Let's talk Wry Neck/Crook Neck

[FrenchToast]

Here's an interesting site I thought I would pass along.

http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/ind...casestudiesemergencies&num=1160927052&start=0

 

[chic-a-deee]

Hi...Im in Australia.

I purchased 3 Bantam hens 4 weeks ago. One of the girls at 3weeks, developed wry neck (I think)

It began with her not able to get up & the other two chicks where walking over the top of her...there was plenty of space so not sure why they decided
she (Daisy) was a good foot stool?? One hour before hand she was perfectly ok. They are in a big box inside my house.
I quickly picked her up & examined her for injury, lumps or anything unusual. She seemed to be physically intact.
I thought it may have been due to injury because they had been attempting to jump out of the box & I thought she may have landed heavily.
Her neck 'hooks' over like a swan neck. She can preen, walk ok, jump on a perch, she can eat & drink (to my surprise). I actually raised the feed & water
containers (cos they're hanging ones) to see if she could straighten up a bit more, seeing as tho food & drink can be great motivators.
She can lift her neck up enough by using her shoulder muscles, but cant rotate the head up to 'look up' with beak pointed to the sky.
I too was thinking a brace of some kind??? It would have to be from the shoulders to the skull base to allow for correction of posture. But then how do they
reach food or preen?? Maybe at night like previously mentioned on the forum?

At the moment I have been giving her vitamins. I havent got any poultry vitamins at the moment, so have been using ones for rabbits that have iron included.
I was given advice NOT to use iron, but when that was all that was at my disposal, Im afraid thats all I can give her.
She is with the other chicks now. On the day she acquired this condition, she spent the night on my chest keeping warm & still. I think this may have helped her
(not me lol).
She doesnt seemed distressed by it at all, doesnt seem to be in pain. This is my first experience with chickens, Ive always loved them alot, & am motivated enough
now to care for birds.

I think it's awful that neighbours cant restrain their dogs enough to stop them from attacking other animals. In Australia, welfare & local councils are promoting
responsible pet ownership. I would let the rspca or animal welfare organisation in your area know about the attacks on your lovely girls. May they rip.

I have attempted to 'straighten' her neck manually, by just tilting the skull upward. She seems resistant when I attempt this, so I thought it may be painful.??
It is a very mysterious condition. By nature, I hope she attempts to keep on trying to raise her head, otherwise if it is too painful & I make feeding etc too easy she will
remain like that. I would only consider this because the severity of the bend in her neck is slight, compared to some of the conditions I have read here.

Just out of curiosity, how does one go about 'putting down' chickens humanely?? It would be a very traumatic experience I would imagine, & I dont know if I could do it
myself???

So at the moment it is just watch & wait. Today I am going to the place I get her bedding & feed from, so I will ask advice from there too. Good luck everyone with your
chooks & I hope they recover well.

 

[chic-a-deee]

Hi.

Are you talking about Vit E & B complexes & selenium (never heard of that one) for human consumption??
If so, then do I just have to go to the health food shop?
What is the dose for the chicks (4weeks old) do we add it to the water or get an oil capsule & give it directly?
What is selenium?

Thanks guys

 

[appychick]

Hi,
Not sure of individual doses of Vit B & ViT E but you shouldn't be able to overdose on short term usage.
Selenium use caution as can be toxic and can cause many symptoms........
I never had any poultry vitamins either, but did find human liquid Centrum vitamins & used a couple drops in water daily for several days & then a day off as it has iron in it. So far never caused a problem with my birds.
Good luck with your bird. Mine relapses if she gets stressed so not really sure the cause of her problem. Then after another course of vitamins,anti-inflamatories she is okay again.....She does fine when boxed by herself. but problem returns when I put her back with her hatchmates so not sure of her future as not sure of her problem as to if it is an individual weakness or deformity . I really don't think my Jap has a disease as is thriving with individualized care.

 

[chic-a-deee]

Quote:
Thanks for your advice.
Jaylee gave me some good advice as well. She discovered one of her chicks that died from it, had no top bone on the skull. So it could be a birth defect that causes neurological problems??? Interesting & a bit scary as it seems to be a common affliction. Maybe mans interference with nature once again??

 

[FrenchToast]

I don't know if anyone else has used this but I bought generic Flinestone childrens vitamins withOUT Iron. If you look at the ingredients it is very close to that of Polyvisol without iron.

I just break a piece off and put it in the back of the throat of my showgirl. But she is close t6 months old and it is easier to give it to her then a chick. I take large needle syringe about 18g needle and poke it into a vitamin E capsue. I suck out the Vit E then hold their mouth open and gently syringe it in the mouth in the lowe beak, under and in front of their tonuge. Sometimes on top of the tongue as well. It dosn't have much taste so it goes very well. I leave the needle on while I do it but be careful, you don't want to poke the needle into the mouth etc.

I just bit off a small small piece of human Vitamin B Complex and a tiny piece of humane Selenium. You can get these at the local drug store. You will no doubt pay more if you go to a health food store. Walmart, walgreens, Dollar general all have these.

Just a reminder that Eggs are a good source of Vitamin E and Selenium

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Thanks for sharing this information.

 

[jaylee]

Dear Chicka dee....its Jaylee here again...wanted to clarify...that bird I was talking about didnt die of wry neck...I was saying that I was curious about vaulted and unvaulted skulls, and the next chick that died of ...whatever...I cut and peeled back the skin over where there should have been a skull, and there was no skull. It looked like a volcano. Thats what a vaulted or unvaulted means....it means skull or no skull. I also agree. IT IS A DEFORMITY. I protest us breeders continuing to breed vaulted skulls, but I could not get enough people on the bandwagon with me. I think WE (not excluding myself) are the only ones that breed ANYTHING hoping for a deformity (vaulted skull) It is desirable in Silkies. They are very suseptible to wry neck because a bump on the head or a peck on the head can be enough to bring on a wry neck episode. Also, the one teenage bird I euthanized and brought in to the state lab, with wry neck symptoms, had an abcess behind one of his eyes, which put enough pressure on his brain to cause the wry neck symptoms, so I ALWAYS will add antibiotics to the medicine that I give. The doctors there said a course of antibiotics would have cured him. So, I think generally, it is an injury or genetics that causes it, but it can be something like an odd abcess too.... so anyway....thought I would clear that up. and the best to you.

 

[chic-a-deee]

Quote:
Oh, ok...no worries

Well, the pullet who's neck went funny is now getting stronger. She no longer walks around like shes ducking for cover.
So Im happy about that. The vaulted skull sounds horrible. That would be very dangerous for them for sure. I hope nothing else goes wrong for my
chickens & yours are always happy & healthy.

 

[appychick]

After several months of ups & downs treating my Jap pullet she suddenly died. I necropsyed her .She had abnormal small open area on skull & unusual looking bone growth on upper neck-bone spur ?. So I will have to do more research to see what this might have been. Strange she would respond with nutritional supplements. But she was of hatchery orign.....