Vitamin E deficiency and "Crazy Chick Disease" - Photos added post #5

[MamaB]

I am so glad I found this thread! I have a week old chick that has been experiencing these exact symptoms. Off to the store to get the supplies. I hope it works!!

 

[jobouss]

Thanks. That gives me the info I need and I will get some this weekend. My chick is acting infinately better with the vit E and multivits and parrot formula. But she still holds her head at that funny angle. Her head and neck look like the profile of a candy cane.

I am so glad your chick is better! Keep us updated on her progress.

 

[jobouss]

She hasn't had an episode in over 24 hours! We're doing a morning feeding of the parrot formula with Wheat Germ and Safflower oil, then afternoon dark greens with flax seeds sprinkled on top.

So from the onset of the seizures until they stopped happening, it was 12 days.

I am so happy she is better! Keep us updated on her progress. Hopefully this information will help others in the future.

 

[lazy gardener]

I am so glad your chick is better! Keep us updated on her progress.

When I initially saw that something was wrong, I never would have guessed that it would be such an easy fix. Who'd have thunk??? Without this forum, I'd just have figured it was a sick chick, and kept her comfortable until she died, or even culled her.

 

[Sara Jayne]

my chicks are about 6 to 8 weeks of age and i have one that is doing the same thing i just mix some sav a chick with 1 gallon of water helped her drink a little then she started to drink on her own now time will tell if it helps it did with my year olds from last spring. this thread was vary helpful thanks guys im glad it was here.

 

[luv2greys]

I am bumping up this thread as my 5 week old black giant pullet just started this same behavior this morning. Found her on the brooder floor face planted with the other chicks walking over her. I took her out and put her in a box with a towel and started nutri drench, poly vi sol, and sugar water. This was before I researched this syndrome on the forum. I really thought I was going to lose her as for several hours between the droppering of the supplements she just laid there in the towel. After I started the vitamin e she perked up, well enough so that I put her back in with the rest. She ate and drank and acted normal for a while. Earlier this evening she was doing the backward dance so I have taken her out and put her in a large tote with towel, and food and water. Hopefully when I check on her in the morning she will be doing better. All the advice is much appreciated! It will be wonderful if I can save her and she grows up into a happy hen!

 

[jobouss]

I am bumping up this thread as my 5 week old black giant pullet just started this same behavior this morning. Found her on the brooder floor face planted with the other chicks walking over her. I took her out and put her in a box with a towel and started nutri drench, poly vi sol, and sugar water. This was before I researched this syndrome on the forum. I really thought I was going to lose her as for several hours between the droppering of the supplements she just laid there in the towel. After I started the vitamin e she perked up, well enough so that I put her back in with the rest. She ate and drank and acted normal for a while. Earlier this evening she was doing the backward dance so I have taken her out and put her in a large tote with towel, and food and water. Hopefully when I check on her in the morning she will be doing better. All the advice is much appreciated! It will be wonderful if I can save her and she grows up into a happy hen!

My chick started getting better when I added the vit. E and the selenium along with the Poly vi sol without iron. My chick is now a huge 3 month old hen that is healthy and happy.

 

[luv2greys]

My chick started getting better when I added the vit. E and the selenium along with the Poly vi sol without iron. My chick is now a huge 3 month old hen that is healthy and happy.

Were you giving this once a day? Or how often? I don't want to overdose the little thing.......... I will get some selenium and add that also.

 

[lazy gardener]

Were you giving this once a day? Or how often? I don't want to overdose the little thing.......... I will get some selenium and add that also.

I'm going to chime in as I had a successful outcome. I gave a single drop of vit E daily for the first 3 days, then I decreased the amount. It was helpful for me to mix the vit E and Nutri-Drench into some Baby bird hand feeding formula. She got a feeding several times per day, and I gave the extra that I happened to mix up to the rest of the chicks. I figured that if one chick was showing Vitamin induced encephalopathy, it'd be wise to give them all a boost. My chick needed the hand feeding as she was too sick to eat on her own. Really, the human form of Vit E is so concentrated that it only takes a tiny taste. Per advice of previous posters, I did add a "scratch" of selenium on several occasions. Also, the hand feeding formula, and Nutri-drench both are loaded with vitamins and good stuff, so once I got that initial loading dose of E, I could rely on either hand feeding formula or Nutri-drench. However, beware that I am only telling you what worked for me. I kept up the extra nutrient for 2 weeks, until it got to the point where I couldn't catch her, nor tell her apart from the other chicks of her breed unless looking carefully for the green marker I put on her head. After going through this experience, I recommend Nutri-drench, and will plan to have it on hand when ever starting chicks. No, I don't own any stock in the company!!

 

[luv2greys]

I'm going to chime in as I had a successful outcome. I gave a single drop of vit E daily for the first 3 days, then I decreased the amount. It was helpful for me to mix the vit E and Nutri-Drench into some Baby bird hand feeding formula. She got a feeding several times per day, and I gave the extra that I happened to mix up to the rest of the chicks. I figured that if one chick was showing Vitamin induced encephalopathy, it'd be wise to give them all a boost. My chick needed the hand feeding as she was too sick to eat on her own. Really, the human form of Vit E is so concentrated that it only takes a tiny taste. Per advice of previous posters, I did add a "scratch" of selenium on several occasions. Also, the hand feeding formula, and Nutri-drench both are loaded with vitamins and good stuff, so once I got that initial loading dose of E, I could rely on either hand feeding formula or Nutri-drench. However, beware that I am only telling you what worked for me. I kept up the extra nutrient for 2 weeks, until it got to the point where I couldn't catch her, nor tell her apart from the other chicks of her breed unless looking carefully for the green marker I put on her head. After going through this experience, I recommend Nutri-drench, and will plan to have it on hand when ever starting chicks. No, I don't own any stock in the company!!

Thanks so much for the input! She is still hanging in there--I have her separated from the rest in the brooder, but they are going in their coop today. She is eating and drinking on her own in her lucid periods, and I also think the nutri drench is a great thing and am supplementing her on that. I am still concerned about how much time she spends in her seizure like behavior. But she is strong so will give her as much time as it takes to see if she can overcome this. When I move the rest to the coop I will keep her and the other black giant in the brooder for at least a day or two to see how she is doing before letting her loose. This has really been an emotional roller coaster for me as I get quite attached to all my animals. I just lost a beloved cat to lung cancer 2 days ago so nursing this little one is helping me focus on something else.