Pullet with outstretched neck, weakness

[SuperFluffyChickens]

My 18-wk old Favaucana pullet is acting odd, she’s holding her neck outstretched and kind of droopy. She seems kinda weak and lethargic, although she still ran away and put up a struggle when I tried to catch her for a closer look.

She can still walk and even run, and I saw her hold her neck normally for a minute or so before it started drooping again.

(That’s her on the left)

I think she might have injured her neck, one of my little cockerels is in his teenage menace phase and I know he’s tried mounting her - I think he might have grabbed her neck too roughly and she sprained something.

But just in case it’s something else, I gave her some Poultry Cell. Any other ideas?

Thanks!

 

[SmiYa0126]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive please help

 

[azygous]

Give her one human vitamin E capsule. One each day until she returns to normal.

 

[SuperFluffyChickens]

Give her one human vitamin E capsule. One each day until she returns to normal.

Unfortunately I don’t have access to a car today, so I can’t go get those vitamin capsules right now, but the Poultry Cell has some vitamin E in it. I’ll go get those pills as soon as I can though.

The pullet seems a bit better today, she’s still holding her head all arched and seems pretty weak, but I did see her eat a little bit on her own which is a good sign. I even saw her checking out a nest box! My pullets are right at the age where they’re about to start laying, I wonder if the changes in this girl’s body made her vitamin deficient somehow, like how anemia in people who’ve just started menstruating is common. Idk, I just hate having a chicken get sick without knowing what caused it, so I can prevent it in the future.

Anyway, I set her up in a crate in the run so nobody steals her food (which is from a fresh bag of all-flock and softened up with electrolyte water mixed in, plus added oyster shell) and so the roosters can’t harass her. I also syringe-fed her some raw egg so she gets a bit of water and nutrients in her. I’ll give her another dose of poultry cell in the afternoon. Like I said, if it’s a case of nutrient deficiency from old feed, I just opened a new bag yesterday.

My pullets are right about to start laying, so they all seem a bit mopey. I’m feeding all-flock since I have two young cockerels, and I’ve heard layer feed can make them sick. I give them oyster shell too.

 

[azygous]

The neck abnormality is likely due to a sudden deficiency in vitamin E. Poultry vitamins don't have a therapeutic dose so you need to pop a capsule of 400iu into her beak to overcome this. It's called torticollis by the way, but it's a symptom of deficiency generally, rarely an injury. It's not a disease, and usually clears up with a one or two days of vitamin E.

 

[SuperFluffyChickens]

The neck abnormality is likely due to a sudden deficiency in vitamin E. Poultry vitamins don't have a therapeutic dose so you need to pop a capsule of 400iu into her beak to overcome this. It's called torticollis by the way, but it's a symptom of deficiency generally, rarely an injury. It's not a disease, and usually clears up with a one or two days of vitamin E.

Alright, I’ll see if I can borrow my dad’s truck and get her some vitamins ASAP. Thank you!

 

[SuperFluffyChickens]

The neck abnormality is likely due to a sudden deficiency in vitamin E. Poultry vitamins don't have a therapeutic dose so you need to pop a capsule of 400iu into her beak to overcome this. It's called torticollis by the way, but it's a symptom of deficiency generally, rarely an injury. It's not a disease, and usually clears up with a one or two days of vitamin E.

Alright, thank you so much- I just got back from the pharmacy and gave her a dose of Vitamin E, by cutting open one of those gel capsules and squeezing the contents into her mouth - hope that was the right thing to do, the whole pill would have been way too big for her to swallow. Hope she gets better soon! Thanks again!

 

[SmiYa0126]

Alright, thank you so much- I just got back from the pharmacy and gave her a dose of Vitamin E, by cutting open one of those gel capsules and squeezing the contents into her mouth - hope that was the right thing to do, the whole pill would have been way too big for her to swallow. Hope she gets better soon! Thanks again!

How is she? That's how I do it too, poke a hole with a giant needle and squeeze into her beak.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would also give 1/4 of a scrambled egg daily for selenium which helps the vitamin E get utilized.

 

[SuperFluffyChickens]

How is she? That's how I do it too, poke a hole with a giant needle and squeeze into her beak.

She’s doing better already, still holding her neck out oddly but not as much as yesterday/earlier today, and she’s walking around her crate more and eating on her own.

I cut the very top of the pill off with scissors, I thought it was going to be super messy but it was way easier than I thought.