Wry neck...Treat or euthanize?? UPDATED with GREAT results!!

[mmartis13]

I had a Barred Rock that I purchased a few weeks ago along with 4 other pullets. The first day I had her home I noticed something was "Off". she would stand in the corner by herself, puffed up. She seemed weak, and if she tried to run away fast, she would stagger and stumble, fall on her side. I thought it was just because she was smaller, and I could see the other girls bullying her. I figured she must not be getting to food and water enough, so I put her in a big dog crate, still in the coop, but so the crate could protect her from the other girls. For a day or two, it seemed like she was improving. She would still stumble a bit, so I knew there was a potential for some illness to pop up. I went to work, and when I came home and checked on the girls, she was standing, but her neck was totally contorted so the top of her head was resting on the ground. I still had no idea what Wry Neck was at this point, I'd never heard of it. I borught her indoors immediately, and kept her in a back bedroom that has been a "chicken hospital" many times in the past. After looking online, we figured out it was wry neck, and started the Vitamin E treatment immediately. we crunched up feed and mixed it with water, and fed her with an eyedropper. The following day I tried Tumeric Tea, another treatment I read about. Still hand feeding and hand watering. No improvements. The following morning she wouldn't even stand anymore, would just slump over. She was terrified every time we tried to hold her, or feed and water her. It was awful to watch her go through. She seemed so afraid. That night, when I returned from work, she was laying on her side, still breathing, but labored. My honey said he had fed and given her water that day around lunchtime, and she got worse from there. She died that evening around 9PM. I still have no idea what was wrong with her, and all my other girls are fine. Does anyone have any advice? Just malnutrition? I spoke with the gal i purchased these hens from, and she seemed very concerned. Had never dealt with this, none of her other chickens have any symptoms, they are all a bill of health. Was it just a fluke?

 

[Julia62]

Gosh, so sorry about your chicken. I am going through wry neck myself (I think) with my 7 month old SL Wyandotte. We have been feeding her by hand. She can eat on her own if we hold the dish up to her and she can take water now. We give her Poly Vi Sol, Vit E, and Selenium. She can straighten out a bit to eat, but then contorts her neck. It is sideways down her side not between her feet. From what I was told, she was vaccinated for Mereks as a chick.

All of this started about a month or so ago with a swelling/hard lump under her waddle. I took her to the vet and he lanced it, did a week of Baytril, but it didn't go away. Still has the lump, not any bigger though and it didn't seem to bother her. At that time she was acting like a normal chicken. Then last Sunday, she couldn't go in the coop one night and it's been downhill ever since. Not sure how long to keep doing this care or if it's not fair to her.

 

[mmartis13]

I'm so sorry to hear that, Julia I hope she ends up ok. I lost my little gal within a little over a day of noticing anything was wrong with her.

 

[Freckled chick]

Hi !
I purchased my first ten chicks this past June 2014. one of my Rhode Island Reds, kept putting his head on the ground to one side.
it was having trouble eating and drinking, so I separated it to another box, gave him alittleTLC, yogurt etc. He seemed to grow at the same rate as the other chicks, but his head kept bent to the right and kept twisting sideways and getting caught beside hi foot.
His knees would bend out to the sides when he walked......well..he turned out to be a rooster, and is now 6 1/2 months old !
He was such a fighter that I didn't have the heart to euthanize him....maybe I'm just a softy, but he's God's creation and just a
"special-needs" boy !...he loves his breakfast of sratch, kale and yogurt !

 

[greenacregirl]

My French Black Maran Rooster Goliath all of a sudden started doing this. I have been treating him with antibiotics, electrolytes, vitamin B drops, Vitamin D3 and Vitamin E with selenium. I just fashioned him a neck brace out of a red solo cup and duct tape. he is not crazy about it but stood normally for a few seconds with it on. He will drink on his own. But i feed him yogurt, cottage cheese, anything I can fit in a syringe.... He is a doll, easy to handle even for a mature rooster but I am new at this and doing the best I can. thanks for all your advice.

 

[greenacregirl]

Goliath modeling his neck brace.

 

[Julia62]

That is a great neck brace! I hope all works out with him. He is beautiful.

We had Tammy euthanized and had a necropsy done. No other tumors in her body, just the one under her waddle. No definitive answer without further tests (more $$$), but most likely Meraks or Avian Lukosis (I think that what he called it).

 

[greenacregirl]

i really do not know what is wrong with Goloiath. Someone had suggested Mareks. He has some of the symptoms but those symptoms show up in other possible things too. As it si I am trying everything I know to do or have learned from all Y'all in the groups I am am in in BYC, He does not seem to be in pain, he is sweet when he is is getting his way and has enough fight left in him when I try to medicate him it is reassuring. He is very sweet for a mature breeding rooster even before he was sick and was hanging out with his ladies. Since his redneck neck brace (red solo cup and duct tape lol) he is standing more, walking a little bit. And even pecked at some bread. Taking it one day at a time.

 

[greenacregirl]

i really do not know what is wrong with Goloiath. Someone had suggested Mareks. He has some of the symptoms but those symptoms show up in other possible things too.   As it si  I am trying everything I know to do or have learned from all Y'all in the groups I am am in in BYC, He does not seem to be in pain, he is sweet when he is is getting his way and has enough fight left in him when I try to medicate him it is reassuring. He is very sweet for a mature breeding rooster even before he was sick and was hanging out with his ladies. Since his redneck neck brace (red solo cup and duct tape lol) he is standing more, walking a little bit. And even pecked at some bread. Taking it one day at a time. 

 

[Julia62]

Tammy started with the tumor and then was mostly fine for two weeks, then the wry neck showed up. She never seemed "sick" until the wry neck. I hand fed her 2-3 times a day because she couldn't get upright enough to eat all on her own. She was a sweet bird, but she just kept spinning because of her balance and wasn't getting better so I thought 2 weeks was enough of living that way.

I keep good thoughts for you Goloiath!