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

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

If you haven't already refrigerated the Lavender chick you found dead this morn, do so asap. (Don't freeze her body, only refrigerate.) Since you now have a body to send in for an official necropsy at your state lab, there is no more need to have a live marek's test. The bonus is that a very thorough necropsy will be performed looking for all abnormalities and possible reasons for death, including but not limited to Marek's. That includes various worm species. You will fill out a standard form to submit along with the carcass, but don't hesitate to include a separate page, listing all details you think may be relevant. (Same as with fellow members here, the more info you give to vets at your state lab, the better.) If I was in your shoes and believed Marek's was the only disease within my flock, I might not be as quick to send a body in. But since you acquired this chick (as well as others) as an older started pullet, there's truly no telling what avian diseases she was exposed to before she was sold to you. Though Mareks Disease is untreatable, some other diseases are, which is why it's important to know as much as possible in order to best manage the health of your flock.

 

[Chopper923]

I know how it feels too. I purchased my first chickens in 2014, point of lay ISA Browns. The very next morning one laid an egg, and I was so excited and proud. But soon some of those 12 pullets began to show respiratory disease symptoms. I had no clue what was wrong, and no clue that so many chicken diseases are incurable. Even though I researched all I could, it took months to find answers, and I found those answers here on BYC. Eventually I submitted a body to my state lab for necropsy, and learned the pullets carried MG. I was very sad and disappointed that someone sold me sick birds, but also discovered a med that treats and keeps symptoms at bay. There are so many stories of people on this forum who bought chickens, fell in love with them, then discovered they carry various incurable avian diseases. It always pains me to see the stress and grief that brings to new chicken owners, and that includes @Chopper923 . But yes, as @TropicalChickies said, the road does get smoother, clearer and easier up ahead for those who choose to soldier on. When you learn exactly what afflicts your flock, you can better implement a plan of action to manage it.

@Chopper923 , you mentioned not being able to get a vet appt for several weeks. Some vets will test a stool sample for worms without seeing the chicken. You could inquire, or just assume your flock members have worms and use the fenbendazole to treat them. I have found no information that it could be harmful to deworm a sick chicken that Might not have worms. But worms can certainly cause further decline to a chicken that is ill for another reason(s).

I am so sorry for how difficult ypur start up was....you and @TropicalChickies truly understand my sadness and feeling of overwhelming doom. I will call local vets tomorrow and see about dropping off a stool sample. That is a great idea, and I'm not sure why i didn't think of that.

 

[Chopper923]

On the other hand, a bird sent in after it dies to a lab for a necropsy can be tested for multiple pathogens, and the organs can also be examined for obvious signs of different avian viruses. This is the best use of your money as it can pretty much tell you what caused the death.

Refrigerate, do not freeze the dead body. Call your state lab for instructions how to get the body to them. Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WILL DO....THANK YOU!!! She is in the fridge.

 

[Chopper923]

If you haven't already refrigerated the Lavender chick you found dead this morn, do so asap. (Don't freeze her body, only refrigerate.) Since you now have a body to send in for an official necropsy at your state lab, there is no more need to have a live marek's test. The bonus is that a very thorough necropsy will be performed looking for all abnormalities and possible reasons for death, including but not limited to Marek's. That includes various worm species. You will fill out a standard form to submit along with the carcass, but don't hesitate to include a separate page, listing all details you think may be relevant. (Same as with fellow members here, the more info you give to vets at your state lab, the better.) If I was in your shoes and believed Marek's was the only disease within my flock, I might not be as quick to send a body in. But since you acquired this chick (as well as others) as an older started pullet, there's truly no telling what avian diseases she was exposed to before she was sold to you. Though Mareks Disease is untreatable, some other diseases are, which is why it's important to know as much as possible in order to best manage the health of your flock.

Thank you! She is in the fridge, and i will get her sent out asap. Picking up supplies today for shipping.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I am so sorry for how difficult ypur start up was....you and @TropicalChickies truly understand my sadness and feeling of overwhelming doom. I will call local vets tomorrow and see about dropping off a stool sample. That is a great idea, and I'm not sure why i didn't think of that.

