Wry neck? Hen walking in circles, need treatment advice

[ochochicas]

My 9 month old Amber link hen started to walk in circles last weekend. She was still eating, drinking, free ranging, and laying eggs almost everyday. After doing some research, it seems like she has wry neck which may be caused by a vitamin deficiency. The recommended treatment (for silkies) was found on the browneggblueegg website. I started giving the hen selenium, vitamin E, vitamin B complex and prednisone.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had success with this line of treatment. How long did it take for the chicken to show improvement? The hen was eating the meds in bread, but has now gotten to the point where she won't eat the bread. I'd say my hen is a bit worse than she was over the weekend. Today is the first day she has not left the coop on her own. Everything I've read says it "takes a while" for a chicken to recover, but I'm not sure how long to wait to make the decision to keep treating or to cull her.

 

[Michael Apple]

My 9 month old Amber link hen started to walk in circles last weekend. She was still eating, drinking, free ranging, and laying eggs almost everyday. After doing some research, it seems like she has wry neck which may be caused by a vitamin deficiency. The recommended treatment (for silkies) was found on the browneggblueegg website. I started giving the hen selenium, vitamin E, vitamin B complex and prednisone.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had success with this line of treatment. How long did it take for the chicken to show improvement? The hen was eating the meds in bread, but has now gotten to the point where she won't eat the bread. I'd say my hen is a bit worse than she was over the weekend. Today is the first day she has not left the coop on her own. Everything I've read says it "takes a while" for a chicken to recover, but I'm not sure how long to wait to make the decision to keep treating or to cull her.

Could it be you are confusing it with Encephalomalacia (Crazy Chick Disease)? I know it is uncommon in older birds but not an impossibility. I've never heard of using prednisone for that problem. Vitamin E deficiency causes softening and swelling of the brain. Rancid feed, nutrient deficient feed, too much cod liver oil can all cause that problem. I have remedied it in the past with giving one vitamin E cap once a day with poultry vitamins in water. It cleared up in a week. I once had numerous birds get sick due to not paying attention to the milling date of feed I purchased.

Silkies do have that sensitive soft spot on their skulls, don't they? Perhaps it is an injury that occured? I have never kept Silkies.

 

[ochochicas]

My hen is not a silkie. She is a Rhode Island cross. My feed is fresh - they get flock raiser, layer pellets, fresh vegetables daily, plus free range time. I started treating her over the weekend with Rooster Booster Vitamins, but she was not improving.

I will look up crazy chicken disease.

I would assume if it were a feed problem I'd have several sick chickens. I have old, young, pullets, roosters, etc all living together and eating the same fee.

 

[Michael Apple]

My hen is not a silkie. She is a Rhode Island cross. My feed is fresh - they get flock raiser, layer pellets, fresh vegetables daily, plus free range time. I started treating her over the weekend with Rooster Booster Vitamins, but she was not improving.

Yes, but the link you described references Silkies which have that problem, but could also be attributed to the soft spot due to an incomplete skull. Prednisone will not assist with Encephalomalacia. Purina has been on FDA recall list numerous times, and just this year they were recalling poultry feeds in your state of residence: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm393549.htm
Mycotoxins and aflotoxins don't have to be distributed throughout an entire bag of feed either. One small clump of moldy feed in a mishandled bag of feed or milled with unclean machinery could be eaten by one bird and not the other. There may be an area of range where your hen picked at something none of the other birds did.

I will look up crazy chicken disease.

I would assume if it were a feed problem I'd have several sick chickens. I have old, young, pullets, roosters, etc all living together and eating the same fee.

Reasons as to what may cause vitamin deficiencies are relevant. That was why I mentioned them. Also, birds in pre-moult or post-moult can go off feed which perpetuates a vitamin deficiency. Just because a hen is still laying does not mean they are not in the process of moulting. Stressed birds are more susceptible to disease. Here is a link with information about vitamin deficiencies: http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou...s_in_poultry.html?qt=wry neck chickens&alt=sh

Nutrient absorption for that particular hen may be compromised as a result of possible damage to the intestinal tract at an early age. That is why anti-coccidials are recommended and used in preventative treatment during the growth stage, which is around the first 9 months of life. These are merely relevant thoughts to consider regarding the condition of your hen. I hope she recovers to full health.

 

[ochochicas]

Thanks again for the comments.

I am certain the hen has wry neck She is much worse this morning and it not eating all at all. I've read up on all the vitamin deficiencies and other bird illnesses. She was treated for coccidia (I've had her since she was a week old).

If anyone has any advice on treating wry neck, please let me know. If she's not shoring any improvement I can't stand around and watch her suffer and will have to cull her. She really seems to be declining at this point.

