One chicken with crooked neck, and another sickly looking???Maybe food issue.....HELP please :)

[lovinchicks]

I went down to the barn and peeked in on the chickens. I noticed one of the Egyptian Fayoumi's neck looked twisted. When I went in to get her, I noticed another one of the Egyptian Fayoumi's looked sick (head drooping, wings drooping, not really moving) . I was able to catch both easily (which you can normally not do) The one that looks sick may have a tad bit of a twisted neck, but it would be so slight, you can't tell if it's twisted or not. They are 3 1/2 months old. They are housed with about 30 other birds that are showing no symptoms, one of those being another Egyptian, and the rest are different breeds. We WERE feeding Purina All Flock crumble. About 2 weeks ago my husband bought another kind of crumble called Kalmbach All Flock. They ate that crumble for about 2 weeks, and yesterday he bought, and feed the Kalmbach in a PELLET form. He also feed them a squash this morning. He did not notice them acting weird this morning, but he may have missed it. I feel like it is more than a coincidence that out of all the birds, it is 2 Egyptian Fayoumi's that get sick, on the same day. Makes me think it has something to do with the food, and maybe them being smaller the pellets did something too them?? Anyone have any imput. I would be very gratefull on any and all ideas!

 

[Wynette]

How long have they been on All Flock? I'm suspecting a nutrition deficiency...they should have been on starter feed from day olds until at a minumum, 12 weeks. Kalmbach is a good feed, I cannot imagine that would be the issue, UNLESS the feed had gotten wet/moldy.

They probably shouldn't be on pelleted feed so soon, but I can't think that would be the issue, either.

Can you describe their housing?

 

[lovinchicks]

They were on a chick starter for probably 6 to 8 weeks. We then switched them to the all flock because it said you could feed it from birth. That really stinks, if that is not right

. The food does not look bad, and I asked my husband how it looked when he poured it into the bucket, and he said it didn't look wet or moldy. What is the issue with feeding pellets at this age? I thought that the crumble was just crushed up pellets? Do they have a hard time digesting the bigger pieces? I didn't want him to get the pellets because I thought they looked awful hard and big to eat, but he was hoping to get less waste because we are going through food like there is no tomorrow. I swear they were fine yesterday, because I try to look over all of them to make sure I don't see anything strange, but I could have missed something, but I dought it. It just seems weird for a vitamin deficiency to show up on the same day, doesn't it

????
Here are some pictures of their housing and of the birds.

This is the inside area

This is their outside run that they have access to all day.

The one with the really twisted neck




This is the one that just looks sickly and maybe has some twisting starting.

 

[lovinchicks]

I was trying to find more info on these guys. They are suppossed to be more disease resistant than other chickens.....So they shouldn't get sick before the other chickens. uugghhh, what is wrong with these two. I think I'll run and get some poly-vi-sol, I think that's what it's called and some vit. E caps.

 

[Wynette]

Hi there - I was going to suggest Poly VI Sol - make SURE to get the iron free kind. If they do indeed have wry neck, and you did catch it early, the Poly will do the trick. I'm not sure of dosage, maybe 3-4 drops twice daily just off the top of my head.

I think the pellets "should" be okay - they do appear to have plenty of room both inside and out, so that's not a concern to me. Do you have any vitamins/minerals in their water? I swear by Avia Charge 2000 - it's kelp based, and forumulated especially for fowl. What they don't use, they just poop out, but it sort of "fills in the blanks" for anything missing from their commercial feed. It's pricey, but you only use 1 tsp. per gallon of water, so it goes a long way. (I buy mine at Murray McMurray - their price is lower for the product, but their shipping is higher than most places - I've priced it at several places, though, and found that MM is lowest overall.)

They appear (at least in the pics) to be healthy otherwise - are they both eating & drinking?

This is a rarer breed; it could also be that they have been linebred a bit too long...it's hard to know that, of course, and if you are intending on breeding them, I would highly recommend getting a male from a completely different line.

Keep us posted, and BEST of luck!

 

[leadwolf1]

Purina flock raiser is designed for use from day 1. It is formulated to meet the needs of all ages so that people with mixed age flocks can feed one feed and not try and have separate feeders for everyone. The only thing with using flock raiser is that when they reach laying age they will need a calcium supplement. Most people use a feeder that is filled with oyster shell. It is made available at all times and only the laying hens eat it.

I don't feed pellets for one reason, my chickens hate it. I think they would starve before eating it. That being said, your chickens may not be eating the new food. I always mix my foods before a change. The chickens can get used to the pelleted form slowly or, as mine have shown, never. I was glad I mixed when every last pellet was left. You may have a nutritional imbalance due to them not eating the other feed. The poly vi sol, without iron, is a great idea. I would give .25 mls per day. In the meantime, you also might want to pick up some crumbles, just in case. I would also try feeding them a mash made from the feed, water and yogurt. They love it and it may bring them around a little bit for you. Scrambled egg and mealworms is another great way to get some protein into them.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[lovinchicks]

Hi there - I was going to suggest Poly VI Sol - make SURE to get the iron free kind. If they do indeed have wry neck, and you did catch it early, the Poly will do the trick. I'm not sure of dosage, maybe 3-4 drops twice daily just off the top of my head.