Since you now have a body to submit for necropsy, there is no current reason to have a local vet examine a stool sample. If this pullet had worms, you will learn that through the necropsy. The pathologist will make note of any worms present even if the load wasn't enough to cause death. (But could contribute to death depending on what other issues are present.) So no need to submit a stool sample to your vet at this present time.

 

[Chopper923]

June 27 was ten days ago. If she's eating and drinking, personally I'd give her a bit more time. Try very gently manipulating the legs and try to feel if there is any resistance in the muscles or if they are just hanging there limply.

When i put my finger or hand under her feet and lift her feet towards her body, the toes of her right foot curl a little, but nothing on the other foot. I will check in a bit to see if there's any resistance in other movements.

 

[Chopper923]

Since you now have a body to submit for necropsy, there is no current reason to have a local vet examine a stool sample. If this pullet had worms, you will learn that through the necropsy. The pathologist will make note of any worms present even if the load wasn't enough to cause death. (But could contribute to death depending on what other issues are present.) So no need to submit a stool sample to your vet at this present time.

So, the worms would definitely be present in all birds IF we had suspicions in the one bird, correct? That makes sense to not drop off the stool sample...thank you for pointing that out!! (I know that if one has them, you treat all, but I wasn't sure how fast worms manifest thru a flock...if it's quick enough to show up in necropsy even tho this particular bird didn't yet express similar / any symptoms. )

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

The pathologist will examine all internal organs for signs of abnormalties, and will also examine the peripheral nerves since Marek's disease is suspected. If any worms are present, that should be noted on the necropsy report. It won't mean that was the cause of death, and depending on the worm load, may have been too low to even contribute to cause of death. He/she will make note of All abnormalities they find, and then will give you their best assessment as to main cause as well as contributing causes of death.

I don't know how much your state lab charges for necropsy, but it's normal to think "Darn that buys a lot of feed; do I really want to spend the money to do this?" But once you do this once and find out what disease(s) is killing/lurking within your flock, there may never be a need to do it again. If the only health issue you had seen were Marek's symptoms, there wouldn't be such a need to confirm. But you have already faced more health problems than average, even for those who purchase older birds from private sellers. In fact, if what you have experienced was the norm, no one would want chickens, and they would have probably long gone extinct. On that note, am I correct you have now lost 5 of 8 of your lavender Orpington pullets? It crossed my mind that a possible reason that group has had such a high death rate is because they are highly inbred, and so even more vulnerable to the disease(s) within your flock. Lavender has been a very popular "fad" color for quite a few years now, and the color can only be achieved by breeding lavender to lavender, Chickens are generally not as susceptible to inbreeding problems as mammals, but inbreed them long enough, and problems will appear.

 

[Chopper923]

So from the young lavender flock, we had a total of 7 lavenders and 3 light brown (Easter eggers?). We've lost 3 lavenders and 2 of the brown ones. I had no idea about lavenders, how they are bred, and their vulnerability. The one with the impacted crop is seems to be doing ok. Her crop hasn't completely emptied that i can tell, but it sure has shrunk. I've massaged her crop multiple times today again, and thankfully she takes the coconut oil like a champ. She still barks and does that open-mouth thing often, but she is more active and than she had been a few days ago. Hopefully we will have some answers soon, and I'll be ble to address whatever issues are continuing. I'm not sure it will be soon enough...the other little brown one was still very quiet this evening. I found her in the coop multiple times, and when she would come out for a treat, she would put her beak to it, but then she wouldn't take it. (The picture I attached here is the one that died this morning...is that considered an Easter egger?) I'm glad that this isn't a normal situation with raising chickens. Maybe if we get things under control, it won't consume my thoughts and time, and I will be able to handle the hard times with more grit. Or maybe not...time shall tell. I hope you all have had a great weekend!

 

[TropicalChickies]

I've massaged her crop multiple times today again, and thankfully she takes the coconut oil like a champ. She still barks and does that open-mouth thing often,

Have you dewormed this one as well?