Wry Neck, not Eating and drinking

[jjursk]

Hello, I have a chicken Jackie, 1.5 years old. During last 3 days, she started having issues walking, and keeping her balance and her neck 45° tilted to the left. Yesterday she could not walk straight, and mostly remained sitting in one place, today I moved her to isolation.



I tried to Google, and watched every Youtube video about chicken diseases, but I am still not clear what could it be.

She was broody twice this summer, we tried to break it. The last time it was 2-3 weeks ago, so I am assuming she might be a little bit malnourished. Maybe vitamin deficiency? I got some vitamin E supplements today, but she refuses to drink or eat anything.

I also tried inspecting for Bound Egg. I can feel something egg-shaped in her belly next under the vent. But it does not explain the wry neck symptoms.

Could it be Marek's? She should have been vaccinated by the previous owner.

Overall, I am very new to this, have just two chickens. The other chicken is doing fine. Any suggestions on how to help her or what it could be?

 

[Eggcessive]

Has she started to molt this year ? Average age is 16-18 months for the first big molt. When she is not broody does she lay eggs? Has she been exposed to any new chickens in the last couple of months? Broodies can become malnourished easily. Wry neck can sometimes be a symptom of Mareks, but it can be symptom of vitamin deficiency, head injury, and may be seen in some diseases that affect the brain. It won’t hurt to give her 1 vitamin E softgel into her beak and a 1/4 tablet of human vitamin B complex to swallow or crushed it into a little food.

 

[jjursk]

I haven't noticed molting yet, maybe now? She is losing lots of feathers right now. She stopped laying eggs when she was broody last time and has not started laying again.

Any suggestion to rule out or confirm head injury? As her movement was very uncoordinated, it is likely that she fell or hit something. No open wounds are visible.

Btw, when I was observing her, seems like she could turn her head to the other side if she wanted (e.g. to scratch), but then return her head to her original left-facing position. Seems to be unhappy if I touch/move her neck.

I got some B-complex and vitamin E as you suggested, and have just given her the first dose. How frequently should I give her the supplements?

 

[Eggcessive]

Supplements of E and B complex should be given orally once a day. Either can be popped into her beak, or the B could be crushed into a spoonful water or soft food. The E softgels can be emptied into food as well. These are safe to give for a few weeks. Molting tends to be the most common time to see an illness, because of the stress and weaker state. Others may pick on them, or they may not feel well, and separate themselves. Offering some egg and watery chicken feed, small bit of tuna, or high protein treat in moderation to tempt them to eat is good. Keep the stress down and hopefully, her symptoms will improve in a few days or weeks. Let us know with an update how she is doing.

 

[jjursk]

Hello, After over 3 weeks, I have an update. Chicken recovered and fully reunited with the flock.

First 1.5 weeks, there were no signs of improvement in movements and no eating and drinking. I have been feeding her egg yolk from a syringe + E supplements, a bit of crushed B-complex mixed with water.

After 2 weeks, I noticed she can move her head enough to scratch and clean her feathers. Also, her walking became more coordinated. From this point, all symptoms started slowly improving.

Now 3 weeks later, I saw her properly eating and drinking again. She is walking, not sleepy anymore, walking everywhere with the other chicken. She is also able to roost on her stick.

In the end, I am happy it turned out well, I was losing hope initially. Thanks for your help @Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

@jjursk I am very happy that your hen has recovered. Thanks for the update.