Wry Neck Progression

[aalbury]

It was .5 ccs, but I did another today. Picking up a bottle from the vet today. However, she called her a "Star gazer". Her new name too. If I find out more, I will post. I wonder if I could've nipped this in the bud earlier- and I'd like everyone else to be able to as well. It looked exactly like the video I saw of the silkie (I think?) that is the example of wry neck when you google wry neck.

 

[aalbury]

OK- I don't think you can OD on B-12 (anyone? I'll ask) , but mine is 3000 mcg of Cyanocobalamin(B12) per mL. We did a half a cc twice and she is about 85% normal. She still has the episodes occasionally, but at least we are not hand feeding her hourly, as she can feed herself! Woo Hoo!

 

[jbear]

really.. a half cc?? not .05?? I am just curious, I have a silkie that appears to have a head injury, or something. I just read thru the treatment for crooked neck on another link--the treatment that includes the prednisone-- I am on my way to the office to get some pred, and thought I might get some b12 too... but want to know doses? and does anyone know if it matters if the steroid is prednisone or if it is predNISOLONE? Thanks in advance!

 

[aalbury]

I will have to check the syringe! It was halfway to the 1, but they are large syringes.

 

[evonne]

thought i'd let you guys know, my little guy developed this on a sunday when all the feed store and vets were closed...

i did find human liquid B12 at GNC and decided for under $10 it was better than nothing.. wasn't sure o the dosage so i just did a few drops...

i re-read one website that talked about treating a silkie with prednisone and vit E and the b12, it said 1 dropper full, so i did that the next day, 2 days of just the B12 liquid vitamin full dropper and he's looking great....

sunday when i woke up and found him i was so scared, didn't think he was going to make it... you'd never know now that he was that bad looking at him now....

i had thought about getting the vit E and the other thing they said to get to help absorb the E... but after the improvement with jsut the B12, i decided it wasn't needed... i'll continue with the B12 for maybe a week, and keep it in the medice cabinet just in case...

*edit to add*

i think what's the downfall of a lot of chickens with this is if they're not eating and drinking their health declines quickly... i was feeding him baby food and water with a syringe.... he didn't like it.. and it was tricky to hold his head still and beak open with one hand and squirt the syringe with the other, but it kept his strength and kept him hydrated...

 

[jbear]

Quote:
wellll, 1/2 to the one is definitely a 1/2 cc! it just seems like a lot. a cat gets .25 (which is 1/4 cc

) but.. chickens aint cats are they? lol!
What about Baytril? could this head tilt be the result of an ear infection? If Baytril would help--what is the dose on THAT??

thank you again!

**fyi on oral b12--it is not absorbed well if given orally, that's why it is usually injected, even in people**

 

[aalbury]

Quote:
wellll, 1/2 to the one is definitely a 1/2 cc! it just seems like a lot. a cat gets .25 (which is 1/4 cc

) but.. chickens aint cats are they? lol!
What about Baytril? could this head tilt be the result of an ear infection? If Baytril would help--what is the dose on THAT??

thank you again!

**fyi on oral b12--it is not absorbed well if given orally, that's why it is usually injected, even in people**

I think depend on the density/strength of the med? Unless you are talking about that exact strength, then? <shrugs>



I know that depending breeds horses vary. To anesthetize my little 800lb arab mare, it requires 3x's the dosage that my big 1200lb paint mare can barely stand up on.

 

[jbear]

isn't that crazy how your lil horse takes so much more? metabolism I guess. Also, I was thinking.. my chickens are bantams--are yours standards? I gave her .2 mL each of b12, b-complex and baytril all IM. Then mixed up a potion of yogurt, chick mash, poly-vi-sol and milk. There's ACV in her water... she's in the "hospital cage" in the kitchen lookin all sideways sad. I hope it's not Mareks.... *crosses fingers* the area around her earlobe looks a little puffy, so I am hoping for a simple ear infection.

durn silkies anyway...

 

[zowieyellowflame]

When I initially tried the human B12 injection, I gave 1/10th of a cc. It is basically a little diabetic needle, to the first mark, it is only enough to probably fill a pea or small bean.
In humans, some people are unable to properly absorb B12 due to a deficiency of a chemical called intrinsic factor (sp?) which is found at some small area of the intestine. These people who are deficient have to either take b12 orally daily, for life or 1 injection, about 1cc about once a month. Most people are able to absorb B12 fine and do not need any supplements. In fact, my doctor told me it is nearly impossible to not get enough from a normal, Western diet. (so my doc told me, I am B12 deficient)
I think this is somehow the same with chickens.... I don't think there is a lack of anything in their diet, I think maybe something just seems to go "awry" during maturity. From what I read, it seems to affect younger birds. My little one seems entirely normal now. I have a zip tie on her leg, otherwise I likely could not tell her from the other BR's. I only gave her that little dose twice.
I doubt you can overdose, it is water soluble.

 

[Clare_CA]

Thanks for this info. My black silkie chick has this. I tried to give her Vitamin E from a capsule, but she resisted, and it got all over her face and sealed one of her eyes shut. I didn't realize that her eye closing was because of the Vitamin E; I thought it was part of this condition. I just washed her face with a warm wet paper towel, and her eye is open again thankfully. I wouldn't recommend force feeding a Vitamin E capsule to a baby chick. Another member on another thread doubted that this was a Vitamin E deficiency due to the newly hatched chick just absorbing Vitamin E through the yolk, and that makes a lot of sense to me. She said, "I would suspect a neurological abnormality (congenital related to their unusual skull anatomy) before vitamin deficiency," and I think that makes a lot of sense. I'm just going to make sure that she is still drinking and eating and not getting run over, but I think I will try the Vitamin B Complex to see if that helps.