Struggling with wryneck

[SemiSweet2391]

I am having a hard time curing my hen’s stubborn case of wryneck and I need help!

The facts:

-She’s a white Polish about 1.5 years old. This is the second time in a year that she’s had wryneck.
-She has been on medicated chick starter until about a month ago when I switched to non medicated based on the nutrient deficiency concerns
-This current case has been going on for about 3 weeks.
-Her treatment has been: 1/4 tablet of super b complex and 400-800 IU of vitamin E once at night.
-I’ve varied the delivery of the necessary vitamins. Syringed, mixed with water and feed, mixed with egg yolk and feed, vitamins cooked into the egg and vitamins on top of cooked egg
-She is not showing improvement. She had a tilted head, sometimes plops with it upside down, sometimes acts normal. (see attached pics.) She is capable of eating/drinking, roosting etc.

What should I do?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I’ve varied the delivery of the necessary vitamins. Syringed, mixed with water and feed, mixed with egg yolk and feed, vitamins cooked into the egg and vitamins on top of cooked egg

I would give the vitamins orally daily, just pop the pills directly into the beak.

Crested Birds can seem to be more prone to neurological symptoms, which is what Wry Neck is (a neurological symptom). Common causes of Wry Neck are Marek's disease, trauma and/or nutritional deficiency.

Vitamin therapy is what seems to be the standard treatment for Wry Neck. It can be hard to know why this keeps reoccurring, it's possible she has Marek's and there's a flare up now and again.
Stress can also bring about symptoms, there's really no way to know unless you lose her and have some testing, which may give you more information.

I'd continue with 400UI Vitamin E and 1/4tablet B-Complex. The Vitamin E is just E with nothing else in it correct (no additives like selenium or anything else?).

It would be worth looking inside her ears just to make sure there's no infection, pus, or mites that may be causing symptoms too.

See that she's eating well and staying hydrated.



https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/recurring-wryneck.1683848/

 

[SemiSweet2391]

The Vitamin E is just E with nothing else in it correct (no additives like selenium or anything else?).

Thank you so much for all this info. Yes, it’s just vitamin E; I’ve just double checked the bottle.

Ok, I can check her ears tomorrow when it’s light. I’ll try to rule out those other causes of her wryneck.

I observed her eating and drinking today but I will keep an eye on her.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

I guess I’m not too sure how to check her ears are these pictures helpful @Wyorp Rock ?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I guess I’m not too sure how to check her ears are these pictures helpful @Wyorp Rock ?

Does she have any lice/mites? I'd recheck for those too. She has some crusty material over both eyes, has she had an eye infection or any respiratory symptoms?

See her blue earlobe? There's a tuft of feathers right above that, if you gently pull them aside a little, you'll see her ear canal, it's like a hole. Look in that to see if there's any infection.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

Does she have any lice/mites? I'd recheck for those too. She has some crusty material over both eyes, has she had an eye infection or any respiratory symptoms?

See her blue earlobe? There's a tuft of feathers right above that, if you gently pull them aside a little, you'll see her ear canal, it's like a hole. Look in that to see if there's any infection.
View attachment 4298251

I gave her a good looking over today. No lice or mites. We didn’t see any bugs on her. I checked her nose and didn’t see any bubbles or hear any weird breathing sounds. I haven’t noticed any respiratory issues with her. He eyes were clear; those crusty bits seemed to be gone. Last, I checked her ears (thank you for showing how!). They were a light pink with no fluids/pus. They looked healthy to me!

She also seemed a bit better today after just putting the pills straight in her beak last night. So I’m hopeful that she’s finally on the road to recovery. She got more vitamins tonight.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I gave her a good looking over today. No lice or mites. We didn’t see any bugs on her. I checked her nose and didn’t see any bubbles or hear any weird breathing sounds. I haven’t noticed any respiratory issues with her. He eyes were clear; those crusty bits seemed to be gone. Last, I checked her ears (thank you for showing how!). They were a light pink with no fluids/pus. They looked healthy to me!

She also seemed a bit better today after just putting the pills straight in her beak last night. So I’m hopeful that she’s finally on the road to recovery. She got more vitamins tonight.

Sounds like you did great looking her over.

I'm glad you are able to give the vitamins directly, hopefully this will make a difference and she'll continue to improve.

Keep me posted.