Whether you hatch out your own chicks or buy them already hatched, you may encounter one that begins to hold it's head sideways with its neck twisted, and even seem to have an occasional seizure. Once you rule out head trauma a common cause of this is Vitamin E deficiency. This is fairly easy to fix if you have a few minutes a day to treat it.
There are several ways to get Vit E in to the chicks but my favorite is to simply squirt a 400iu Vit E capsule in to its beak. Easier said than done the first few times but it gets easier I promise. You can also buy Vit E with added sellenium since that helps the body absorb the Vit E. Many that die do so because they can't get food or water. I do use a syringe and slowly drop 2-3 cc worth of water in to the chicks mouth with a little vit water a few times day. If the symptoms persist for more than 2-3 days where the chick still can't eat I will make a slurry mash and squirt it in the chicks mouth after I give the water.
Give the Vit E until the symptoms are completely gone. It is usually a week but may go on for 2 weeks in bigger/older chicks. The faster you catch this the easier it is to fix.
There are several ways to get Vit E in to the chicks but my favorite is to simply squirt a 400iu Vit E capsule in to its beak. Easier said than done the first few times but it gets easier I promise. You can also buy Vit E with added sellenium since that helps the body absorb the Vit E. Many that die do so because they can't get food or water. I do use a syringe and slowly drop 2-3 cc worth of water in to the chicks mouth with a little vit water a few times day. If the symptoms persist for more than 2-3 days where the chick still can't eat I will make a slurry mash and squirt it in the chicks mouth after I give the water.
Give the Vit E until the symptoms are completely gone. It is usually a week but may go on for 2 weeks in bigger/older chicks. The faster you catch this the easier it is to fix.
