Accepting what might be and pushing forward.....need advice on multiple concerns.

[TropicalChickies]

@TropicalChickies - thank you for all of the info you have provided. I appreciate your time. We had treated the young leghorns with Corid June 11th for 5 days due to bloody poop. Everyone did well with that, and we haven't seen any bloody poop since. On June 25th we moved those chicks into their new spacious coop and run, and 2 days later, I found one of them unable to control/use their legs. We started her on Pultry Cell and Vitamin B Complex in case the Corid depleted her of the Vitamin B. (This was explained to me by @azygous when one of my lavenders started with a limp...sadly, she did pass after a couple of weeks of treatment - That's why there's some thought about Mareks.) I keep looking at the state testing, trying to understand how get testing done. I even emailed somebody at the labs, and they weren't helpful at all. Nova seems to be up and down. I feel like i lose hope, and suddenly she's looking like her old self. Yesterday we found her bathing in the sand with the others. (I took her out of "quarantine" and she seemed more active, like being separated depressed her?) She even got on her roosting bar last night! Shes pecking around this morning with an occasional head shake, but that's WAY better than it had been. I will be back on here in a bit...I have to got check on some things. I started this post yesterday, but i kept getting interrupted, lol. Thank you again, @TropicalChickies.

That's good news about Nova! Thank you for updating me. And I didn't mean in any way to imply that you don't have a Marek's outbreak going on. I have no way of knowing that; you well may in this instance. But your sadness and frustration resonated with me because I've been there. So I was making more general recommendations to help you feel more in control.

And absolutely, weakness or paralysis in chicks can be caused by B vitamin deficiencies after treating with amprolium (Corrid) or giving medicated starter feed. Very sharp of @azygous to point that out, as usual!

Very glad to hear Nova is showing positive signs and still with us. Keep us posted.

 

[TillyPeeps]

I had a hen attacked by a fox and then got very sick from mites after the shock. Mites just love to attack a weaker bird. I found that Permethrin powder did NOT work very well for mite treatments. It can reduce the amount of mites but never killed all of them. You can buy Permethrin 10 from TSC to mix up with 2 gallon water and give her a bath in a 5 gallon basket. Blow her dry (or mostly dry if it's hot) with low heat of hair dryer after the bath. Do this to all your birds if possible. Filter the permethrin mix and use it to spray your coop and run. Repeat in 7 days, and again in 7 days. It's the only way I got rid of the mites in my flock. I actually used elector psp for the first bath and Permethrin 10 for the next two, but elector psp is very expensive.

 

[Chopper923]

Oh, I know that you weren't implying anything, @TropicalChickies - just giving me lots of great information to look into and support! Which has given me a breath of fresh air to be able to think a bit more clearly. I think sometimes i get so overwhelmed, i seriously cannot keep forcused and deal with the task at hand. You are spot on about the learning aspect - every day i find out something new. This site and the members have been a blessing. I am thankful for every single person who has taken time out of their day to guide me thru this experience!

Nova loves the rooster! We did end up moving one over by the ladies because they seemed unsure about going in their new coop on the first night. Wouldn't you know, we put him in there, and after 5 minutes of us quietly watching, he lead everybody up into their coop. Chickens are so fascinating...I love all animals, but i had no idea how much i would LOVE these dang chickens!

 

[Chopper923]

I had a hen attacked by a fox and then got very sick from mites after the shock. Mites just love to attack a weaker bird. I found that Permethrin powder did NOT work very well for mite treatments. It can reduce the amount of mites but never killed all of them. You can buy Permethrin 10 from TSC to mix up with 2 gallon water and give her a bath in a 5 gallon basket. Blow her dry (or mostly dry if it's hot) with low heat of hair dryer after the bath. Do this to all your birds if possible. Filter the permethrin mix and use it to spray your coop and run. Repeat in 7 days, and again in 7 days. It's the only way I got rid of the mites in my flock. I actually used elector psp for the first bath and Permethrin 10 for the next two, but elector psp is very expensive.

Oh, boy.... That sounds like a nightmare! Did your hen recover? Nova still has the slight bit of a headshake as of this morning. Yes, I heard the elector psp is very expensive! My husband was able to id the bug, and he said that we are dealing with lice, and from what I've read, lice seem to be the lesser of the two evils. At least, i hope I'm understanding that correctly. Thank you for sharing...I've made note of the info!!

 

[Chopper923]

Here's some info I had in my files.

