Silkie hen with a crick in her neck

[Feltonistas]

Hi everyone, I need help. I have a silkie hen of about 5 months who, suddenly, developed a crick in her neck and can't keep it up. I brought her to the vet that gave her cortisone shots, but she doesn't seem to get better. She's lethargic and eating very little food. Did you have a chick with that problem? What could it be?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would get some vitamin E 400 IU daily, and some B complex tablets, and give her 1/2 tablet crushed into water or food daily, in case she has wry neck (torticolis.) B complex has thiamine and other b vitamins. If need be, hold her and feed her some mushy wet chick feed to get food and more water into her. A tiny bit of egg yolk can also give selenium which helps with the uptake of vitamin E.

 

[Feltonistas]

I would get some vitamin E 400 IU daily, and some B complex tablets, and give her 1/2 tablet crushed into water or food daily, in case she has wry neck (torticolis.) B complex has thiamine and other b vitamins. If need be, hold her and feed her some mushy wet chick feed to get food and more water into her.

The vet gave me a medicine to give her twice a day, I'm not really sure what it is

 

[coach723]

It sounds like wry neck. Sometimes that is a vitamin deficiency and supplementing with Vitamin E (400iu daily) will help, with a bit of cooked egg, canned tuna, or sunflower seeds for selenium (helps the uptake of the E). With silkies, they are more prone to neurological issues due to the vaulted skull, so a head injury or something called water on the brain, which is probably why the vet tried steroids, are also possibilities. I would try the vitamins as they won't do any harm. This link addresses the most common silkie issues:
https://poultrykeeper.com/blog/diseases-common-to-silkies/
Can you post a picture of what the vet gave? May be for infection and inflammation, meaning they suspect the water on the brain.

 

[Feltonistas]

It sounds like wry neck. Sometimes that is a vitamin deficiency and supplementing with Vitamin E (400iu daily) will help, with a bit of cooked egg, canned tuna, or sunflower seeds for selenium (helps the uptake of the E). With silkies, they are more prone to neurological issues due to the vaulted skull, so a head injury or something called water on the brain, which is probably why the vet tried steroids, are also possibilities. I would try the vitamins as they won't do any harm. This link addresses the most common silkie issues:
https://poultrykeeper.com/blog/diseases-common-to-silkies/
Can you post a picture of what the vet gave? May be for infection and inflammation, meaning they suspect the water on the brain.

I'll try giving Vitamine E and when I get home I'll post the picture of the medicine

 

[Feltonistas]

She also recommended me this liquid food for her. Do you know it?

 

[coach723]

I'm not familiar with that. Looks like it's intended for grass/greens eating animals, maybe they recommended it for the vitamins/minerals etc? If you have to hand feed I usually use Kaytee Exact baby bird formula, mixed in water (most larger pet stores usually have it). You can also use your regular feed, ground up fine, mixed with water.
This link is about wry neck, and at the bottom is a video showing how to help them feed, if she will eat on her own this way.
https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/wry-neck.html

 

[Feltonistas]

I'm not familiar with that. Looks like it's intended for grass/greens eating animals, maybe they recommended it for the vitamins/minerals etc? If you have to hand feed I usually use Kaytee Exact baby bird formula, mixed in water (most larger pet stores usually have it). You can also use your regular feed, ground up fine, mixed with water.
This link is about wry neck, and at the bottom is a video showing how to help them feed, if she will eat on her own this way.
https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/wry-neck.html

Thank you very much, I'll follow what it says