Vitamin E

[abbienelson__]

We have been giving 400iu vitamin E to a hen with wry neck for 2 weeks now, she doesn’t seem to be getting any better she still can’t walk. Is it possible to be giving her too much Vitamin E?

 

[DobieLover]

We have been giving 400iu vitamin E to a hen with wry neck for 2 weeks now, she doesn’t seem to be getting any better she still can’t walk. Is it possible to be giving her too much Vitamin E?

What are her symptoms? How old is she? Was she vaccinated for Marek's?

 

[abbienelson__]

What are her symptoms? How old is she? Was she vaccinated for Marek's?

her neck is all twisted and she’s unable to stand has one leg sticking out. she’s not even a year old, she’ll be a year this coming July and she hasn’t been vaccinated for Marek’s.

 

[DobieLover]

her neck is all twisted and she’s unable to stand has one leg sticking out. she’s not even a year old, she’ll be a year this coming July and she hasn’t been vaccinated for Marek’s.

Can you post a picture of her?

 

[abbienelson__]

Can you post a picture of her?

i have some videos but not sure how to add them. she started off with just the head tilt with her head all the way round so we locked her away and gave her vitamins and she seemed a lot better so we let her out. then two weeks ago i seen her stumble after a cockerel had been on top of her so we took her aside and put her away again because she was stumbling all over the place. now she can’t balance, she’s able to move her legs and grip onto our fingers but not able to stand herself and she’s barley eating. we are giving her the vitamin e and feeding her egg and she occasionally eats seed and baby chick crumb (non medicated stuff)

 

[viggo63]

What form of vitamin E are you giving her? I treated wry neck successfully with Rooster Booster Poultry Cell (E + selenium) 3x/day. When I gave her the E gel caps it had no effect.

 

[Eggcessive]

Vitamin E is one of the 3 fat soluble vitamins, and yes it can be overdosed. 400 IU daily is a dose that seems to help some chickens with wry neck symptoms, but I would not give that dosage for more than a few weeks. Other vitamins, such as the B vitamins are harder to overdose, because the excess is excreted in the urine or urates in chickens.

Since your chicken is now lame and has one leg sticking out, I would suspect that she could have Mareks disease. Some chickens with Mareks can have wry neck symptoms. Wry neck can also be a sign of a head or neck injury. If you should lose her, I would try to get a necropsy with testing for Mareks by your state poultry vet. Here is a list of those to contact and some info on keeping the body cold until the necropsy is performed:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[abbienelson__]

What form of vitamin E are you giving her? I treated wry neck successfully with Rooster Booster Poultry Cell (E + selenium) 3x/day. When I gave her the E gel caps it had no effect.

This is what we are giving her. That’s interesting going to go and buy that now! I’ll try anything at this point

 

[abbienelson__]

Vitamin E is one of the 3 fat soluble vitamins, and yes it can be overdosed. 400 IU daily is a dose that seems to help some chickens with wry neck symptoms, but I would not give that dosage for more than a few weeks. Other vitamins, such as the B vitamins are harder to overdose, because the excess is excreted in the urine or urates in chickens.

Since your chicken is now lame and has one leg sticking out, I would suspect that she could have Mareks disease. Some chickens with Mareks can have wry neck symptoms. Wry neck can also be a sign of a head or neck injury. If you should lose her, I would try to get a necropsy with testing for Mareks by your state poultry vet. Here is a list of those to contact and some info on keeping the body cold until the necropsy is performed:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

We have been giving it for about 2 weeks now, so do you suggest we stop? If she had Marek’s would the other hens not get it and would she not be dead by now? Thought it was a quick death?

The problem with that is we live in Scotland.

 

[viggo63]

This is what we are giving her. That’s interesting going to go and buy that now! I’ll try anything at this point

I also give her as many E rich treats as I can, such as turnip greens. When the fresh grass went away, I noticed her symptoms coming back so I think this is something she will always have. Good luck with your bird!