PLEASE help!! 9 weeks old chick not walking

[Fancychooklady]

The top leg that is bent, has she pulled it up or is it just the way you put her?

 

[seminolewind]

What I would say, from personal experience is that most Mareks birds that I have had become paralyzed or show neurological issues usually start losing weight pretty quickly. I don't think its diagostic but it seems pretty consistent with Mareks birds so I would be curious if she is maintaing her normal weight.

X2

 

[seminolewind]

I got 6 chicks from a friend when they were 2 weeks old. They were bought from a breeder as day old chicks and had shown no problems while at my friend`s house.
After a few days at my place 1 of them could not stand.
After a lot of reading from the forums here I gave her B vitamin complex and she was fine again the second day.
After a few days another one had a crocked neck and could not walk and again got better with B vitamin.
After a week I saw blood in their brooder and started them all with Corid for 5 days. I was going to give corid for 3 more days but blood was seen again after 1 week and they got 5 more days. After 2 weeks I gave them 3 more days.

As soon as the corid treatment ended I saw one of them not standing, it was the chick that first had the leg issues. The second chick is still fine and so are the other 4.
She has been inside since 3 days.
I gave her B vitamin confident this happened because corid drained away that, but no improvements at all.
I have been reading a lot from the posts regarding similar cases and have given her, garlic and yogurt as well.
Today she is not eating very well.
Her poop has been mostly watery and green looking.
Just now I gave her some corid with a syringe so maybe I can rule out coccidiosis. She didnt have any blood this time but I am running out of options and hope that it was a vitamin deficiency like I believed it was the first time this happened to her 7 weeks ago.
Now she is 9.5 weeks and this time is looking serious.

1. Could this be Mareks? They were not vaccinated against it.
2. Can Mareks come and go like this?

She was on chick starter and some times little grass or greens from the garden.

Any advises of what this can be and what to do at this point will be very appreciated
Please tell me what you think

Hi. You are certainly getting a lot of great advice. Even if Marek's is a possibility, it's great that you're trying everything else out. I haven't read the entire thread, so I might be repeating what others have said.

Kathy is right, get a scale, it takes a lot of guess work out of whether they are losing weight or not.

It is unlikely for an exposed chick to display symptoms at 2 weeks. Marek's generally takes about 5-6 weeks to cause symptoms. (Generally) It's unlikely to have Marek's symptoms, recover, and get them again. (Unlikely but not unheard of)

There are a few of us here including me who have been obsessive at gathering information for the last 4-5 years, and documenting our own, and keeping records of what symptoms were substantiated by a Lab Necropsy.

In the eighties, chicken producers were losing up to 80% of their chickens for processing due to Marek's-even vaccinated. They finally learned from the Amish to disinfect and growing all in-all out by age. Marek's was discovered over 100 years ago.

If a day old chick is vaccinated, and never ever ever was exposed to Marek's another vaccination could possibly "refresh" the immune system. But that's highly unlikely that an adult chicken has never been exposed. (Unlikely or rare)
.
If a vaccinated or unvaccinated chicken is exposed to Marek's virus, they will most Likely (Likely) end up being a carrier, but Most of the vaccinated ones will be saved from getting the symptoms that eventually kill them. (Most)

A Marek's virus vaccination is a method of safely exposing a chick which would start the (Marek's) immune system growing before the real exposure happens. Once exposed to either one the body develops the immune system. Unfortunately, with the real exposure without being vaccinated, the immune system had no time to produce immunity.

I hope this explains why a later-on vaccination does nothing. Or I've confused you all a bit more!

Chances are that you did not poison your chicken with B vitamins because the excess gets pooped or peed out.

Sararoni, Aspergillosis can cause Marek-type symptoms in.. It is picked up by breathing, and usually gives a chick "brooder pneumonia", but it can also cause paralysis and other damage without actually showing breathing problems.

 

[sararoni]

Fancychooklady no I put her like that because I needed to clean her swing.
When she wants to move she uses her wings and struggles.
Seminolewind thank you very much.
I will read now about aspergillosis.
The scale is on the mail and I am just tube feeding her in the evening if her crop feels empty. I want to encourage her to keep eating by herself during the day.

 

[sararoni]

She never gasped for air. The only symptoms she had were the weak legs and runny green poop. Her poop now is much better but the legs are completely paralysed.
Also I ordered online sulfadimethoxine in case I will have to treat for coccidosid in the future for any of them
Also time to time they spray for west Nile virus I our area.
Any thoughts on that?

 

[chanceschickens]

Do you think the chicken ate a Bug that was sprayed or the chemical itself?

 

[sararoni]

I don't think she could have when she was 2 weeks old because she was in a brooder mostly inside.
But when she was 9 weeks old and her legs became weak again, she was outside and that could be a possibility for her to be bitten by a mosquito.
I am reading that chickens don't show symptoms of the west Nile virus though so maybe this was a wrong guess

 

[seminolewind]

I mention aspergillosis because the chronic form can attack any organ, not necessarily the lungs, or may not show respiratory issues. It can cause paralysis if it attacks the nerves.

My trouble with mosquitos was in the form of dry pox. Now another one has it. 2 had infected eyes-probably caused by flies. With WNL amd EEE, the counties usually have a map online to show where there have been positives.

 

[Nambroth]

I understand that with EE and WNV, that chickens can become infected but never actually develop symptoms, hence they are "sentinel species" for these diseases. Is this correct?

 

[casportpony]

Quote:
Just got this in an email from UC Davis:


In it is this:
Poultry and Other Avian
Nutrional encephalomalacia due to Vitamin E deficiency was diagnosed in 3‐week‐old turkey poults with increase in mortality (1.5% per day) in a flock of 10,000 birds. The birds were ataxic, lying in lateral recumbency and paddling. Necropsy revealed severe petechial hemorrhages on the cerebellum associated with microscopic multifocal necrosis and thrombosis. Vitamin E levels
in the liver ranged between 0.53 and 2.2 ppm (normal range: 3‐15 or greater).

-Kathy