Has the chick been like that all along, or is this a recent problem? If since day one, I would suspect a congenital health problem.

If the behaviour is new, it is just possible that it had an accident, perhaps flew into something and concussed itself.

I had one like that among my first chicks. Similar symptoms except it did not exhibit the leaning backwards/looking up thing. It died quite suddenly between three and four months of age.

No, it's not recent. She's been like this for some time. Sometimes she shakes when we pick her up. She seems to like the heat lamp more than the others, too, and hangs out by mommy's side most of the time while the others are running around like crazy.

These decisions are always difficult. If you think she has a communicable disease or if she seems to be suffering, the kindest thing to do would be to euthanize her. If she isn't suffering you can wait it out and just keep an eye on her--as I did with mine--but the chances for that chick do not sound good to me.

Do some internet research on 'crookneck' or 'limberneck' to see if the symptoms fit your situation. It's a condition that is basically a form of Botulism usually caused by contaminated feed or a head injury, and is treatable to a certain extent. I'd also wonder if it could be Coccidiosis...you might do some research on that illness as well, it's also treatable in some cases.

What you want to do is rule out a communicable illness that could wipe out all of your birds.

Good luck!

Velvet ~:>