Just an FYI
There is a test for mareks in living birds

http://vet.uga.edu/pdrc

Does them
Two types

Serologic antigen test about $6/ sample (agp) instructions at bottom

Tests for the mareks antigen
A positive is a positive
But a negative might just not have enough antibodies to be detected
Note: vaccinated birds will test positive with this test

The second test is a mareks pcr test that requires a yanked out primary feather
It tests for the actual disease and is quite accurate
But
It's $100.46 per sample

Instructions for the blood agp test
"
Please spin the blood to separate the serum from the blood clot. ONLY send the serum in an eppendorf sera tube. To perform the testing, we need .5 mL of sera, but we can get by with .25 mL on a small bird.


Please fill out our accession form in its entirety. Place the sera plus the accession form in a Styrofoam shipping container with ice packs. The package needs to be overnighted (not 2 day shipping) to the following address:


Harmony Seahorn

PDRC Diagnostic Lab

953 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605"

Thank you so much!!! I will get on that today...it would be nice to get an answer so we make some decisions on how to address the situation.

 

[TillyPeeps]

Oh, boy.... That sounds like a nightmare! Did your hen recover? Nova still has the slight bit of a headshake as of this morning. Yes, I heard the elector psp is very expensive! My husband was able to id the bug, and he said that we are dealing with lice, and from what I've read, lice seem to be the lesser of the two evils. At least, i hope I'm understanding that correctly. Thank you for sharing...I've made note of the info!!

Yeah, she is happy and healthy now. She is a really sweet lap chicken. She had lots of problems after the fox attack, and I believe it is from her body being weaker from the stress and injury. She was very sick from the mites first then heavy worm loading almost killed her. Mites are real nightmare! I had lice too, and I was able to treat it just with Permethrin powder. Good luck with your treatment.

 

[Chopper923]

Yeah, she is happy and healthy now. She is a really sweet lap chicken. She had lots of problems after the fox attack, and I believe it is from her body being weaker from the stress and injury. She was very sick from the mites first then heavy worm loading almost killed her. Mites are real nightmare! I had lice too, and I was able to treat it just with Permethrin powder. Good luck with your treatment.

Oh, i am so glad to hear she is doing well, poor girl! Thank ypu again!

 

[TropicalChickies]

I had a hen attacked by a fox and then got very sick from mites after the shock. Mites just love to attack a weaker bird. I found that Permethrin powder did NOT work very well for mite treatments. It can reduce the amount of mites but never killed all of them. You can buy Permethrin 10 from TSC to mix up with 2 gallon water and give her a bath in a 5 gallon basket. Blow her dry (or mostly dry if it's hot) with low heat of hair dryer after the bath. Do this to all your birds if possible. Filter the permethrin mix and use it to spray your coop and run. Repeat in 7 days, and again in 7 days. It's the only way I got rid of the mites in my flock. I actually used elector psp for the first bath and Permethrin 10 for the next two, but elector psp is very expensive.

Elector isn't available here so I haven't tried it, but I'll second @TillyPeeps that the permethrin liquid is more effective than powder. We have terrible sticktight fleas in the subtropical rainforest (where I live) and permethrin is the only thing that works. Be sure to dilute properly.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I had a hen attacked by a fox and then got very sick from mites after the shock. Mites just love to attack a weaker bird. I found that Permethrin powder did NOT work very well for mite treatments. It can reduce the amount of mites but never killed all of them. You can buy Permethrin 10 from TSC to mix up with 2 gallon water and give her a bath in a 5 gallon basket. Blow her dry (or mostly dry if it's hot) with low heat of hair dryer after the bath. Do this to all your birds if possible. Filter the permethrin mix and use it to spray your coop and run. Repeat in 7 days, and again in 7 days. It's the only way I got rid of the mites in my flock. I actually used elector psp for the first bath and Permethrin 10 for the next two, but elector psp is very expensive.

Great info, but just to clarify as @Eggcessive mentioned in post #12 of this thread, obviously sick birds should not be bathed, as doing so can stress them further, even to the point of death.

@Chopper923 , I'm sorry that the reason you are needing to learn so much so fast is because you are dealing with various illnesses and parasites within your flock, but hang in there; you are doing great.

 

[Chopper923]

Thank you, @Allsfairinloveandbugs , for the reminder - I have NOT given Nova a bath since @Eggcessive pointed that out. I appreciate your encouragement, wisdom, and support!!