Taking Care of Swirls, the Wry Neck Silkie

[NubbyRyuu]

Thought I'd post here since everyone has had some experience. I "adopted" my neighbor's chick, who I call Swirls, so her husband won't cull her. She's had Wry Neck for about a week, and although she appears to be thriving, her neck hasn't improved. So I'll be taking care of her till she gets better.

I've found articles (including here) on Wry Neck amd what to do, but the only bird I've ever had was a Cockatiel, and it's pretty amazing how different things are between that and a chicken. All I'm looking for is just some basic info on what to do, what to look for, and how I could hand feed her (basically any kind of "cocktail" I could give her). I'm gonna look for some vitamin E. I have Turmeric too, but I don't know how much to give her. She's about a month.

I have her situated in my bird's old cage (and after 2 years, forgot how much that thing hated me, haha!) with a couple friends, a nice triple layer of cheap facecloths, and placed in a very small amount of water so she won't drown and some food. I'm also gonna see if maybe there's a noise recorder or something so I can play chick chirps and other sounds when no one's in the room. If she does get worse, Cin and I will talk about euthanasia, not freaking culling.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

If she does get worse, Cin and I will talk about euthanasia, not freaking culling.

Semantics... it's the same thing.

Also... culling doesn't have to mean killing. It can mean re-homing.

It's my understanding that in addition to the vitamin E... selenium may be key in wry neck.

Poultry Nutri drench... or Rooster Booster brand Poultry Cell are both fantastic supplements if you can get either. Or any other bird vitamins... so the chick is getting a full supplement and not just the extra E.

Some birds that do start to thrive still keep their bent neck. Maybe some sort of physical therapy can help. It's kind if you to try. Loneliness may be the difficulty... try running your finger through feed and such to encourage natural behaviors.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would give her 400 IU of Vitamin E daily, no extra selenium, since it is found in her food and in a bit of egg, and give her 1/4 vitamin B complex ground or crushed onto some wet food or egg. If you already have a chick vitamin you can use that plus the extra E.

Wry neck is a neurological symptom, that can be due to heredity, a vitamin E or B1 thiamine deficiency, a head injury, and can be seen in Mareks disease and a few other diseases.

Take her at least 3 times a day, and feed her a small bowl of wet chick feed, a little egg, and extra water in the food if she is not drinking. I would try to keep her with the chicks as much as possible, because once she is gone for awhile, they may attack her. If she has some supervised visits daily or as much as possible, it might help.

 

[Eggcessive]

 

[NubbyRyuu]

Semantics... it's the same thing.

Also... culling doesn't have to mean killing. It can mean re-homing.

It's my understanding that in addition to the vitamin E... selenium may be key in wry neck.

Poultry Nutri drench... or Rooster Booster brand Poultry Cell are both fantastic supplements if you can get either. Or any other bird vitamins... so the chick is getting a full supplement and not just the extra E.

Some birds that do start to thrive still keep their bent neck. Maybe some sort of physical therapy can help. It's kind if you to try. Loneliness may be the difficulty... try running your finger through feed and such to encourage natural behaviors.

He wants to kill it though, so culling in this case = hell naw.

I'll have to look for those, thank you! I have a local Tractor Supply that should have those. If not, I know other places that might.

Aww, poor things. She seems to be showing a lot if promise, and she ate a little bit earlier. I'm gonna see if she'll have a scrambled egg maybe.

 

[NubbyRyuu]

I would give her 400 IU of Vitamin E daily, no extra selenium, since it found in her food and in a bit of egg, and give her 1/4 vitamin B complex ground or crushed onto some wet food or egg. If you already have a chick vitamin you can use that plus the extra E.

Wry neck is a neurological symptom, that can be due to heredity, a vitamin E or B1 thiamine deficiency, a head injury, and can be seen in Mareks disease and a few other diseases.

Take her at least 3 times a day, and feed her a small bowl of wet chick feed, a little egg, and extra water in the food if she is not drinking. I would try to keep her with the chicks as much as possible, because once she is gone for awhile, they may attack her. If she has some supervised visits daily or as much as possible, it might help.

400IU, I need to remember that! I'm gonna see what I can get so I can mix it in with her food. I'd also like to get some already opened or cracked brazil nuts and sunflower seeds (the chickens that visit LOVE sunflower seeds).

I'm pretty sure it was an injury when I was helping move her group to the coop. One of her siblings may have stepped on her.

Hm, that sounds like a good idea. Instead of being with her group, she was with a group of younger chicks that all cuddled with her. For today, it's nothing but rest; I want her to adjust to her surroundings and not stress out. If I could post videos, she did eat a little bit earlier, and I dripped water on the side of her beak.

 

[NubbyRyuu]

Scrambled egg meal went well. Mixed in some water as well. She wasn't sure at first until I gently stuck her beak in it. Once she got the taste, she went for it until her crop was full.

 

[NubbyRyuu]

Made some good breakfast. Used the food that was already in her bowl, a few drops of the multivitamin, very small amount on turmeric, and molases for taste. Aside a few breaks and some encouragement, she ate till her crop was full.

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad that she has a good appetite. Is she able to stand or walk?

 

[NubbyRyuu]

Glad that she has a good appetite. Is she able to stand or walk?

She can do both, though walking ends being going in reverse is circles. She can hold her head up on occasion, at some times perfectly straight. And she can preen, able to turn her head the other way. Hopefully once she's fully used to her new surroundings, she'll be a bit more active.