Probably not wry neck?

I got chickens from a hatchery and one of them is a Bielefelder roo. I've had them for a little over a week and according to the hatchery he should be about 4-5 weeks old. I think he's about 3 weeks. A few days ago I found him huddled in the corner of the bin, sleeping on his head. He was unable to eat or drink because his head was stuck down between his feet.

I first thought Mareks disease. The bird was lethargic, had obviously lost weight, and seemed to be having convulsions. One eye was grayed. I got him out and put him in his own box in another room. The hatchery said no chance of Mareks, but at this point I'm not trusting the hatchery.

On closer observation, his head was down between his feet. I thought possibly wry neck, but everything I can find about wry neck shows a loose and floppy appearance, not the stiff muscles he was experiencing. The muscles are actually tight, not allowing him to lift his head normally. I had to force him to drink, sliding his beak down along the edge of a bowl until his beak was in the water. I gave him vitamin E and put vitamins in his water and by late the next afternoon he was eating normally and drinking on his own. I thought I might put him back in with the others, but decided to give it one more day to see if he was fully recovered...

The next morning we were back to square 1, but late morning he was eating and drinking normally. Still giving him vitamin E and other vitamins. The next morning I again had to help him drink, but this time it was mid morning when he was eating and drinking normally. So progress. Maybe.

It occurred to me that he reverts during the night. Although he had a heater, I didn't have a 2nd chick heater and couldn't find one at any of the stores nearby so it was just a heating pad. When he lay down on it he spread his wings and flattened himself out, so I thought that the behavior might be the chicken equivalent of sleeping cold--a stiff neck.

So last night I made him a heating tent with another heating pad and this morning he was fine. Very vocal, he wants back with his family.

I'm not sure if I should put him back yet. I'm no longer really concerned about contagion, I just don't want to have him revert.

Any ideas what this might be, or how I can help him?

Hi Lauren,
I don't have much to offer, this is more to bump this a little than anything.

Some people would probably have culled the chick when it was having trouble in the first place. While I completely understand the necessity of doing this in some cases... I am also timid to kill anything I don't have to.

If it was in my flock, I would be glad it was getting better and probably keep it, but I would mark it somehow (marking paint, leg band, etc), so that if I wanted to breed the chickens later, it could be separated. I would not want those genetics being passed on.

Indeed. He's my rooster, and the only Bielefelder that I have, so I can keep track of him pretty easily. I don't need to worry about him until the girls are old enough to go broody, but he has definitely been cut out of my future breeding program.

Possibly I'll be able to find someone to take him who isn't focused on breeding but wants a rooster for their flock.

Howdy!
I hope your baby roo is continuing to improve and that you're giving some thought to returning him to his flock. Maybe tomorrow, providing you aren't seeing any more questionable behavior from him or any of the girls.
I agree it sounds like Marek's. I don't think you need to boot him off, but do consider getting a second roo eventually.
I'm only concerned that it's a virus, in which case your other chicks have already been infected.

Your girls will go broody, if they're the type to, much sooner than you expect. or not at all, and it's a good idea to be ready for them. I try not to keep any eggs from my girls until the hen in question has a good two years of being a stellar hen of her type, whatever that means for her. At that point, they've survived all the basics and proven to be smart and tough for the conditions here. What you decide to do is your own business. All people seem to raise their birds differently.

Marek's isn't the big boogeyman that beginning chicken-handlers are led to believe. It's like all other viruses, in that it's a stubborn thing and is hard to get rid of, but the line about it being "everywhere" turns out to be hype. So, if your boychick survived a run in with Marek's, he's a keeper. If it's more that he has a weird neurological condition, it will stick with him. I wish there was an easy way to tell the difference.
I don't know enough about the Bielefelder breed to say anything. (I do Dorkings. ;) )
Best of luck and let us know if there are changes, good or bad!

He climbed out of his box but couldn't get in with his family, so I put him back yesterday. He's still not 100%, but he's stronger and no longer has his head locked down. No aggression or bullying as of last night.

