Urgent, chicken neck twisted around?

[puppymamma]

Hi Friends,
My barred rock is laying on the coop floor with her poor neck twisted totally around.
I would like to try to straighten it out but I'm afraid to break her neck.
When I feel her neck there is a twist and she appears to be stuck that way.
I've only had her about 3 weeks and she is lowest on the pecking order. Keeps to herself in the coop while the others roam.
Any advice would be great. We are in lock down so no vet visit is possible (or purchase of suppliments)
Thanks!
Marisa

 

[Chicken Chiquita]

If you have not already, i would isolate her (being VERY careful of course) and make sure she has access to food and water. Where did u get her? Can she get up? Has her behavior been normal till now? Could anything have gotten in the coop? Do you have a rooster? Do you have pics u could show us? (Sorry for all the questions, just trying to think of any possible cause.) Wish you the best of luck!

 

[puppymamma]

Thanks for your reply.
I have isolated and held her neck for her so she could eat some cat food. I figured it was a quick way to get in some calories and some moisture.
I got her from a local breeder. No rooster, nothing in the coop for sure, but I do notice a little bit of blood on the right side of her head, possibly from one of the other chickens. It's like her neck is twisted all the way around like a spiral.
I will try to get a pic. She is basically just in an upright laying position with her head laying on the ground.

 

[puppymamma]

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry about your chicken. How old is she? Do you think that she was hurt and pecked before her neck became twisted? Do you know if she was vaccinated for Mareks disease? Could she have eaten something that could have been poisonous, such dead animal remains, or something buried in a compost bed? She is suffering from wry neck or torticolis. It is a neurolovical symptom of several possible things. The most common is a head injury, a vitamin E deficiency, Mareks disease, botulism, and it can happen in a few other diseases. Is she able to move her legs and wings? She needs to get 400 IU of vitamin E, some scrambled egg (just a small amount) for selenium, and some vitamin B1thiamine. It is very important to feed and water her right now, several times a day. Here is a video:

 

[puppymamma]

So sorry about your chicken. How old is she? Do you think that she was hurt and pecked before her neck became twisted? Do you know if she was vaccinated for Mareks disease? Could she have eaten something that could have been poisonous, such dead animal remains, or something buried in a compost bed? She is suffering from wry neck or torticolis. It is a neurolovical symptom of several possible things. The most common is a head injury, a vitamin E deficiency, Mareks disease, botulism, and it can happen in a few other diseases. Is she able to move her legs and wings? She needs to get 400 IU of vitamin E, some scrambled egg (just a small amount) for selenium, and some vitamin B1thiamine. It is very important to feed and water her right now, several times a day. Here is a video:

 

[puppymamma]

Thanks so much, I think it was an injury from another chicken. Is it possible for her to recover from this? With everything you posted? She can move her wings and legs a bit I think but she’s so out of it she’s not trying much.

 

[Eggcessive]

I hope she can recover. It really depends on the cause of her wry neck. Botulism which usually affects the legs first, then wings, and lastly, makes the neck limp, is from eating botulinum toxin in dead animals, fish, or vegetation, that has been buried, underwater without oxygen. If she can move her legs and wings, it is not botulism. Mareks could be possible, especially if she was showing symptoms, and another chicken attacked her because she was acting strangely. But I hope it is a head injury or vitamin E deficiency. Hopefully you can get fluids and food into her along with the vitamins.

 

[puppymamma]

Thanks for that help, this helps me a bit. I don’t think it’s botulism because she was walking and flapping fine the day before. Marked is a possibility, I’ve only had her three weeks and she’s been a bit odd the whole time. She almost always stayed in the coop and hid from others even though she was by far the biggest chicken I have.





QUOTE="Eggcessive, post: 22412335, member: 85053"]
I hope she can recover. It really depends on the cause of her wry neck. Botulism which usually affects the legs first, then wings, and lastly, makes the neck limp, is from eating botulinum toxin in dead animals, fish, or vegetation, that has been buried, underwater without oxygen. If she can move her legs and wings, it is not botulism. Mareks could be possible, especially if she was showing symptoms, and another chicken attacked her because she was acting strangely. But I hope it is a head injury or vitamin E deficiency. Hopefully you can get fluids and food into her along with the vitamins.
[/QUOTE]

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try the vitamins and a little egg for selenium daily to see if her neck gets better. Let us know how she gets along. If for some reason you lose her, it would be good to get a necropsy after death by your state poultry lab, to find out if it is Mareks.