What is wrong with this one?

[slamadeleine]

Hello, we have been scouring the net for informations about what is going on with our hen.

She's a 6 months old, speckled sussex, very outgoing, curious and fluffy.

5 days ago she started acting funny... She currently weighs 2.8Kg. She seems to have good apetite and will drink a plenty.

I looked up Coccidosis, Mareks and looked for lice and mites and see none of the symptoms we have here. No mites or lice to be seen.

I felt her crop a couple of times and it's soft. They haven't been foraging much in the last month because of the snow.

The only weird thing they ate is styrofoam, about 6 cubic inches out of 5 hens. The hole was shut off the morning after we discovered them eating the ceiling insulation in the coop. That was 4 weeks ago....

We can't figure out what is wrong.... The others are in top condition....

She will fall off the roost and has started sleeping at the bottom of the coop. She walks on both legs and both wings are fine.

They are fed laying feed. We had some yellow powder vitamins in their water a few weeks ago.

Is it contagious? Should we take her out of the coop? Should we consult a vet or is it home curable?

She's our kids favorite one so I'd like to save her...

Video and pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/72tGEagr9R415dvt9

Thanks!

 

[Isaac 0]

She has Wry Neck.Wry Neck is a vitamin deficiency causing them to make weird neck movements.Go to walgreens and pick up some vitamin E and selenium.Separate her stress makes Wry Neck worse.




200iu of Vitamin e a day

25mcg of selenium a day


Dissolve pills in a dropper and open her beak and give it to her.




She could also have Newcastle disease.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome to BYC

It looks like she may have wry neck (crookneck, torticollis) which is a neurological symptom of several conditions like Vitamin E and Selenium deficiency, heady injury and certain diseases like Marek's, Newcastle or Avian Lymphoid Leukosis.

Try to keep her hydrated and add Vitamin E and Selnium to her water. Offer some extra protein like egg or tuna to her diet.

Wry neck can take a while to improve, so keep up with course of treatment.

 

[slamadeleine]

Thank you so much. I will go to the pharmacy as soon as I can. Should vitamins be split into multiple dos a day or just a single dose?

Would the proteins be better fed in the morning or throughout the day?

Thanks again!

 

[Isaac 0]

Give it to her in the morning.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you so much. I will go to the pharmacy as soon as I can. Should vitamins be split into multiple dos a day or just a single dose?

Would the proteins be better fed in the morning or throughout the day?

Thanks again!

Add the vitamins to her water so she has them throughout the day.

Give her access to food free choice, provide the protein a couple of times a day.

You can also use the vitamin water to make her a "wet mash" out of her feed.

 

[slamadeleine]

Ok I will definitely try the wet mash!

We tried the syringe thing; two adults could barely hold her still (She's really strong at pulling her head away from my hand). We managed a few drops in her mouth but most of it ended up on the ceiling and the floor and our clothes... Definitely not our strength.

Can we put the vitamin E oil into water? I'll definitely try the wet mash but it would be easier in the water.

The selenium is the easy part, I put it in small shards in her food and she actually dug it out to eat it first.

Do you hard boil the egg and mash it up for the proteins? Or do you give it to them raw?

Thanks again. I just can't say how much I appreciate the help.
Sébastien

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ok I will definitely try the wet mash!

We tried the syringe thing; two adults could barely hold her still (She's really strong at pulling her head away from my hand). We managed a few drops in her mouth but most of it ended up on the ceiling and the floor and our clothes... Definitely not our strength.

Can we put the vitamin E oil into water? I'll definitely try the wet mash but it would be easier in the water.

The selenium is the easy part, I put it in small shards in her food and she actually dug it out to eat it first.

Do you hard boil the egg and mash it up for the proteins? Or do you give it to them raw?

Thanks again. I just can't say how much I appreciate the help.
Sébastien

I don't know how well the Vitamin E oil will do in the water. You can try it. If not mix it with her food.

You can give raw egg if you like. My chickens prefer hard boiled or scrambled egg, but whatever form she will take it in will do.

I do hope she improves soon.

Keep us posted.

 

[slamadeleine]

Just wanted to update everyone.

We gave her 200ui of vitamin E every morning and 25mg of selenium within a mashed cooked egg since we last wrote.

She seemed to have good days and bad days but she never got better...

Last Saturday she had a really bad day and started doing backflips. (Sort of panic, push her neck backwards, back pedalling and then roll over backwards)

We took her to be examined and they could not pin point what exactly but said it was most likely neurological disease and that a vitamin deficiency would have had been taken care of by the treatments we gave her.

They suggested she was not going to survive much longer and offered to put her to sleep after the test.

The whole family is sad but relieved that she will suffer no more.

Thanks for all the help!
Sébastien

 

[Isaac 0]

Just wanted to update everyone.

We gave her 200ui of vitamin E every morning and 25mg of selenium within a mashed cooked egg since we last wrote.

She seemed to have good days and bad days but she never got better...

Last Saturday she had a really bad day and started doing backflips. (Sort of panic, push her neck backwards, back pedalling and then roll over backwards)

We took her to be examined and they could not pin point what exactly but said it was most likely neurological disease and that a vitamin deficiency would have had been taken care of by the treatments we gave her.

They suggested she was not going to survive much longer and offered to put her to sleep after the test.

The whole family is sad but relieved that she will suffer no more.

Thanks for all the help!
Sébastien

Sorry for your loss.I totally agree with your vet and you made the right decision.