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Wry Neck
Other Names: Torticollis, Stargazing, Twisted Neck
Wry neck, also known as torticollis, twisted neck, stargazing, limber neck and crooked neck is a clinical sign where the chicken's neck is bent and twisted so that their head is oriented towards the left or right side, upwards or downward. It is associated with disorders of the vestibular system. It can be caused by genetics, vitamin deficiencies, trauma, tumors, viruses, bacteria, parasites, protozoa, toxins and fungi.
Case 1: Teratoma in a Chicken. A 9-week-old white leghorn chicken from a flock of 250 started assuming an abnormal head and neck position, where their "head and neck were fixed in an extreme arched-down position with the beak pointing toward the rear." No other issues were noted. They killed the bird and performed a necropsy and found a small, pale-yellow mass which was protruding slightly from the middle of the cerebellum. Ref Primary tumor site: brainSites of Metastases:
Case 2: Fowl cyst mite in a Turkey Laminosioptes cysticola, the fowl cyst mite, was found in peripheral nerves and thoracic and abdominal viscera of an emaciated eastern wild turkey exhibiting severe torticollis, circling, loss of balance, and wing droop. Mites, sometimes accompanied by granulomatous inflammation, were abundant in brachial plexus and sciatic nerves. Mild lymphoplasmacytic perivascular cuffing was present in the cerebellum, but no direct evidence of mites or other infectious agents was found in the central nervous system. Ref
Case 3: Listerial encephalitis in a Chickens Neural signs (torticollis, drowsiness) and mortality were observed in five chickens of a native chicken flock that included 450 male birds on a farm that had 2300 native chickens and 1120 layers. Histologic lesions were observed in the medulla oblongata, optic lobe, cerebellum, and spinal cord of the affected birds. The lesions, which were most severe in the medulla oblongata, were massive abscesses with rarefaction (demyelination and malacia) of the parenchyma with gram-positive bacteria. The degenerative and necrotic areas were characterized by fibrin thrombosis, hemorrhages, and congestion in the blood vessels. Immunohistochemically, the bacteria positive for L. monocytogenes antigen were observed in the medulla oblongata, cerebellum, and spinal cord. Ultrastructurally, the small rod-shaped and thin-cell-walled bacteria were observed in the parenchyma of the medulla oblongata. Listeria monocytogenes (serotype 4b) was isolated from the medulla oblongata and spinal cord. Ref
Case 4: Listerial encephalitis in a Partridges An outbreak of neurological disease was investigated in red-legged partridges between 8 and 28 days of age. Clinical signs included torticollis, head tilt and incoordination and over an initial eight day period approximately 30–40 fatalities occurred per day. No significant gross post mortem findings were detected. Histopathological examination of the brain and bacterial cultures followed by partial sequencing confirmed a diagnosis of encephalitis due to Listeria monocytogenes. Further isolates were obtained from follow-up carcasses, environmental samples and pooled tissue samples of newly imported day-old chicks prior to placement on farm. These isolates had the same antibiotic resistance pattern as the isolate of the initial post mortem submission and belonged to the same fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (fAFLP) subtype. Ref
Case 5: Meningoencephalitis in a Turkeys Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) meningoencephalitis was diagnosed in six turkey flocks, from 1998 to 2005, in the western part of France. Affected birds were 8-11 weeks old and all displayed neurological signs, especially torticollis, with more than half having concomitant respiratory signs. Microscopical examination of brain samples from birds in all six flocks revealed similar lesions of acute to subacute multifocal parenchymal necrosis, perivascular cuffing, leptomeningitis and vasculitis. Birds from four of the six affected flocks were seropositive for MG and in birds from four flocks MG DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction performed on tracheal swabs or on samples of formalin-fixed and paraffin wax-embedded brain. Ref
Case 6: Mycoplasmosis in a Turkeys Two 5-week-old bronze turkeys were submitted with crooked necks that could not be straightened. Both birds were serologically and culturally positive for Mycoplasma meleagridis (MM). Histologically, there were lymphoid follicles in the cranial thoracic and cervicoclavicular air sacs, and inflammatory changes in the cartilage of some cervical vertebrae. Ref
