TooncesTheDrivingCat

In the Brooder
Aug 27, 2020
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2
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I have 5 ISABrown hens. 8 months old. I changed the food to Dumor and 2 weeks later, I have a hen with wry neck. Have been treating. Changed the food back to one recommended by hatchery so...all that is taken care of. The question is......ISA Browns lay a LOT of eggs. Like over 300 a year some of them. Sparkle, the hen, was laying like clockwork even as her neck got worse.
2 days ago she stopped laying.
I'm worried but not too overly concerned.
She has an obvious deficiency that is being treated so I had actually hoped she would stop laying at some point so I wouldnt be battling the eggs stealing all her nutrients from her. Thing is, I know what I have and i expected some sort of egg.
The hen seems fine. Like the Torticollis/Wry Neck is getting better. It's slow but, every day she is doing better and better holding that head up. Even looked left yesterday for a bit which made everyone happy including myself.
I am worried about her getting egg bound though. Is this a common issue in hens who have developed Wry Neck? She is not spongy on the back at all and her vent does not look even as though she has tried, or is trying,to lay an egg, which makes me think she has stopped laying.
Should I be more concerned? I originally had 6 ISA hens from a woman who breeds, shows,and raised for eggs and meat about 7 different heritage breeds and the ISA. I felt I had good stock but, one hen never matured fully. Comb was tiny. Heck, she was tiny. I believe she died because of egg bound but, honestly, if that was the problem, I dont think the birds body matured enough to be able to pass the egg even with help. I had liked her and did not have the heart to autopsy her to find out. No vet available in my area for farm animals for hours.
But this hen, she grew and matured like the rest and lays well. To have her stop..... she still looks like a checkmark like every hen should. Tail is not in prone position and she hasn't lost luster one bit. Is eating and drinking. Onky reasonshe was seperated was because of Torticollis and other hens pecking at her eyes. Eesh!
Does becoming egg bound often accompany Wry Neck in laying Hybrid hens like ISA Browns?
 

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How old is she?
Doesn't sound like she's egg bound if she's pooping and eating/drinking o.k.

I would continue to treat the Wry Neck symptoms. Once she's recovered she may resume laying eggs then.
 
Thanks for the reply. I really hope so. Shes about 8/9 months old. Been laying for a while. I think shes my double yolker since I havent seen one since she stopped laying eggs and I was seeing them almost daily.
Thanks though. I needed the stress reliever. This whole backyard chicken raising is VERY different from farm life. Lol on the farm.... that wry neck is enough to cull immediately.
I had figured she would stop laying for a while but I can find no literature on this. Only what wry neck is and how to deal with it.
Thank you
 
Thanks for the reply. I really hope so. Shes about 8/9 months old. Been laying for a while. I think shes my double yolker since I havent seen one since she stopped laying eggs and I was seeing them almost daily.
Thanks though. I needed the stress reliever. This whole backyard chicken raising is VERY different from farm life. Lol on the farm.... that wry neck is enough to cull immediately.
I had figured she would stop laying for a while but I can find no literature on this. Only what wry neck is and how to deal with it.
Thank you
Stress from other conditions can disrupt the laying cycle.
Hopefully she gets better soon.

I agree, some do go ahead and cull if symptoms like that appear. I would consider it too, but since BYC is geared toward more toward "pet" than livestock, most will treat symptoms and see what happens.
 
Glad she's doing better!
Hopefully she will come back into lay soon, but days are getting shorter so she may take a break, you never know.
I live in a wetland. Took a while to spot them, and I only did because I seperated the birds. This problem was caused by bad food accompanied by bird mites.
I live in the largest freshwater wetland in the continental United states. Swarms of birds come and go daily, and all year long. I had checked the birds before the temperature drop. Put powder everywhere. Cleaned really good. Thing was.... I didnt treat the birds because I did not see anything on them or in their coop. Now my rule of thumb will be to powder birds with DE, at least, every time I clean. Not just the coop.
If this helped that bad food cause an issue in one bird....I'm lucky.
Oh and ps.... if you are curious about bugs at all flip the can over and call the chemical company. They have entomologists who live to talk to customers! Lol I know more about bird mites now than ever before. I'm shocked at how easily they are killed.
Yeah. Swarms of birds here. I often am on the phone and have to retreat inside the house for their noise. I love our swarms though. I dont fault them for living their lives.
As much as I hate that this happened, I'm extremely glad for the knowledge so it does not happen again. And now I go takes leaves. Get the hell out of here bird mites! Ew! Have a safe and happy halloween!
 
Thanks for the reply. I really hope so. Shes about 8/9 months old. Been laying for a while. I think shes my double yolker since I havent seen one since she stopped laying eggs and I was seeing them almost daily.
Thanks though. I needed the stress reliever. This whole backyard chicken raising is VERY different from farm life. Lol on the farm.... that wry neck is enough to cull immediately.
I had figured she would stop laying for a while but I can find no literature on this. Only what wry neck is and how to deal with it.
Thank you
The days are getting shorter, mine always take a break in the winter, yours don’t take a break?
 
I live in a wetland. Took a while to spot them, and I only did because I seperated the birds. This problem was caused by bad food accompanied by bird mites.
I live in the largest freshwater wetland in the continental United states. Swarms of birds come and go daily, and all year long. I had checked the birds before the temperature drop. Put powder everywhere. Cleaned really good. Thing was.... I didnt treat the birds because I did not see anything on them or in their coop. Now my rule of thumb will be to powder birds with DE, at least, every time I clean. Not just the coop.
If this helped that bad food cause an issue in one bird....I'm lucky.
Oh and ps.... if you are curious about bugs at all flip the can over and call the chemical company. They have entomologists who live to talk to customers! Lol I know more about bird mites now than ever before. I'm shocked at how easily they are killed.
Yeah. Swarms of birds here. I often am on the phone and have to retreat inside the house for their noise. I love our swarms though. I dont fault them for living their lives.
As much as I hate that this happened, I'm extremely glad for the knowledge so it does not happen again. And now I go takes leaves. Get the hell out of here bird mites! Ew! Have a safe and happy halloween!
Glad you discovered the bugs and moldy feed. Feed can mold quickly in damp conditions.
While I don't live in wetlands for sure, I've seen feed that was accidentally spilled on the ground have mold on it the next morning. For this reason, I check daily for any spilled feed and shovel it up. I also only put out what they will eat for the day. I like to use feed cups hung on a rack inside the run, those can easily be gathered every night. Easy to clean too.

Hopefully the DE will take care of the mites, if it doesn't consider using a Permethrin based poultry spray/dust to treat the birds and housing.

Thank you for the update.
 

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