wry neck after predator attack

[Rivington]

One of our chickens has wry neck a few weeks after a predator attack so I am wondering if I should treat it differently than normal wry neck.

Our chickens were free-ranging over two weeks ago and one of them, a 1-year-old Buff Orpington, got a nasty open wound on her hip from a predator, most likely a fox. We treated the injury with Theracyn and antibiotics and she seemed to be getting back to normal. The wound healed over with no lingering signs of infection and her eating and drinking seemed fine and no other unusual behaviors. Last night we noticed symptoms of wry neck when she had gone down to sleep and it has persisted today.

I see that the treatment for wry neck is vitamin E but I wonder if there is some sort of disease or infection introduced by the fox that has only begun to present itself. Any advice appreciated.

 

[Rivington]

I started giving Rooster Booster vitamins (powder form) in a concentrated dose via a syringe and added the normal dosage to the waterer. No change yet but I just did it for the first time yesterday evening.

 

[coach723]

I would give a human E capsule 400 IU daily with a bit of cooked egg or sunflower seeds for selenium, the selenium is needed for uptake of the vitamin E. I would also give a human B complex tablet crumbled up over some moistened feed. Wry neck could be from a deficiency, from a head injury, or a symptom of a disease like Marek's or fowl cholera.

 

[Rivington]

As an update, she has gotten quite a bit better. Her wound is totally feathered over and her wry neck is barely noticeable during the day. At night, however, it seems that she is having some difficulty positioning her neck and ends up with her head twisted around looking skyward and continually jerking. She also is sleeping on the floor of the coop rather than on the roosts, which would require climbing some steps.

I haven't given her any special medication for the past month. She doesn't seem to be in any immediate danger and is eating normally but is not laying and definitely looks uncomfortable when trying to sleep. Not sure if there is anything I can or should do at this point.

 

[coach723]

Since this all started with a predator attack it's possible that her injuries caused some neurological damage, it's entirely possible that she had injuries that were not obvious externally. That may improve with time, or it may not and could be permanent. Or even could possibly get worse. Did you supplement vitamins, and for how long? Did you see improvement from that? If she is eating and drinking well, then I would probably wait and see what happens. If she is not, or if it's getting progressively worse, then you may need to consider euthanizing if her quality of life is poor.

 

[Rivington]

Thank you coach723. I have been adding Rooster Booster vitamin powder to the flock's water supply off and on since we noticed the wry neck. We will continue to keep an eye on her to see whether her daytime behavior is impacted.

 

[kissezmychicken]

I just dont believe the vitamin E remedy.. Ive had a silkie and a polish with it and both just came out of it.. Both i thought would die... I just dont think anyone knows what causes it.

 

[coach723]

I just dont believe the vitamin E remedy.. Ive had a silkie and a polish with it and both just came out of it.. Both i thought would die... I just dont think anyone knows what causes it.

There are multiple possible causes for wry neck. Vitamin deficiency is a common one. Silkies and Polish breeds are more prone to head injury or infection due to their vaulted skulls, so that would be a different cause for wry neck symptoms that is known in those breeds. Since there are not a lot of options for treatment, vitamin supplementing is commonly done since it's relatively harmless, and may have benefit if that is the ultimate cause. Sometimes the ultimate cause can be hard to pin down.
https://meyerhatchery.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017811331-Wry-Neck

 

[GuessWhtChcknButt]

I have a 2 month old chick that was attacked by a hawk. She had wry neck the next morning. I brought her inside and fed her egg yolk mixed with a human vitamin E capsule. I could only get her to eat about a teaspoon per feeding. After 5 days, she was able to eat on her own. She still hunches her neck down, and will occasionally walk in circles, but she seems to be on the mend. Today is week 2 after the attack.