Help!! Marek's Disease??

She got a lump in her crop after being egg bound for a day, so I stopped feeding her pellets and started feeding her only a few grapes dipped in olive oil now and then, served up with ample pedialite. She is still on her side today (day 3), though her general personality and robustness seem very high. Her appetite is very good.

I called a bird store in NJ and they told me I might try giving her a Cipro pill diluted in 15ml of water, and serve it to her .05ml at a time, twice a day for five days. I started that Rx today. I have no idea what is ailing her, though!

Again, she seems fine in every other way- except for a trembling leg (when excited) and a supremely reddened face when moved around. I flipped her from one side to the other for a bit- she had been favoring her right side to lay on (as in the picture)...

Oh, and she is pooping and the poo looks good- just one particularly rancid-smelling poo this morning (probably from the lump in her crop passing through).

ANY ADVICE??!! What could this be?

is it possiable she has rickets? rickets is not contageious but it is a dietary defiency. rickets can be treated with supplements of vitamin D3 also calcium. does her eyes look normal? no changes in color or iris? no other symptoms other than the legs? she is not twisting her neck or anything like that correct? im truely hoping its rickets and not a sign of mareks disease. id do a little research on both and according to her symptoms treat accordingly. you have said she is otherwise normal except for the legs leading me more toward rickets. i would start her on vitamin D3 and calcium as soon as possiable. see if this helps. is she still getting good blood flow to the legs? they are not turning any different color are they? please do some research on rickets and see if you might agree? i really Hope this helps out and please keep us posted on her condition. she is no longer egg bound correct? seems to fit the symptoms of posibably rickets. let us know how she does but please do look up rickets and see if you think maybe it could be that? best wishes!

Gallina8 said:

She got a lump in her crop after being egg bound for a day, so I stopped feeding her pellets and started feeding her only a few grapes dipped in olive oil now and then, served up with ample pedialite. She is still on her side today (day 3), though her general personality and robustness seem very high. Her appetite is very good.

I called a bird store in NJ and they told me I might try giving her a Cipro pill diluted in 15ml of water, and serve it to her .05ml at a time, twice a day for five days. I started that Rx today. I have no idea what is ailing her, though!

Again, she seems fine in every other way- except for a trembling leg (when excited) and a supremely reddened face when moved around. I flipped her from one side to the other for a bit- she had been favoring her right side to lay on (as in the picture)...

Oh, and she is pooping and the poo looks good- just one particularly rancid-smelling poo this morning (probably from the lump in her crop passing through).

ANY ADVICE??!! What could this be?

Click to expand...

How old is she?

is she old?

She will be one year in May.

Hey Realsis,

So I looked up rickets and it doesn't seem to fit her. None of her boney masses are squishy, her beak and legs feel strong.

Marek's actually looks like it might be more plausible... but I'm not sure yet.

I'm going to try calcium and D anyway- how much, though?? I have 1000iu D and 600mg calcium tablets available.

Thank you for your input- and I'm going to look into it some more!!!

Also- should I be feeding her something other than fruit? Her poo is pretty wet now...

This is a Video of her shaky leg.

Gallina8 said:

Hey Realsis,

So I looked up rickets and it doesn't seem to fit her. None of her boney masses are squishy, her beak and legs feel strong.

Marek's actually looks like it might be more plausible... but I'm not sure yet.

I'm going to try calcium and D anyway- how much, though?? I have 1000iu D and 600mg calcium tablets available.

Thank you for your input- and I'm going to look into it some more!!!

Click to expand...

Gallina8 said:

Also- should I be feeding her something other than fruit? Her poo is pretty wet now...

Click to expand...

I would make sure that she is getting vitamins and electrolites in her water to start with. Sav-a-Chick is good and they also have electrolites in packets now as well. I used 500mg calcium 1000iu D on my goose for egg binding. I would be giving her something other than fruit now if it were me.

Okay, I'd like some more info if possible. She looks a little skinny to me. Is her breast bone prominent? Do you have a digital kitchen scale that you could weigh her on? Before we start using the M word let's rule out a few more things. This could be as simple as a vitamin deficiency even though she should be too old for that, I don't have much faith in the feeds this year. Let's try building up her vitamin levels first and go from there.

Will she stand if you put her on her feet? Is she able to walk around at all? Have you checked to see if you can feel another egg? What made her go down to begin with?

Almost missed this...I just watched the video again, it looks as if her bottom and her chest are featherless? Have you checked this bird for mites?

Ok- i just started giving her about 500 calcium with 500 D as of last night. As far as vitamins go, here in Philadelphia I don't have much access to bird vits and supplies unless you can buy it at Pet Smart.

You said you'd give her something other than fruit- how about Pasta? What would you give her? I stopped giving her pellets because 1) her crop was a solid lump for a day and a half, and it nearly killed her. 2) it seems to pain her to eat solid foods, and I want to keep her hydrated, and I know she loves grapes, so... grapes. Should I give her starter feed?

She weighs in at 2lbs 12oz, but she was a runt from the beginning. I know she's lost weight over the last few days, but I'm sure that she hadn't been more than 4lbs on her best day. Her breast bone sticks out a bit because, I think, she is not eating much of anything. Not for a lack of appetite though. I just don't want her little crop to get jammed up again. No mites, I checked.

She does not stand- her legs seize in a flexed position- she moves them and is trying to walk though. When I set her down, I try to see if she can stay/balance upright and centered, but she always turns off to her right side. I have been flipping her, L to R, for fear of the unknown.

This started on Saturday morning (perhaps Fri night). I found her hock-sitting in the secondary coop that's low to the ground (she has always favored this one). Her toes were balled up into fists, and her face was red. She had plucked the feathers off of her behind. I took her in, sat her in a warm bath, and then oiled her vent. She passed a bloody egg a few hours later. She could stand, she could walk, but her legs were, again, hyper flexed. In other words, she looked like she was walking on stilts.

Excited that the worst had passed, I tucked her in to the crate and went to bed, sure that she'd be OK in the morning. She was on her left side, and had plucked a bunch of feathers out of her chest. So I set her up in the "sick bin" and bought pedialite and watched her. Her face was BRIGHT red all the time. She was a tad lethargic.

A half a day later I noticed the lump in her crop, and began to give her 1-2 grapes served in a little dish of olive oil. She ate and drank with zest. The lump passed on Monday morning, as evidenced by the foul-smelling rotten poo that she delivered. Since then she's been pooping wet but on her own. She went on a strictly no-pellet diet on Sunday. She started cipro in 15ml OJ at <.5ml per dose on Monday. SHe also started getting the calcium/D since Monday night...

Hope this short story helps...