Special needs chicken

[Ashllen]

I have an injured Wyandotte. Who will have a crooked head for the rest of her life. Already took her to vet, but am having trouble helping her to dust bathe. I will NOT put her down if she can still live a happy life. Just want help finding tips for dust bathing a special needs chicken.

 

[Cat Ballou]

What’s keeping her from dust bathing?

 

[nuthatched]

You could give her an actual bath every so often.
What happened to her neck and what did the vet say?

What’s keeping her from dust bathing?

Her neck doesn't work right, there's a lot of neck motion involved in dust bathing.

 

[Sally PB]

Pictures?

 

[Ashllen]

A perch fell and she was either on it or under it. The vet gave me anti inflammation med to help her heal but I need to help her dust bathe (she had a lot of dandruff). Especially since she won't be able to handle any mites or lice like a healthy chicken would, meaning she will be prone to infestation if I can't figure out how to help.

 

[Ashllen]

Sorry, I tried posting the video I have of her. But still learning how to use this forum.

 

[Ashllen]

She does this, especially when she get startled by something. Or in this case, she was trying to assist in wood chip distribution.

 

[Ashllen]

For context. This is her this summer, before the accident. I've also noticed she avoids perching, the vet said she is probably dealing with balance issues as well.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What do you feed including treats?

Have you tried giving her vitamin therapy to see if it helps with her neck issue?
I would give her 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily along with some scrambled egg to help with the uptake of E. Try this for at least 3 weeks and see if the vitamins make any difference.

As for the question of dust bathing - do you see her try to dust bath on her own? If you take a shovel and loosen some dirt for her, will she get in dirt and try to bath?

You mention video - the BYC upload doesn't work, you'll need to upload your video to a platform like YouTube, then provide us a link.

 

[Ashllen]

I feed them an egg layer pellet as main food with meal worms as the more consistent treat. But I let them free range during the day and give them leftovers if ever available (usually fruit,vegetable,or bread). The vet said she was under weight. So I am keeping her away from the flock to see if I can't get her back up to a healthier weight.