Wry Neck-What Does Recovery Look Like?

[ddboersma]

I have a 20 wk old hen that I found with wry neck symptoms in the coop yesterday morning.
This same bird was found listless at 6 weeks old and I syringe fed it vitamins in an egg white and she came back to life.
Started the same with her yesterday. Have been syringe feeding in a raw egg white vitamin E, B and selenium, as well as probiotics and electrolytes. Today I also tried to syringe feed some yogurt.
Her recovery has been all over the place. Yesterday she started to improve but would still loose control of her head and neck and sleep often. Today she started eating and drinking some on her own, but you can tell she barely has control of her body. And then she’ll be out again for a while. Today she’s also doing lots of flopping around like she has no control. It almost seems like she’s dying or worse than when I found her. She is unconscious while doing it. Is this all part of the recovery for wry neck

 

[Eggcessive]

What are you feeding? It sounds possibly like she may have Mareks disease. If you can take a video of her walking or flopping, and upload it to YouTube or Vimeo with a link posted here for us to see her. Is this the same one who was dragging her leg back in August?

 

[ddboersma]

No, we had to cull that hen. And I’m sure my flock has Mareks after that incident. I did not submit for necropsy and have just been operating as a closed flock and trying to boost immune systems, but having trouble lately.

This one was found with her head twisted back just like wry neck. I started syringe feeding raw egg white with a vitamin E, B and selenium mixed in yesterday. She started to show signs of recovery and has even fought me very hard on taking any syringe (but would not eat or drink herself). Then at different points today she did start eating and drinking little bits, and would lay awkward and sleep in between. Now she has been out for a while, not waking when I enter the room. When I try to wake her up or sit her up she twists around all awkward and flops over again.
I’m thinking I’ll have to cull , but wanted to make sure this wasn’t part of wry neck recovery somehow first.
I have never heard of Mareks presenting like wry neck (which it most certainly appeared to be at first), but maybe it’s all part of it.

 

[CeceliaD]

No, we had to cull that hen. And I’m sure my flock has Mareks after that incident. I did not submit for necropsy and have just been operating as a closed flock and trying to boost immune systems, but having trouble lately.

This one was found with her head twisted back just like wry neck. I started syringe feeding raw egg white with a vitamin E, B and selenium mixed in yesterday. She started to show signs of recovery and has even fought me very hard on taking any syringe (but would not eat or drink herself). Then at different points today she did start eating and drinking little bits, and would lay awkward and sleep in between. Now she has been out for a while, not waking when I enter the room. When I try to wake her up or sit her up she twists around all awkward and flops over again.
I’m thinking I’ll have to cull , but wanted to make sure this wasn’t part of wry neck recovery somehow first.
I have never heard of Mareks presenting like wry neck (which it most certainly appeared to be at first), but maybe it’s all part of it.

I’m having this same problem with a hen right now too. Did you end up culling her?

 

[ddboersma]

I’m having this same problem with a hen right now too. Did you end up culling her?

We did because she never regained consciousness. I think something happened during recovery. I have helped a chicken back from both wry neck and what I believed to be botulism in the past, and after 24hrs they started eating and drinking and fully recovered. This one was finally eating and drinking and seemed more with it and then was just unconscious after I checked on her again, with some odd flopping. Syringe feeding the raw egg white with vitamin E and selenium worked great for me in the past, though. Good luck!