Wobbly chick

[permyst]

I got my chicks in the mail yesterday and they all were eating and drinking fine but one was wobbly. She is much worse today. She can't stand without falling. She tries to push up with her legs but she can't get them underneath her without falling over. She was hatched on Monday. They were all vaccinated for mareks. They are eating a flock raiser crumble that is non medicated.

 

[permyst]

My little wobbly chick is just getting worse. She just rolls around and ends up on her back a lot now.

 

[Eggcessive]

I'm sorry that no one saw your post until now. Do you have SaveAChick vitamins/electrolyte packets available to add to their water? If not, Pedialyte, Gatorade, or even a little sugar water will do until you get some. Dip the chick's beak into the water often throughout today. It is suffering from shipping stress, and is common in some chicks. You may well lose this one, so I would treat all chicks and watch thm closely. Keep them warm--90-95F for the first week.

 

[permyst]

I got some packets today at the feed store. The rest of them are happy and running around. I think there is something more wrong with her than shipping stress though. She is out with the other chicks right now because it makes her more comfortable to be with them than with me by herself. I am going to go out and get her again soon. She can't eat or drink by herself right now because she can't get her legs underneath her. She either falls forward with her feet out behind her or she rolls to the side and sometimes on her back. She arches her head back and sticks her legs out so she is "standing" up on her tippy toes when I try to help her stand up. it takes several tires to get her feet under her. I put out the water solution for all the chicks and I am using a syringe to give her some. She is also getting some mash with a syringe. It is a kind I have seen suggested on here through my research the last couple of days.

 

[Eggcessive]

She is probably having neurological symptoms. I have seen them do this in the feed store bins when the chicks were left at the post office too long.

 

[Txmom247]

My chick is doing the same thing, I was wondering if its going to be a lifetime thing? I read on another post that it could be because of a vitamin issue but after over a week of extra vitamins still no better. Any one know if she will grow to full size, or even the best feeding scheduled.

 

[Eggcessive]

Wry neck or encephalomalacia is a neurological symptom of vitamin deficiency, genetics, certain diseases when they are older, from a head injury, and anything else affecting the brain. Most people will treat it with vitamins (B1 or thiamine, E, and selenium, a trace mineral) to see if it helps. Here are some links to help:
http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/node/600
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/disea...alacia-exudative-diathesis-muscular-dystrophy
http://oureggbasket.blogspot.com/2013/04/wry-neck-or-crook-neck-understanding-it.html
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html

 

[permyst]

She tends to tip backward or to one side rather than curling forward. She was hatched and shipped out on Tuesday morning and I picked her up on Thursday afternoon. She was okay but wobbly on Thursday night. By Friday morning they were all sleeping in a pile when I went to work so I really don't know how she was. Friday evening when I looked, I thought I was picking up a dead chick but she started peeping strongly so I brought her in the house and started trying to find out how to help her. Her egg tooth just fell off today. As I look at more and more pictures and descriptions of wry neck, some of them look just like her.

 

[Eggcessive]

The arching of her head back does sound a lot like encephalomalacia. I haven't seen this, or the more common wry neck fortunately. There are a ton of threads on here about wry neck, and what people have done for treatment. Sometimes it is good to keep down any extra stimulation, and they really need help with eating and drinking. I hope you have luck with treating, but many people who raise a lot of chickens don't have the time to put into helping these chicks, and many put them down. Keep us posted on how she is doing.

 

[permyst]

Okay. I have her on the save a chick electrolyte solution and the baby bird mash that I was giving her yesterday. I now have iron free poly vi sol, vit E capsules, selenium, and regular plain yoghurt. Now I just have to figure out what to give when... Fortunately for this little girl I am a teacher and about a week away from summer vacation. So if I can keep her going until then, she has all the time in the world. I don't raise a lot of chickens. I purchased 10 chicks expecting to lose some. My flock tends to be only 3 or 4 birds at a time. They are my bug control. I don't like eggs and I would never eat them. I believe I had a rat with this problem once. Her head was always tilted to one side and she kind of bobbed her head up and down a lot. I took her to the vet and he said that she had some kind of htiosdosdhueitis... I wasn't paying attention to what he called it. She was incurable but would live just fine as she had access to food and water.

She was extremely unhappy without the other chicks so I am rotating them in with her so she gets company and she doesn't become a stranger.