I think the pellets "should" be okay - they do appear to have plenty of room both inside and out, so that's not a concern to me. Do you have any vitamins/minerals in their water? I swear by Avia Charge 2000 - it's kelp based, and forumulated especially for fowl. What they don't use, they just poop out, but it sort of "fills in the blanks" for anything missing from their commercial feed. It's pricey, but you only use 1 tsp. per gallon of water, so it goes a long way. (I buy mine at Murray McMurray - their price is lower for the product, but their shipping is higher than most places - I've priced it at several places, though, and found that MM is lowest overall.)

They appear (at least in the pics) to be healthy otherwise - are they both eating & drinking?

This is a rarer breed; it could also be that they have been linebred a bit too long...it's hard to know that, of course, and if you are intending on breeding them, I would highly recommend getting a male from a completely different line.

Keep us posted, and BEST of luck!

I did get the Poly Vi Sol yesterday, and gave them a dose. I was aware to not get the Iron in it, so I'm good there.

The sickly one was a bit better before I gave it. I was surprised, because I thought she would be dead by the end of the day. She was even better today. Not great, just better. I think she will eat and drink on her own. Her head is a bit droppy still and her wings are still sagging, and her feet are a little more steady under her. She still acts a bit drunk though.

The one with the twisted neck, is not doing better. When I went in this morning it was totally twisted around, and she was looking upside down. I gave her the vitamins, and rubbed the neck, and that straighted it out for her. She is not holding her head up at all, and is much more weak. I dipped her beak into the waterer, and she got a bit. We are going to have to get some food in her though, and some more water..

I do not have anything in the water. Meyers Hatchery is only 30 min. from me, I'll have to see if they carry the Avia Charge 2000, and check their prices. I also was wondering about the breeding, as they came form Springhill Preservation, and I have seen a few others questioning of inbreeding. But that is something we'll never know. I'm going to try to call them today, and see if they have any clues. Today is one of their phone answering days. Yippie!! lol. If it was linebreeding it would also be weird for it to show up on the same day. All other chickens still look fine.

 

[lovinchicks]

Purina flock raiser is designed for use from day 1. It is formulated to meet the needs of all ages so that people with mixed age flocks can feed one feed and not try and have separate feeders for everyone. The only thing with using flock raiser is that when they reach laying age they will need a calcium supplement. Most people use a feeder that is filled with oyster shell. It is made available at all times and only the laying hens eat it.

I don't feed pellets for one reason, my chickens hate it. I think they would starve before eating it. That being said, your chickens may not be eating the new food. I always mix my foods before a change. The chickens can get used to the pelleted form slowly or, as mine have shown, never. I was glad I mixed when every last pellet was left. You may have a nutritional imbalance due to them not eating the other feed. The poly vi sol, without iron, is a great idea. I would give .25 mls per day. In the meantime, you also might want to pick up some crumbles, just in case. I would also try feeding them a mash made from the feed, water and yogurt. They love it and it may bring them around a little bit for you. Scrambled egg and mealworms is another great way to get some protein into them.

Good luck and keep us posted!

That makes me feel better about the flock raiser. we got it because it was hard to keep track of all the food. We have hens, roosters, and turkeys together. Also have ducks, then we got the chicks, and it was like ahhhh. To many feed bags! So we went to the flock raiser. We do keep a seperate container with Oyster shells in the laying coop.

Pellets do look awful to eat! He did have some crumble left, so he mixed it in, and gave the sick ones just crumble. I don't think they would have gotten a nutritional imbalance that fast. They would have only not eaten it for one day? Plus these birds are very good free rangers. When they get tired of what is in their enclosure they have flown over the wall to get out. I'll have to try some scrambeld eggs, and have my hubby pick up some plain yogurt. I'm hoping if I can get something in the twisted neck one, she'll perk up.

Thanks guys!

 

[leadwolf1]

You may want to bring them in where you can keep a closer eye on what they are/aren't eating. Is there a possibility that they both got into something free ranging that would be a neurologic toxin?

I agree. It is odd that they both are showing symptoms on the same day which leads me to believe that they both decided to eat something that wasn't good for them.

 

[Wynette]

Thanks for correction on the All Flock, lead! Sometimes, I think I get so ingrained with doing the same thing year after year, I need to double check on things before posting - thank you for that reminder!

I would most definitely separate those two so you can BE SURE they are both eating & drinking. It deifnitely sounds like wry neck on the one (some call it stargazing I believe). It's much more common in some breeds, like Silkies - maybe this is a breed that's more susceptible to it? If you can separate them, you can also check their droppings, which often tell us much more about their health.

Also - do you by any chance know how to tube feed? I would recommend that for a few days just to be sure they are getting what they need. There is SO much less danger of them aspirating when tube feeding, as opposed to syringe feeding. But, I am now wondering if it's simply that they're not getting the intake of calories needed. Do you have a pet store near you? If so, you might think about picking up some baby bird handfeeding formula. It's made for baby parrots & the like, and it's chock full of everything poultry needs, plus extra protein & such. It's a grainy powder, you add water and you can make it as soupy or thick as needed. They usually really like it, and it can easily be syringed into their mouths or tube fed directly into their crops. This can give them a really good "pick-me-up" that's nutritional, not just an energy boost.