wry neck / crooked neck

[DCortez]

Originally Posted by DCortez

Just noticed this two week old chick standing around with a "crooked neck". Was off by herself, hiding behind the water dish.

Stiff or is there something I should know? Was normal until today,.

 

[Eggcessive]

In young chicks this is known as wry neck or encephalomalacia, usually due to a vitamin E/selenium deficiency. Wry neck is also called torticolis and crook neck, and can be due to head injuries, brain inflammation, and from certain respiratory or Mareks disease. I would get some poultry vitamins and put them in the water. The most important vitamins to replace are E, thiamine or B1, and the mineral selenium which is found in egg, meats, fish, and nuts. Poultry Provita, and the ones below may be found in your local farm store. Some will also use PolyVisol baby vitamins (without iron) 2 drops given orally daily. Make sure that you are feeding chick starter grower feed, and you may need to wet the feed and help it eat to get enough. Here is some reading: http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html

 

[DCortez]

Got some and replenished my supply for sav-a-chik. Thanks!

 

[DCortez]

It flailed around for the last 20 minutes or so, just settle down and closed it's eyes. Not sure if I should cull it or wait til the morning.