2 month old welsummer pullet sick, is it mareks?

[steph5253]

You have ruled out any crop issues(impacted crop)asking b/c in your photos her crop looks very large for one not eating much.

It definitely look like she has a full crop but in reality it is her neck sticking out there bc of the way she is sitting...
Her crop is mostly empty right now. She is eating fruit I give her but not much of her food...

 

[steph5253]

You know, I keep thinking I should be proactive and maybe try worming/ABX. I'm an RN so it is second nature to want to start the most logical safest treatment if I don't know exactly what's going on...

 

[ten chicks]

Can she stand at all on her own and if she does,is she using wings at all for balance? Have you checked legs for any issues? Does her crop empty overnight?

 

[steph5253]

S

Can she stand at all on her own and if she does,is she using wings at all for balance? Have you checked legs for any issues? Does her crop empty overnight? 

she cannot stand anymore, not for a couple days. Legs look normal. She tries to use her rings for balance as she hobbles around.
Her crop does empty at night.

Any ideas?

 

[ten chicks]

S
she cannot stand anymore, not for a couple days. Legs look normal. She tries to use her rings for balance as she hobbles around.
Her crop does empty at night.

Any ideas?

This is a long shot,but check for a slipped tendon. Run your thumb down back of leg from where leg joins body to where scales start,press down while doing this,if tendon has slipped in one or both legs(slipped tendon in one leg can cause birds to not walk)you can feel it,it will feel loose/springy almost like an elastic band. Press down you should feel it snap back into place,this may have to be done several times a day or wrapped to keep into place.

I have successfully treated a slipped tendon in an adult rooster,his symptoms were not walking,but hobbling/crawling very low to ground and using wings for balance,he also was not eating much until i realized what the issue was(i was originally treating him for a sprain,but after a couple of days i knew it was something else). It took him about 2 weeks before he was back to walking normal. I pressed tendon into place several times a day and did not limit his mobility as i did not want tendon to stiffen up,i also did stretching exercises by gently stretching leg backwards like birds do while normally stretching.

 

[steph5253]

This is a long shot,but check for a slipped tendon. Run your thumb down back of leg from where leg joins body to where scales start,press down while doing this,if tendon has slipped in one or both legs(slipped tendon in one leg can cause birds to not walk)you can feel it,it will feel loose/springy almost like an elastic band. Press down you should feel it snap back into place,this may have to be done several times a day or wrapped to keep into place.

I have successfully treated a slipped tendon in an adult rooster,his symptoms were not walking,but hobbling/crawling very low to ground and using wings for balance,he also was not eating much until i realized what the issue was(i was originally treating him for a sprain,but after a couple of days i knew it was something else). It took him about 2 weeks before he was back to walking normal. I pressed tendon into place several times a day and did not limit his mobility as i did not want tendon to stiffen up,i also did stretching exercises by gently stretching leg backwards like birds do while normally stretching.

I checked her this am and no signs of a slipped tendon :-(

Thanks though!

 

[steph5253]

Update for today, she is much the same. She can move her legs but they seem to be weak and or not able to completely control them.
She still hobbles around, not eating or drinking much but will scarf fruit.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:

I notice with my mother that her stories from the past get kindof distorted. Years ago, chickens laid for 2 years then became oven stuffer roaster. Marek's been around since the early 1900's, and went 60-80 (?) years without a vaccine. There was much less breeding for these ultra egg laying machines and all the complications. Then, many years go by for breeding for production, that no one breeds for longevity, or ultra healthy. I have 15 chickens that are 4-7 years old and unvaccinated. The rest are vaccinated. I think we all have this thought in the back of our minds that other chickens die, but not mine!

 

[ChickenLegs13]

My memory of being on the farm is we didn't feed them vegan diets, bean sprout tofu, or non-gmo grain. Matter of fact we didn't feed them anything.
We didn't wipe their butts, put band-aids on their booboos, take them to the vet or worry about them being wet & cold.
I also remember that they didn't lay many eggs, not many eggs hatched, and not many chicks survived.
But the ones that did survive nature's cruel selection were healthy, hardy, vigorous and lived forever. They didn't walk around getting sick and dropping dead for no reason.

 

[steph5253]

Update for today:

She is much the same with limited movement of her legs but she is still feisty when I pick her up. She looked to be eating a little bit better yesterday and today.

I have been wondering, she kind of squawks like it hurts when she moves around. She has been doing this for some time, and I just started to think it is a pain response.... Or just squawking bc it is hard to move around.