The only way he could have gotten Mareks is from the hatchery, as he hasn't had contact with any other birds or anything else that didn't come directly from the store. In researching Mareks I found something interesting. When Mareks showed up in the 80's (?) there was no effort to develop immunity. A vaccine was developed immediately, and as far as I can tell nothing has been done since except to recommend the vaccine for all newly hatched chicks. Affected birds are culled, so there's small chance that immunity has started to develop unless it's in isolated flocks.

I don't think he had Mareks, although it remains possible. The other birds aren't showing any signs. Whatever it is, I think he came from the hatchery that way. I noticed the first day that he refused to eat out of the feeder but would instead scratch the food out of the feeder and eat it off the floor. If his head was already down, or lifting it was painful, it would explain that behavior. It would also explain why he was so dreadfully thin when I finally separated him from the rest.

I'll keep an eye on him. I can't have an obvious neurological weakness in my first generation roo. I hope the girls don't go broody for at least a year, giving me time to raise another roo and find a home for this one. If this thing returns I'll have to make a final decision.

So I've done some more research, and this seems to be a thing in Bielefelder roos. How common, I don't know, but this is the only item I've been able to find that people are trying to find answers for with this particular breed.

I've found four people discussing this issue, five including me. All have affected roos, not hens, and the symptoms are the same. The chick (or adult roo in one case, with two affected) drags its head between its legs, always has its head down, seems to run backward and then have some kind of convulsion and collapses. Extreme nutrient deficiency? Wry neck? Epilepsy? Without more information it could be just about anything, or nothing. I can say mine appeared to improve rapidly when I put him in the sun, but I was doing other things so that's anecdotal at best.

Howdy!
That's disconcerting. I know Bielefelders are really popular right now and the possibility of someone leaving some bad genes in one of the commercial lines is troubling. I may just be borrowing trouble on that front, though. I hope they aren't.
Whenever I hear of something negative being seen in a relatively small population, and there doesn't seem to be any connection otherwise? Yeah, I jump to "what can the connection be?" There has to be some commonality. Did y'all get your birds from the same hatchery? Are they being sent to the same state/traveling a similar distance?

Occam's Razor, but you need more information. I know. I know. It may be a weird tangent, but I can always tell a Murray McMurray Silver Grey Dorking - they all have a little curve in their comb and somehow it became part of their genetic line. You can tell they've never bothered to fix that little problem, and it's not a fault on the birds so, ... who cares? Right? But it's a tell.

I might see what I can shake loose. I hate for this to be a genetic thing, but it's either a virus, a hatcher malfunction (too high a temp, too low a temp, can get you a similar problem), or genetic.
I'm sorry. Sincerely.

I'm glad the little guy is doing better, though. If it's a known trait for the Bielefelder roos, I would think someone has done research into it. We'll see, I guess.

This particular hatchery said they breed their own birds, so my guess is it's one line that's too in-bred. I can't say, though, because I didn't think to ask additional questions.But the fact that most of those I heard of were adult birds (other than my own), who had this happen more than once, suggests that it's not a temporary issue.

Like you said, it could be a lot of things. I haven't been able to find any research, and with only a small number of cases it's probably not something that would attract that kind of attention.

I checked back on a couple of the people who were having this problem, and it appears that the chicks are coming from various hatcheries.

That the chicks are from all over is really weird. I have put it on my list of Things To Look Up and will get to it soonish.
While there are numerous possibilities behind it, whatever it is, it breaks down to a disease, a hatchery problem, genetic, or a deficiency of some sort. That there are no obvious flashing lights is sneaky and curious. I'm really starting to get interested in this problem!

I know that there are "killer genes" in several breeds and varieties that are known within that breed's Big Names, but aren't really talked about much - like the short leg gene for British birds (Dorking, Scots Dumpy, ...). I'm wondering if this is one of those, like you said a potential in-breeding problem.

Best thoughts and I hope you have a good weekend!