Case 7: Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale infection in a Chickens Four chickens displaying severe torticollis were submitted from a 13-week-old commercial broiler breeder chicken flock located in Mazandaran province. These birds were suspected to pasteurellosis by the farm veterinarian. No other marked gross lesion except emaciation was seen. Histopathologic examination of the brains showed mild to moderate meningeal vasculitis, perivascular cuffing with lymphocytes, degeneration and necrosis of purkinje cells in the cerebellum. Viral culture of the brains especially for Newcastle disease and avian influenza viruses was negative. Bacterial culture of the brains onto the blood agar revealed pure growth of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale. In this study molecular confirmation of ORT by using of a very specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out. Amplification products of a 784 bp region of the 16S rRNA gene of ORT confirmed the bacterium identification. Ref
Case 8: Otitis and cranial osteomyelitis in a Partridges An outbreak was reported in a flock of red-legged partridges which was characterized by abnormal head position, torticollis and difficulty in standing, walking and flying. Pathological, microbiological and molecular genetic data supported an association with Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) infection. Clinical signs persisted for several days and were accompanied by weight loss leading to death. Morbidity was approximately 20% and most birds died if untreated. Lesions were mainly characterized by a severe osteomyelitis of the cranial bones and purulent inflammation of the external, middle and inner ears. O. rhinotracheale was isolated from ear samples, skull and brain stem in pure culture. Genetic characterization by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of the clinical isolates showed that the outbreak was caused by a single strain of ORT. Ref
Case 9: Bilateral Granulomatous and Fibrinoheterophilic Otitis Interna in a Bustard A captive juvenile little bustard was presented for acute onset of right head tilt and right circling. The bird failed to respond to supportive care and systemic antibiotic therapy. A bilateral granulomatous and fibrinoheterophilic otitis interna due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa was diagnosed postmortem by histopathologic examination and bacterial culture. Ref
Case 10: Otitis interna in a Turkeys Otitis interna was diagnosed in five 9-to-21-day-old turkey poults with clinical signs of paralysis, opisthotonus, torticollis, blindness, and increased mortality. Gross and microscopic lesions in the poults included omphalitis, typhlitis, hepatitis, meningoencephalitis, ophthalmitis, neuritis and ganglionitis of the vestibulocochlear nerve, and otitis interna. Salmonella enterica arizonae was isolated from the brains, eyes, intestines, yolk sacs, and livers of poults. Birds with otitis interna also had meningoencephalitis. It is most likely that the S. enterica arizonae infection spread from the brain to the internal ears through the vestibulocochlear nerve. Ref
Isolate the bird from the flock and place in a safe, comfortable, warm location (your own chicken "intensive care unit") with easy access to water and food. Limit stress. Call your veterinarian.
A Ali et al. Rehabilitation and Curing of Domestic Pigeons Exhibiting Signs of Torticollis. Research Journal for Veterinary Practitioners (2014)
Nabinejad, Abdolreza. Study on subclinical and clinical Marek's disease (MD) in the broiler chickens using histopathology. International Journal of Advanced Biological and Biomedical Research.–2013.–Volum 1 (2013)
Sawale, G. K., et al. Pneumo-encephalitic aspergillosis in broiler breeder flock.. Indian Journal of Veterinary Pathology (2011)
Burgos, Sigfrido, Diego V. Bohorquez, and Sergio A. Burgos. Vitamin deficiency-induced neurological diseases of poultry.. International Journal of Poultry Science 5.9 (2006)
Can occur at any age; however it is most frequently seen in newly hatched chicks related to vitamin deficiencies.
Risk Factors
Incorrect incubation parameters
Poor nutritional diet
Adult chickens used for breeding who do not receive additional nutrients needed for chicks (often occurs when fed food intended for laying hens or when just feeding scratch)
