamin and mixing it in with water. The chick could drink but with its head buried under neath, we had to help. That night we saw improvement. The next day the chick had gone down hill and slept all day, so we would pick it up and have it drink some water after a drop of the Ploy-Vi-Sol. It could not eat the crumble, so I got some live meal worms, which it could eat. It took three days of helping it drink, twice a day a single drop of Poly-Vi-Sol in the mouth, a drop in its water dish. Now the chick is nearly back to normal, it can eat crumble now, but we are feeding it live meal worms as the primary source. I want to thank the community for the knowledge, we saved this Silver Pheasant chick.

 

[gullybrush]

I want to have a discussion about wry neck/crookneck.

What have you done?

What's worked, what hasn't? Did you have to put any chicks down? Did they eventually come out of it?

I've read the boards, read the links, etc. I'm on my 3rd chick out of 18 with this problem. The first one went away same day on it's own.

Second one got progressively worse over 2 weeks until it couldn't eat or drink without our aid and we put it down. (Last week.) We gave him vitamin supplements, to no avail.

We have a little roo that has suddenly developed this over the last 3 days. I've been giving him about 1/2 a dropperful of Polyvisol twice a day and E vitamins twice a day. Not getting worse, not getting better.

Prednisone: The one we put down last week we took to the vet and asked about getting prednisone. The vet (who is a bird vet) said that she didn't like to give prednisone because it wipes out the immune system and is too strong for them.

Hereditary? The vet did say that it could be a hereditary issue. We had 2 hens, 1 roo and ended up with 18 babies--3 that got it so far (we've sold all but the final 6). Possibly, hereditary?

I cured my chick in 4-5 days with a liquid vitamin E capsule. Cut the end off and dip the chick's beak in it 2-3 times a day. If the chick smacks her beak, she's getting some in her system. I got this info from Backyard Chickens and it worked for me and Izzie

 

[Lobzi]

I am currently treating a little silkie mix with wry neck. I found that she can eat on her own if I provide her food in a tall bowl rather than expecting her to forage off the ground like the other chicks she is in with like to do. The food gets knocked over but that provides for the others. Im just so happy to have found a way for her to feed herself. I have been hand feeding her for a couple of days until this discovery.

 

[maryellen21]

Vitamin e and selenium works. Along with poly visol no iron