Wry neck + weakness in foot

[Lady123]

Hi there,

This is my first post in the forums but I’ve been a long time reader. Overnight my 3.5 year old silkie hen came down with wry neck, so I’m unable to pinpoint the cause. I was terrified at first - she somersault out of her coop and fell 2 feet to the ground, then went from walking in circles to rotating her head beyond 180 degrees and turning in place, over and over.

She first presented the symptoms on Monday morning. I’ve been spoon feeding her wet grit with a liquid concoction of vitamin e, selenium, nutri-drench, a bit of turmeric tea and today I’ve added vitamin b1 (all based on information collected on the forums). She’s improved some since Monday, her neck has untwisted a bit and she does respond well to feedings, once I am able to finally coax her into eating.

I’ve made similar observations as others on the forums, that when she has increased stress her wry neck seems to become exacerbated. Accordingly, I leave her alone as much as possible except for the few times a day I am feeding her.

Yesterday I noticed weakness in her right foot. I’m not sure if it’s related to her falling out of the coop, or related to the wry neck, or indicative of a greater overarching illness. I was wondering if others have noticed, in either trauma or vitamin-related wry neck, that their chicken had weakness in their foot as well?

Thank you!!

 

[atalanta]

check for mineral deficiency, specifically selenium deficiency ... get some chicken drench into her, add oyster shells, up her vitamin E, Vitamin K. Human mineral capsule NOW brand in whatever you are feeding her, or get selenium drops with cofactors.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like you are managing the wry neck symptoms well with thiamine, vitamin E, and a bit of selenium. You don’t need too many different sources of vitamins, just some B 1 thiamine, 400 IU of vitamin E, and usually selenium is only needed in a tiny amount which can be given in cooked egg or sunflower seed.

Since wry neck (also called torticolis, crook neck) is a neurological symptom that can occur with head or neck injury, vitamin deficiency, a hereditary predisposition, and is seen in several diseases, such as Mareks, fowl cholera, and anything that causes brain inflammation.

The weakness in her foot is an important finding. Hopefully, it isn’t due to Mareks disease. It could be an injury or from a head injury. Only time will tell. At her age, it would be less likely, since Mareks tends to affect younger chickens, unless a new flock member has brought Mareks into the flock. Keep us posted on her progress.

 

[Kiki]

What exactly had she been eating before this started?

Was there a typo when you said you are feeding her wet grit?

 

[Lady123]

Yes, meant crumbles. As in layer crumbles.

 

[Lady123]

Her neck straightened out but weakened as of this morning. She hardly ate or drank. Within a couple of hours her neck went completely lame. I’m thinking Mareks at this point. Not sure she will make it through the night.

 

[Kiki]

Her neck straightened out but weakened as of this morning. She hardly ate or drank. Within a couple of hours her neck went completely lame. I’m thinking Mareks at this point. Not sure she will make it through the night.

I'm sorry.
If she passes have you thought about sending her for a necropsy to your state lab so you know what you are dealing with?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen getting worse. Hopefully, she will live, and it will get better. Have you added any new chickens to your flock in recent months? If she dies, it would be best to keep the body cool, and take her to the state vet for a necropsy. Shipping is also available if you contact them. What state are you in? Here is a list of state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[Lady123]

Thank you all for your replies. What’s strange is we introduced a pullet about a year ago. She was grabbed by a predator maybe four months ago. Seems like a long incubation period for Mareks. I guess necropsy will be the only way to know for sure. Thank you all again!

 

[Family with a Chicken]

Hi there,

This is my first post in the forums but I’ve been a long time reader. Overnight my 3.5 year old silkie hen came down with wry neck, so I’m unable to pinpoint the cause. I was terrified at first - she somersault out of her coop and fell 2 feet to the ground, then went from walking in circles to rotating her head beyond 180 degrees and turning in place, over and over.

She first presented the symptoms on Monday morning. I’ve been spoon feeding her wet grit with a liquid concoction of vitamin e, selenium, nutri-drench, a bit of turmeric tea and today I’ve added vitamin b1 (all based on information collected on the forums). She’s improved some since Monday, her neck has untwisted a bit and she does respond well to feedings, once I am able to finally coax her into eating.

I’ve made similar observations as others on the forums, that when she has increased stress her wry neck seems to become exacerbated. Accordingly, I leave her alone as much as possible except for the few times a day I am feeding her.

Yesterday I noticed weakness in her right foot. I’m not sure if it’s related to her falling out of the coop, or related to the wry neck, or indicative of a greater overarching illness. I was wondering if others have noticed, in either trauma or vitamin-related wry neck, that their chicken had weakness in their foot as well?

Thank you!!

Hello! My chicken is doing the same! Can you please update me of what happened to her?