Hen suddenly has head turned totally upside down

[Kelly Holt]

Everyone was fine yesterday. Husband went in to take care of chickens this AM and the hen was laying on the floor with her head turned totally upside down and seemed unable to turn it back right. She has one eye closed and seems unwilling/unable to open it. Her breathing seems labored. Her neck seemed tight when I tried to bring it upright and it returned back to the upside-down position once we let her head go. Her crop was full and she was unmolested by the rest of the flock. Any guesses?? I hesitate to dispatch her until I find out here if it might be a vitamin deficiency. She is currently on Natures Best Organic feed.

 

[HollyWoozle]

Sounds like botulism to me? Sorry for your poorly hen.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/botulism

 

[ThinMintTheChicken]

Everyone was fine yesterday. Husband went in to take care of chickens this AM and the hen was laying on the floor with her head turned totally upside down and seemed unable to turn it back right. She has one eye closed and seems unwilling/unable to open it. Her breathing seems labored. Her neck seemed tight when I tried to bring it upright and it returned back to the upside-down position once we let her head go. Her crop was full and she was unmolested by the rest of the flock. Any guesses?? I hesitate to dispatch her until I find out here if it might be a vitamin deficiency. She is currently on Natures Best Organic feed.

Pictures would be useful. It kind of sounds like wry neck, which is a vitamin deficiency. You could try giving her some NutriDrench if she'll drink.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Either a Vitamin Deficiency most likely Vitamin E. I think there's another one that causes wry neck like symptoms, but forgot what it was . Still waking up.

Or she contracted Marek's Disease, but testing, or necropsy would be needed for that.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If you have photos to share that may be helpful.

Sounds like Wry Neck which is a Neurological Symptom. Some common causes are Marek's Disease, trauma and nutritional deficiency.

You can try vitamin therapy to see if she responds. 400IU Vitamin E along with 1/4 tablet B-Complex. Give her some egg to help with the uptake of E.

Crop being full probably needs to be addressed as well. It could be the result of the Wry Neck and her system is just not functioning. I would work on hydration, getting the vitamins into and see if the crop empties. If it doesn't then I would go ahead and treat that too according to the article below. It will be tricky to get fluids into her so tubing or syringing may be needed. Some have found that holding them as shown in the video can be helpful too.

If you lose her, then it would be a good idea to have a necropsy to find out more.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[MysteryChicken]

Pictures would be useful. It kind of sounds like wry neck, which is a vitamin deficiency. You could try giving her some NutriDrench if she'll drink.

I'd recommend Vitamin E liquid capsules 400IU. Nutridrench only has 90IU, which I don't think would be enough to treat it fast enough.

 

[Kelly Holt]

Sounds like botulism to me? Sorry for your poorly hen.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/botulism

The symptoms sound similar, that's for sure. If this is what's wrong, I would think everyone in the coop would be vulnerable so I'll keep an eye out. They have not been out free-ranging in a couple of weeks, so it isn't the compost pile, but gave them some wilted spinach with their scratch yesterday.

 

[Kelly Holt]

If you have photos to share that may be helpful.

Sounds like Wry Neck which is a Neurological Symptom. Some common causes are Marek's Disease, trauma and nutritional deficiency.

You can try vitamin therapy to see if she responds. 400IU Vitamin E along with 1/4 tablet B-Complex. Give her some egg to help with the uptake of E.

Crop being full probably needs to be addressed as well. It could be the result of the Wry Neck and her system is just not functioning. I would work on hydration, getting the vitamins into and see if the crop empties. If it doesn't then I would go ahead and treat that too according to the article below. It will be tricky to get fluids into her so tubing or syringing may be needed. Some have found that holding them as shown in the video can be helpful too.

If you lose her, then it would be a good idea to have a necropsy to find out more.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Thank you for the video and suggestions. She is not nearly as lively as the chicken in the video, but I'll see if she'll eat. I have some vit. e capsules so I'll see what happens with a bit of scrambled egg.


I was just getting ready to switch this flocks feed. I did organic to see if there was a market for organic eggs, but all of my hens look really rough. Their feathers are all broken and for the past 2 months look like they are in a suspended molt. No one is truly molting whereas the other flock has molted and recovered.
My other flock, which is right beside them gets Purina, and everyone looks beautiful.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Could the feed be old or moldy?

I would work on hydration first and get the vitamins into her. B-Complex is added to offer support and help with the uptake as well. It would be good to find some of that too.