*UPDATE. My wry neck ducking is not improving and I’m doing EVERYTHING I CAN! 😢

[AmyA248]

Good afternoon,

My little wry neck duckling is a week old today, and his neck is showing no improvement.
He can eat eat and drink on his own, play with his siblings and toys and runs around in their playpen and outside in the fresh air and sun.
Here’s what I’m doing for him:
Purchased feed with protein to go along with his regular feed.
2 servings of scrambled eggs per day.
Nutra Drench.
Electrolytes
Vitamin E
Niacin
Leafy greens
Warm, moist heat wraps 3x’s per day with gentle massage.
Gentle stretching exercises.

He has a very good appetite but gets tired easily and has to put his neck down.
It tilts to the left but doesn’t complain when I straighten it out. The crook is down low right above his shoulder blades.
I was told not to use a brace, but will it even straighten out or is this a life sentence?

Please be honest,, can he live a good life?
Is he in pain?
I just don’t know what to do, it’s been a week and nothing has changed.
I’ve included pictures from today and they look no different.

What would you do??

Very kindly,
Amy

 

[addctd2plnts]

Good afternoon,

My little wry neck duckling is a week old today, and his neck is showing no improvement.
He can eat eat and drink on his own, play with his siblings and toys and runs around in their playpen and outside in the fresh air and sun.
Here’s what I’m doing for him:
Purchased feed with protein to go along with his regular feed.
2 servings of scrambled eggs per day.
Nutra Drench.
Electrolytes
Vitamin E
Niacin
Leafy greens
Warm, moist heat wraps 3x’s per day with gentle massage.
Gentle stretching exercises.

He has a very good appetite but gets tired easily and has to put his neck down.
It tilts to the left but doesn’t complain when I straighten it out. The crook is down low right above his shoulder blades.
I was told not to use a brace, but will it even straighten out or is this a life sentence?

Please be honest,, can he live a good life?
Is he in pain?
I just don’t know what to do, it’s been a week and nothing has changed.
I’ve included pictures from today and they look no different.

What would you do??

Very kindly,
Amy

I doubt he's in pain. I'd give it more time. Young ducklings that have not been fed grit cannot digest non pelleted food yet very well. The best option is to give it Mazuri Waterfowl Starter Feed and supplement with Duravet Poultry Power Pack in the water daily. These are the two best things you can do for him. I wouldn't pull on a neck at all that is that young. If he's going to outgrow it he will. Forcing it to change isn't an option. Even if it's permanent, animals can live perfectly happy lives with disabilities. They don't see things like a human does.

 

[AmyA248]

I doubt he's in pain. I'd give it more time. Young ducklings that have not been fed grit cannot digest non pelleted food yet very well. The best option is to give it Mazuri Waterfowl Starter Feed and supplement with Duravet Poultry Power Pack in the water daily. These are the two best things you can do for him. I wouldn't pull on a neck at all that is that young. If he's going to outgrow it he will. Forcing it to change isn't an option. Even if it's permanent, animals can live perfectly happy lives with disabilities. They don't see things like a human does.

Thank you so much!
Where can I get these products for him?
I have a Truck and Tractor Supply in town if they sell it there.
I don’t pull on his neck, I gently massage it to try to loosen the muscles a bit. And he enjoys the warm, moist heat wraps.
He just can’t keep up with the 2 others and he has to lay a lot, but he does play with his toys!!
But as long as he eats well and drinks wry neck won’t kill him?

Thank you so very much!

 

[addctd2plnts]

Thank you so much!
Where can I get these products for him?
I have a Truck and Tractor Supply in town if they sell it there.
I don’t pull on his neck, I gently massage it to try to loosen the muscles a bit. And he enjoys the warm, moist heat wraps.
He just can’t keep up with the 2 others and he has to lay a lot, but he does play with his toys!!
But as long as he eats well and drinks wry neck won’t kill him?

Thank you so very much!

Was this present from birth? If so it probably from egg position . You can get Mazuri Waterfowl starter feed from Chewy. You only want to feed it till 3-4 weeks old, then switch to Mazuri Maintenance feed till December. Then they go on Mazuri Waterfowl Breeder till the end of July each year. Get some chick grit for him and put a little over their feed each day. I think they eat it better when a small amount is put on top of the feed daily. If there's any left, you can put it over the next days food. Duravet Poultry Power Pack is harder to find. You can look on their site. It has a tab on this page to find in stores near you: https://www.durvet.com/product/high-performance-poultry-pak/ or here: https://www.domyown.com/durvet-high-performance-poultry-pak-p-22745.html

 

[AmyA248]

Was this present from birth? If so it probably from egg position . You can get Mazuri Waterfowl starter feed from Chewy. You only want to feed it till 3-4 weeks old, then switch to Mazuri Maintenance feed till December. Then they go on Mazuri Waterfowl Breeder till the end of July each year. Get some chick grit for him and put a little over their feed each day. I think they eat it better when a small amount is put on top of the feed daily. If there's any left, you can put it over the next days food. Duravet Poultry Power Pack is harder to find. You can look on their site. It has a tab on this page to find in stores near you: https://www.durvet.com/product/high-performance-poultry-pak/ or here: https://www.domyown.com/durvet-high-performance-poultry-pak-p-22745.html

Thank you SO MUCH! I just ordered all of it!!!
But unfortunately I was told by my brother in law who is a chiropractor, that our little guy has scoliosis and not wry neck.
His spine is shaped like a backwards “S” and we have been treating him for wry neck since day 1 with:
Niacin
B Complex
2 capsules of 400 IU’s of vitamin E per day.
Sunflower seeds
Brewers Yeast
Molasses
Scrambled Eggs
Plus the feed our vet recommended.

He has a great appetite and plays with his toys and his 2 siblings, loves to go outside and forage, but he tires quickly and has to rest his neck.
I’ve asked for advice on how to make a brace to keep him from going to the left and to help him hold his neck up. We are also researching how to do proper physical therapy exercises to strengthen his neck and back muscles.

I wanted to bring him to an Avian vet, but I almost fell off the chair when I was told JUST the office visit would cost $290.00!! Not including x-rays or anything else!
I personally think that is beyond outrageous as who can honestly afford that? So in turn many animals will just have to suffer because these vets are just interested in filling their pockets instead of helping innocent animals!

Anyway, thank you so very much for the feed information!!

Very kindly,
Amy