Wry neck? Hen walking in circles, need treatment advice

[Ashley Stroud]

She's a pretty hen.
We care for these creatures day in and day out and they provide for us in many ways; it can make decisions tough. Whatever the outcome, I'm here to listen
Give her an extra kiss from me!

 

[ochochicas]

Update on the sick hen. She really started to deteriorate quickly over the weekend. She would roll over on her back and thrash around, unable to get herself up. The only way to keep her quite was to hold her firmly, and even then she was very tense and clearly experiencing a lot of anxiety and dementia (if you can call it that). It was not fair to her to try to keep her going, so we had to make the decision to put her down. Whatever it was that was causing her illness was becoming progressively worse. I believe she had brain trauma or possibly a brain tumor. Of course it could have been a toxin she ate since we have all kinds of mushrooms and other crazy stuff growing around the farm. We did hatch some of her eggs this fall. I hope her condition was not hereditary. Thank you to everyone who offered advice.

Rest in Peace sweet girl
March 24 - December 21, 2014

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Some cases of wry neck (torticolis) can turn out to be Mareks disease. Wry neck can be a neurological symptom of vitamin E and selenium deficiency, head or neck injury, or a symptoms of several diseases that cause brain inflammation. Another BYC member just put down her hen who was suffering for a couple of weeks with torticolis (wry neck) with no improvement after vitamin, mineral, and nutritional assistance. Her necropsy came back likely for Mareks or avian leukosis. If you see any others in your flock with odd symptoms, I would research Mareks here.

 

[Ashley Stroud]

I think you made the right choice; often it's the harder one.
Sorry for your loss.

 

[ochochicas]

Thanks for the advice and thoughts. We treated our for vitamin deficiency as well, but she only got worse. None of the other chickens are acting sick at all. I will keep an eye on them though. If it is Mareks or something contagious I'm sure there will be more of it. I have chickens ranging in age from 1 week to 4 years, so all levels of immune system going on here.