Wry neck continuing issue

[Knighstar679]

I have a 5 week WH duckling I have been treating for Wry neck for about four weeks. My first week I was treating with very low amounts of vitamin b complex and e as I wasn’t sure what I could safely dose him with.

His neck is looking straighter but he is still having neck spazism. I have increased the amount the group gets of vitamin b complex in their mash and water. I have been using the complex b liquid. I am giving about 300 IU of vitamin E once a day.

Is there something else I should be doing, or different dosing I should try?


This is him.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Have you researched this? Maybe since @CayugaJana is a scientist she can tell you how much is a safe dose of these vitamins.

 

[Knighstar679]

I have looked at several articles and bits of information. I am hoping there is maybe something that I am maybe missing. Or something else that I can try to help him get better. My first week of treatment was really bad treatment, so he has been really getting treated for 3 weeks as the dosing was so small that week.

 

[SkyBlueEmu]

These are the dosages for vitamins in treating wry neck for a 2+ lb bird or an adult bird. Just scale back slightly if the duck is smaller.

• Vitamin E: 400 iu once a day
• A squirt of vitamin B complex liquid
• Selenium should also be given to help the duck absorb vitamin E. The dosage is 25 micrograms a week. Do not overdose on the selenium as it is toxic to poultry if given in too high a dosage. You can also supplement selenium naturally in the diet with Cayenne Powder, Oregano, Basil, Parsley, Cloves, Sage, Thyme.
• Some feeds have selenium in them so extra may not be necessary, so check the label on the feed bag to see if selenium is in the feed. I would recommend choosing to either give selenium itself or supplement it naturally, but not both options together. If the feed contains selenium, you may not need to supplement as long as you continue to see improvement in the wry neck.
• Vitamin E and B are tolerated better in poultry and are harder to overdose with so don't worry about those.
• I would also try supplementing with some niacin, like Brewers yeast, in the duck's feed.
• Vitamins and electrolytes might also help (just be sure to adjust the vitamin E and B dosages above if you use a vitamin/electrolyte mix).

I have a goose with wry neck that I have been treating for 2 months now. Wry neck treatments take time and it seems like you have done well so far.

Good luck with treating the wry neck and I hope your duckling feels better soon.

 

[Knighstar679]

• Selenium should also be given to help the duck absorb vitamin E. The dosage is 25 micrograms a week. Do not overdose on the selenium as it is toxic to poultry if given in too high a dosage. You can also supplement selenium naturally in the diet with Cayenne Powder, Oregano, Basil, Parsley, Cloves, Sage, Thyme.

I will try adding some greens with selenium into his diet. I have been giving cilantro, they love it. So i am pretty cure he will love, Oregano, Basil, or Parsley. I love adding fresh things to their food. So far they have gobbled up anything I put in front of their bills.

 

[SkyBlueEmu]

I will try adding some greens with selenium into his diet. I have been giving cilantro, they love it. So i am pretty cure he will love, Oregano, Basil, or Parsley. I love adding fresh things to their food. So far they have gobbled up anything I put in front of their bills.

Those veggies are also great sources of Vitamin E and other vitamins, so you can be sure the duckling is getting plenty of vitamin E that way.( The veggies are also safe to give with the viatmin E dose so don't worry about too much vitamin E unless he gets a ton of those veggies). I also prefer to use fresh veggies in my geese's diet.

I also forgot to mention to continue to treat the wry neck for about 2 weeks after the wry neck looks like it is gone. During those 2 weeks cut the dosage down slowly for the vitamins E and B and stop giving the selenium. If you see the wry neck coming back within those 2 weeks, continue the regular doses until it disappears again. The wry neck may never fully disappear ( it depends on the severity and the bird) so discontinue the 400 iu of vitamin E and vitamin B if improvent stops for many weeks.

You can also continue giving the veggies as part of the duck's regular diet to help prevent any future cases of wry neck.

 

[CayugaJana]

I believe wry neck takes quite awhile to fix. I would keep doing it and massaging the neck.

 

[Knighstar679]

Those veggies are also great sources of Vitamin E and other vitamins, so you can be sure the duckling is getting plenty of vitamin E that way.( The veggies are also safe to give with the viatmin E dose so don't worry about too much vitamin E unless he gets a ton of those veggies). I also prefer to use fresh veggies in my geese's diet.

I also forgot to mention to continue to treat the wry neck for about 2 weeks after the wry neck looks like it is gone. During those 2 weeks cut the dosage down slowly for the vitamins E and B and stop giving the selenium. If you see the wry neck coming back within those 2 weeks, continue the regular doses until it disappears again. The wry neck may never fully disappear ( it depends on the severity and the bird) so discontinue the 400 iu of vitamin E and vitamin B if improvent stops for many weeks.

You can also continue giving the veggies as part of the duck's regular diet to help prevent any future cases of wry neck.

Can I use meat based things for selenium? I read that eggs and fish have a good amount and was wanting to know if it was just as good as green.

 

[SkyBlueEmu]

I haven't tried eggs or fish for selenium (my geese are vegetarians) but it should work just as well. Eggs and fish would also have protein and would have other nutrients that are great for ducks. Adding selenium to the duckling's diet in any form would be beneficial. Usually foods high in selenium also have lots of vitamin E so they would be great for helping treat wry neck

 

[Miss Lydia]

You might try canned tuna or salmon rinse if it's in oil my ducks love canned fish. Maybe even sardines have to read up on the selenium content in these fish.