Strange neck

[ashleigh92]

Hi all, my silkie cross is about 5 months old. Shes been acting funny these past few days and looking up towards the sky bending her neck all the way back.
She often walks backwards but has done this since shes been outside. It tends to be when another bird flys over and with her stupid haircut she cant see so i think she gets a bit scared cause she cant see the bird but its shaddow but thats not worrying me. Its the neck bending backwards. Should her neck do this? How flexable are they? Ive looked at wry neck but it doesnt appear to be that. All the search is bringing up is wry neck. This may be normal but been my first im unsure. Shes fine in every other way. Eating and drinking fine. Scratching around for bugs ect and is able to support her own neck fine and has full control

I hope im mot over reacting lol but im a bit worried for her

 

[ashleigh92]

And another thing to add is that this all started when she attempted to fly out of the coop with only half the roof open but didnt quiet make it. Her droppings are also fine and no changes. She seems comfortable tho and is still eating so guessing thats a good sign and just her usual self

 

[ashleigh92]

This is a freeze shot but ive just read about mareks disease but she has no other signs of it ... Like i said she had full control of her neck ect and only does this like a handful times a day asif she remembers theres a sky lol

 

[Suzie]

It sounds as if she is "stargazing" which is something chickens can do...give her some Vitamin B...luckily you are in the UK...marmite is the best for her...full of vitamin B!

Keep updating on her progress....please!

 

[thistlecreek]

The official term is "torticollis." It can be caused by a number of things. Since your other chickens aren't affected, it is less likely to be infectious. Hopefully the vitamin B helps!

 

[ashleigh92]

Ooo thank you for your input. I shall try extra vit b tomorrow. I must admit she hasnt been eating her 'proper' food lately and i was away on holiday and it sounds like shes ate lots of bread pasta crap ect and it was a struggle to get her back on to the feed as she was holding out for the good stuff so i shall watch what shes eating and try marmite.

Just another bit of good news aswell which re assures me, she never goes in her coop when its dusk and would still be stood outside in the dark if ya let her ive tried everything aswell to teach her lol but went out a little later tonight and it was darkish and couldnt find her, shed actually gone up into her coop by herself and then shouted at me cause id distured her lol but well done her huh.
About bloody time she learnt like

 

[Suzie]

Great to hear she is such a character and found her rightful place in the coop....words of warning here...wear OLD clothes when giving her marmite..they usually love it and will share it with your clothes....

I tend to stick a finger in the marmite pot and let them catch the "worm" of the cascading marmite dangling...they seem to love it..but do wipe their beak on my tee shirt...great but my dogs then chase me to lick my tee shirt....

Love it or hate it..marmite is addictive to some...

Keep us informed of her progress...please!

 

[HorseMadWhovian]

She could have wry neck, a 'disease' silkies are particularly prone to, especially when they're pecked or bossed around a lot.
http://oureggbasket.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/wry-neck-or-crook-neck-understanding-it.html
http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2014/04/preventing-and-treating-wry-neck-in.html

 

[ashleigh92]

Hi everyone thanks for your advice and support. This morning shes been running all over digging for bugs and been her usual bossy self. I sat her on my knee and checked her over and everything seems fine. Shes still doing her neck slightly but im thinking next step is to give her a good haircut to get it away from her eyes. Ive got a feeling shes just trying to look up at other birds ect and she is only little herself. Im watching what shes eating as the girl who looked after her just fed her on bread! I bought some marmite but havnt tried it yet due to the bad weather but gave her a scrambled egg as read there high in vit b. But other then that shes full of life exploring the garden and eating my flowers fingers crossed!

 

[Eggcessive]

The vitamins she needs are thiamine (B1,) vitamin E, and selenium mainly. Selenium is found in eggs, canned tuna, ground Brazil nuts, and sunflower seeds among other foods. http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._poultry/vitamin_deficiencies_in_poultry.html