Neck issue with Hen

[Cybergrunt]

Hello Everyone,

24 hours ago my six Rhode Island Red's were enjoying the morning and were acting absolutely normal. By lunchtime I noticed one of them looked a little off balance and had her head to one side. At first I thought she was tired but kept a close eye on her. The tell tale sign was when I put some treats out and she was the only one that didn't come running. As I knew something was wrong so I brought her inside, in a tote, to evaluate. I've attached some pics to show how her head is to one side. I didn't see any obvious wounds nor did I see any feathers outside to indicate an attack of any sort. However, I can't rule out that she ran or flew into something. I felt around the crop but didn't seem full. I gently massaged it and she literally closed her eyes for a while. I was able to feed her a little soft bread with olive oil on it, just in case of a crop issue. She also had some water. She slept through the night. About 7am this morning she stood up, still head to the side, and I was able to feed her some yogurt with water. She also ate some Purina Layer Pellet mush. I was concerned that there was still no stool in the tote. I drove my daughter to school at 7:50 and by the time I got back (8am) there was a stool (good size) and an egg to boot. Sorry to write a novel but I hope the info help deduce the issue.

Thank you,
Bill

 

[ameliathedominant]

can she straighten out her neck by herself? does she even try?

 

[Cybergrunt]

can she straighten out her neck by herself? does she even try?

She continues to keep it down to the right. Her head is tilted even when she eats. The only time she holds it up somewhat is when I go to lift her.

 

[Cybergrunt]

can she straighten out her neck by herself? does she even try?

I'll take more pics if needed.

 

[ameliathedominant]

do you feel anything strange where its bent? will she let you straighten it?
sry i have so many questions!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Some causes of Wry Neck symptoms can be due to injury, disease like Marek's or possibly vitamin deficiency.

I would try some vitamin therapy to see if she improves. 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily. Give her a daily treat of scrambled egg to help with the uptake of E. See that she's drinking well/staying hydrated and eating her normal nutritionally balanced feed.
Monitor her crop that it's emptying overnight.

Hopefully you will see improvement soon.

 

[Cybergrunt]

do you feel anything strange where its bent? will she let you straighten it?
sry i have so many questions!

No, please, ask away! I didn't want to force it straight in case it was muscular or affecting her breathing. I can gently straighten it for the most but it goes right back. She's eating now by herself right now. Head cocked.

 

[ameliathedominant]

well at least shes eating. it is probably muscular or neurological. she might bring herself out of it. she probably got into a tangle of wire or ran into something and pulled a muscle. make sure she gets good vitamin supplements mentioned above and she will probably be fine. has she layed any eggs?

 

[Cybergrunt]

Some causes of Wry Neck symptoms can be due to injury, disease like Marek's or possibly vitamin deficiency.

I would try some vitamin therapy to see if she improves. 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily. Give her a daily treat of scrambled egg to help with the uptake of E. See that she's drinking well/staying hydrated and eating her normal nutritionally balanced feed.
Monitor her crop that it's emptying overnight.

Hopefully you will see improvement soon.

They were vaccinated for Marek's. She's eating the mush pretty vigorously at the moment. That you for the advice. Also, keeping an eye on the others.

 

[Cybergrunt]

well at least shes eating. it is probably muscular or neurological. she might bring herself out of it. she probably got into a tangle of wire or ran into something and pulled a muscle. make sure she gets good vitamin supplements mentioned above and she will probably be fine. has she layed any eggs?

She laid a beautiful egg this morning, very unexpected with this issue. However, prior to this she has been laying eggs regularly with no issues. I'll look further into the vitamins but I'm curious if she injured her neck somehow? Is this common behavior with head pulled to one side?