 

[Michael Apple]

Thanks again for the comments.

I am certain the hen has wry neck She is much worse this morning and it not eating all at all. I've read up on all the vitamin deficiencies and other bird illnesses. She was treated for coccidia (I've had her since she was a week old).

If anyone has any advice on treating wry neck, please let me know. If she's not shoring any improvement I can't stand around and watch her suffer and will have to cull her. She really seems to be declining at this point.

I doubt it is "wry neck" in a 9 month old Amber Link. If it were, neurological symptoms would have been seen earlier in life.

 

[Ashley Stroud]

Thanks again for the comments.

I am certain the hen has wry neck   She is much worse this morning and it not eating all at all.  I've read up on all the vitamin deficiencies and other bird illnesses.  She was treated for coccidia (I've had her since she was a week old).

If anyone has any advice on treating wry neck, please let me know.  If she's not shoring any improvement I can't stand around and watch her suffer and will have to cull her.  She really seems to be declining at this point. 

I had to treat one if my Orp chicks for wry neck when she was 3 days old. I gave her a mix of PolyViSol (without iron), selenium, and vit E. Also added a bit of tumeric. Mixed in water with Chick Boost electrolytes and fed via a syringe three times a day. I saw no improvement for 4 days and then on the 5 she was able to walk straight and by day 10 I had to band her leg to make sure I was dosing the right one!

I also made a gruel out of chick starter and fed that via syringe as well.

How is she today?

 

[Ashley Stroud]

Also I just made enough of the solution to use for that day. Made it fresh each day and kept it out of light.

 

[ochochicas]

Thanks Ashley,

Yesterday she had a rough morning. I found her laying on the floor of the coop, where she had laid an egg sometime during the night. She was very disoriented and not willing to get up. I set up an area for her in the house and expected the worst when I got home from work. When I got home she looked fine. However, she was not eating. I put her outside where she free ranged and ate a bit. The other chickens are picking on her, so I had to separate them and eventually bring her back into the house. You can see in the photo that she gets around OK, but you can tell by her foot position that she is still walking in circles.



She is doing OK today, I think. She seems really depressed now and only eats if she is outside. It is raining so hard that I have her locked in our "hospital" stall to keep her dry. I have been tubing her with water and electrolytes. She also gets Vitamin E twice a day plus Selenium, Vitamin B and prednisone once a day. I need to try to get a larger feeding tube to try to get some food into her. She mostly sits quietly and sleeps. If something stresses her out (other birds, loud noises, me trying to give her meds) she freaks out. Her head spins around 180 degrees and she flops over and squirms around on the ground. So, I'm trying to keep her as quiet and stress-free as possible.

I read another article that said not to expect improvement for 2 weeks. That is a long time for me to not know what will happen since I'm a control freak and have ADHD! LOL Anyway, we'll give her until next weekend, and if she still isn't looking better we will cull her. Fortunately for her I have the next week off work and can spend time on her treatments. If she starts to look hopeless we will cull her sooner. I hate to do it since she's one of my favorite hens. We do have a pullet out of her to take her place so that makes it just a tiny bit easier to think about.

 

[seminolewind]

My 9 month old Amber link hen started to walk in circles last weekend. She was still eating, drinking, free ranging, and laying eggs almost everyday. After doing some research, it seems like she has wry neck which may be caused by a vitamin deficiency. The recommended treatment (for silkies) was found on the browneggblueegg website. I started giving the hen selenium, vitamin E, vitamin B complex and prednisone.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had success with this line of treatment. How long did it take for the chicken to show improvement? The hen was eating the meds in bread, but has now gotten to the point where she won't eat the bread. I'd say my hen is a bit worse than she was over the weekend. Today is the first day she has not left the coop on her own. Everything I've read says it "takes a while" for a chicken to recover, but I'm not sure how long to wait to make the decision to keep treating or to cull her.

I had a roo that was found one evening in a corner and hubby put him in the coop. We assumed another rooster attacked him and pecked his head because he's Polish and had some feathers missing. I did not know what Marek's was at the time and I don't know if he had it.
So do not read this as a Marek's post because it's not.

He walked circles backwards for 2 months and his head looked over his back.. He had to be taught how to eat and drink and I was feeding him with a tablespoon at this time. ( BTW I think you have the really correct additives. ) Finally after 3 months he was walking and eating normal and gained weight. After another month he slid down hill and turned purple and died.

As far as Casportpony would recommend, feed with a tube and weigh daily. If she continues to lose weight, it might be better to euthanize her.

She could have any neuro problem and there are a lot. Wry neck is a problem all it's own. You have her on the right meds.