Blochers Djur & Natur

A gal with a twisted neck

06.01.2023
Bartok came to us fall of 2021. She and her brother was my first expansion of my silkie flock.
Unfortantly she wouldnt have a great start in our home.


It started with her ruffling her feathers and generally being very puffy. She had a gentle bent on her neck, but it wasnt that noticable.

Day 2, it was confirmed that she sure had wry neck a very common diesease for Silkie chickens. When I come to eake them up that morning, she dropped her head between her legs and just keep walking backwards. She screamed in pure panic. She didnt know why she coulndt hold her head up. That scream was gonna be the hardest thing to hear thrue her illness.


Her brother kept her comapny when she was terrfied, wondering what was happening to her.
Thrue advice from her breeder we found a treatmentplan for her. I also started researching what this illness was. Thrue my research I could understand and add products to my treatment.

Thrue her fear and pain, she still when I picked her up, purred. She loved sleeping against my chest, cuddling her head inside my jacket. I have never had a chicken purr that much.

She kept getting worse. I had just gotten know this amazing creature, fallen in love with her. Would she be the first chicken I had to put down to spare her from the misery?
I gave her the chance to fight!

The day after I put her and her brother in a little pen inside our house, so I could watch her.
I motivaded her with some boiled egg. Then it came, she took a step forward! The time between she "dropped her head" started to become longer and longer.
She started her road to recovery!


She had a bent on her neck for a long time afterwards but otherwise you couldnt know she had been sick.
I swore to my self that she wouldnt have to experience this again. I made a prevention plan, but life came in the way. I forget to give her prevention treatment time to time and one thing I didnt know: that her body wouldnt able to handle to be broody.
A year passed...

I could never imagine how stubborn she would be when she had her first broody period. Twice the time passed before I could break her from the broodiness and right after this she had a heavy molt. You couldnt imagine how rough this is on her tiny little body going thrue both these events right after another.
She didnt mind it, cause right after she was done molting she went broody again.

This was to much for her body...

Looking back there was a few signs before the symtoms appeared yet again.
I observed her in the pen and she was looking with a strange tilt on her head for a few seconds but it went a away, so I didnt think much more about it.


A few days in a row I found her sleeping under the perches. I tought it was just cause she was broody and trying to sneak to her nest during the nigh
In fact this was a sign of loss of balance, she didnt jump of the perches, she fell.

One morning, not knowing what was waiting. I found her with her head between her legs yet again. She have had a relapse. I knew that this was very common for wry neck cases.

I went all in on her treatment. With the knowledge from the last one I was prepared.
Within 2 days I tought she was getting better but I was so wrong. She went downhill fast.


I had her in my hand, in my lap, on my chest every minute I was home. Assisting her neck so didnt have to panic when she dropped her head.

I tought once again that she wouldnt make thrue this. I cried but didnt give up! The day after, she could eat on her own!
I tried puttning her outside soon after with the rest under observation, to my suprise she was walking!


I made a new prevention plan. A reminder on my phone to give her a multivitamin shot twice a month, I wouldnt risk the same situation again so she I wouldnt let her be broody. I also added sunflower seeds to the whole flock diet.

Both these times I was so afraid that this wry neck would be a wry neck caused by a brain injury. Bartok suffers from a vaulted skull which makes brain sensetive to a slightes peck.


She is so far healthy, cocky and loves cuddles today. She has grown to become a very special hen to me. It likes she knows that I have helped her thrue her illness. She comes running to me soon as she hears my voice.
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