Wry Neck in faverolles chicks

[HenchantedAcres]

Hi,
I hatched out 3 faverolles chicks from shipped eggs. They are about 2 months old now., 2 males, 1 female. 2 weeks ago one of the males displayed what appears to be wry neck.
He has his neck twisted to the right hanging in front of him. So when you look at him, you see the underside of his beak facing upward. He has not been able to feed himself. I have been feeding him egg yolk with poly-so-vil added to it in little medicine cups. Once I get his neck straightened up and he is sitting back against me, he can control his neck enough to drink it on his own.
This morning, my female fav is displaying the same symptoms! Not sure if this is from a vitamin deficiency, or hereditary issues I'm dealing with. They have been on medicated chick feed and I have added save-a-chick and probiotics to their water supply from day one. Also of note, they all have their last 4/5 toes slightly fused together.
I don't know if I could cull them, but I also don't want them to suffer. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[KYTinpusher]

So sorry your chickens are not feeling well. There are a couple of things you can try. Medicated feed can cause a thiamine deficiency. When I was watching Dr. Pol one night, they showed a goat with goat polio which is caused by a thiamine deficiency. The symptoms looked a lot like wry neck to me. So perhaps get some thiamine and try to supplement with that. Sorry, but I don't know what dosage to start with.

Also, after I lost a hen to a severe case of wry neck a while back (before I found out about the thiamine), I noticed in my homeopathic remedies kit that causticum is listed as a remedy for wry neck. You can find homeopathic remedies at most natural food or vitamin stores. If you would like directions on how to use it, just PM me. I would get the 30C if you can find it. You can use both simultaneously.

Good luck! Please let us know how it goes.

 

[Eggcessive]

My goodness that is bad luck with 2 out of 3 having it. With the vitamins Vitamin B1, E, and selenium are most important, and since most vitamins either don't have selenium, or not much, you may need to add that separately. I have salmon faverolles, and I love them. They are so docile that they can get beat up by the more aggressive chickens. I gave away 2 handsome cockerels to friends last year. I had hatching eggs from Washington State shipped to Ohio, and only hatched 2 pullet chicks out of 18 eggs. They are fairly rare, so there may be some problems with them. Injury to the head and certain diseases can cause wry neck as well as vitamin deficiency. Here are the best 2 links with vitamin dosages I know about wry neck and 1 thread for you:
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html
http://oureggbasket.blogspot.com/2013/04/wry-neck-or-crook-neck-understanding-it.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/97121/lets-talk-wry-neck-crook-neck

 

[HenchantedAcres]

My goodness that is bad luck with 2 out of 3 having it.  With the vitamins Vitamin B1, E, and selenium are most important, and since most vitamins either don't have selenium, or not much, you may need to add that separately.  I have salmon faverolles, and I love them.  They are so docile that they can get beat up by the more aggressive chickens.  I gave away 2 handsome cockerels to friends last year.  I had hatching eggs from Washington State shipped to Ohio, and only hatched 2 pullet chicks out of 18 eggs.  They are fairly rare, so there may be some problems with them.  Injury to the head and certain diseases can cause wry neck as well as vitamin deficiency.  Here are the best 2 links with vitamin dosages  I know about wry neck and 1 thread for you:  
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html
http://oureggbasket.blogspot.com/2013/04/wry-neck-or-crook-neck-understanding-it.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/97121/lets-talk-wry-neck-crook-neck

Thanks for the link. I am worried the third chick will end up the same way. Is there any way to help prevent coccidiosis without using medicated feed?

 

[Eggcessive]

Get some Corid (amprollium) in the packet or small jar, and keep it handy if any signs of cocci start (lethargy, diarrhea, not eating, puffed up or huddling, ruffled neck feathers.) Personally I have used medicated feed, but stopped after my first chicks, and have never had a case of coccidiosis. I will also say that I disagree that medicated feed will cause a thiamine deficiency. Amprollium in medicated feed and Corid is a thiamine blocker of the coccidia oocyst, but it isn't going to affect your chicks that way. The dose in the feed is too low. Your chicks parents may have suffered from a deficiency, or they could have hurt themselves playing in the brooder.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Oooooo..... that episode of Dr. Pol is on right now! NatGeo channel.

 

[HenchantedAcres]

Get some Corid (amprollium) in the packet or small jar, and keep it handy if any signs of cocci start (lethargy, diarrhea, not eating, puffed up or huddling, ruffled neck feathers.)  Personally I have used medicated feed, but stopped after my first chicks, and have never had a case of coccidiosis.  I will also say that I disagree that medicated feed will cause a thiamine deficiency.  Amprollium in medicated feed and Corid is a thiamine blocker of the coccidia oocyst, but it isn't going to affect your chicks that way.  The dose in the feed is too low.  Your chicks parents may have suffered from a deficiency, or they could have hurt themselves playing in the brooder.

That make me feel better. I take really good care of my chicks, fresh water, food and change bedding regularly. I doubt it was an injury, my fav babies are 2 weeks older then the brahmas and bigger too. They all seem to be socializing well. They have been together since the brahmas were about 5 days old.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Any updates?

 

[HenchantedAcres]

Any updates?

Sadly after all of my efforts, my little Moe died on Sunday. The female fav, (I'm not planning on naming her) has gotten worse as well. It takes both my hubby and I do get the vitamins etc. into her. Me to hold and he squirts it in. Last night we had to separate her from the others, because they are now picking on her.
I have already decided that when she is no longer able to feed herself that I am not planning on force feeding or assisting the way I did the other chick. I will just have my husband cull her. I feel like I prolonged little Moe's agony with my efforts.
It was extremely painful going through it the first time. I am already trying to limit how much time I spend on her care. I know some of you may think I am heartless, but I just can't keep going through this.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss, and it's too bad the other one appears to be going downhill.