Here a Chick, There a Chick

It has been a while since my last post.  Almost 4 years!  Yikes, where did the time go. 

Peep had Wry Neck or Twisted Neck syndrome. It is a vitamin deficiency condition that chickens get. Their necks turn toward their backs or flop on their sides.  This can lead to death because the chicken cannot eat or drink without help.  So I hit the boards at www.backyardchickens.com, which offers a wealth of advice.  After much information gathering, I called my cousin the veterinarian.  He confirmed Wry Neck and advised a regiment of a vitamin E capsule (no more than 400mg) once a day for a week (cut the top off) and Selenium in liquid form.  For the Selenium, I broke a pill in half, dissolved it in water (2 tablespoons of water), and I filled a baby syringe with the liquid vitamin solution.  I also purchased a bottle of Poly-Vi-Sol, which is an infant vitamin solution. 

The vitamin E can be squirted into the beak, but you need to be careful with the liquid. Chicks can aspirate on the liquid.  The liquid needs to be dropped into their beak a tiny bit at a time over a period of time. Not all at once.  So give a little liquid, wait and offer food.  For the food, I made a mash of chick starter with a little water. I placed it in my palm and let Peep eat it out of my hand, then gave a little more liquid and more mash. I traded off the Poly-Vi-Sol and the Selenium mixture until gone.  I gave 2 droppers of the Poly-Vi-Sol for the first 3 days and backed off to one dropper.

Yes, it took a long time, but she was much calmer while sitting on my lap during that time.  So the final results?

Completely healed.

It is a good idea to give one vitamin e capsule to the chicks once a month as a precaution.