Ag Dept. testing of chick - I was right - Mareks.

[miss_jayne]

BCB... get tested and then see if you need to let the State of Michigan take care of it no matter what. if it is something that has to be cleaned in the soil, just culling the birds wont take care of it.

this is so sad for you! if i could come to your house right now, i would come give you a big

God bless you and keep you.

 

[BayCityBabe]

I took the bird to MSU yesterday. I am pleased to say that we got a preliminary report today - with more to follow nest week. She had "granular plaques" in her crop & Candida albicans is suspected. So an opportunistic thrush. Not surprising. They also stated that they do not suspect Mareks, as they did not view nerve lesions in the gross necropsy. I THINK THEY ARE WRONG. I suspected Mareks all along + they did find nodules on the sacral plexus nerves. So, we'll see, eh?
I paid for the full necropsy "shabang", so I will get virology, bacteriology & parasitology reports later.

Thanks for all who have been helpful during this ordeal. I will make every effort to pay it forward.

 

[miss_jayne]

BCB, still praying for peace for you. yes, we will just wait now. better safe than sorry i guess.

 

[threehorses]

You're so very wise to have taken a bird in. That's great chicken stewardship! Thank you for that.

As for the candida, probiotics and organic apple cider vinegar in the water (1 tsp/gal of water) help directly, particularly if you can get a probiotic that has bifidobacteria in it. (For individual birds, oddly, check the health food store for probiotic treatments for yeast infection). Some yogurts have that as well - check the label. I think one of the activia has that blend - lactobacilli and bifidobacteria.

If you want to avoid a lot of dairy, try Probios dispersible powder from the feedstore. Beneficial bacteria help reduce the chances of the single-celled candida from morphing into the multi-celled pathogenic form.

If you use a medicine for the candida, be sure to ask for diflucan over nystatin. Nystatin works best with an empty crop while Diflucan doesn't require it and is much more effective. Just a heads-up.

I'm glad you got SOME answers at least.

Did you need information on vaccinating all incoming birds for marek's? If you do, Dr. Peter Brown at First State vet supply has a great article, as does K T Thompson.

 

[BayCityBabe]

Okay, I have some more info from Michigan State.
"No, Chicken Little, the sky is not falling."
There are more test results to come, but it appears that this bird did have Candida AND cocci. That would be enough to kill a 3 mo. old. The chief vet/scientist (who is a DVM and PhD. by the way) called me personally to say that he supervised the necropsy and did not see anything that looked like Mareks. I shared with him my fears for our flock & he stated that he felt this was not a situation of an infectious agent of any kind.
This testing cost $150, but so much piece of mind!

Worth it!

 

[threehorses]

Well thank heavens for good news, especially after such a sad situation.

This is another case where I strongly feel probiotics helps. Good bacteria compete for space with fungi (C. albicans) and help make a gut more resistant to other digestive illnesses. The bacteria combination specifically for yeast/fungus issues are a combination of the Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. Although I regularly recommend plain yogurt, you can find that combination in Activia yogurt (check the label). You can also find probiotics at the health food store for women's yeast infections that contain that combination of bacteria. It's unknown whether or not bifidum colonize the avian gut (it is known that lactobacilli do) but their presence is helpful in treating against the illness caused by virulent C. albicans.

First State Vet Supply also contains a poultry-labeled probiotic that contains that blend: http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=75&products_id=188

I would personally treat your whole flock with these to boost their natural defenses against at least C. albincans. Using organic (unfiltered) apple cider vinegar in the water (1 teaspoon per gallon of water) for a week and then occassionally thereafter will help adjust the pH to be more friendly for good bacteria and unfriendly for other pathogens (bacteria, fungi, etc). Also the lactobacilli in the OACV (only organic - regular is not effective) are the type that colonize the gut and will compliment your other probiotic treatment.

In the mean time, hopefully your other babies are all basically immune to at least that species of cocci. (Did you get the specific species name? If not, I'd certainly ask him for it so you can look up which one it is.) I'd concentrate on keeping the environment healthy to prevent the cocci oocysts from blooming and becoming more infective. In other words, dry dry dry environment. Sand is preferred to soil. Kiln dried or compressed pine shavings (not freshly chipped) are preferred over hay and straw.

I'm very proud that you took your birds in to test, and I'm so glad for your peace of mind! Thank you for being an exceptionally responsible chicken steward!

 

[miss_jayne]

BCB....you are a smart cookie and i am glad you are finding it isn't anything that will take your flock out!

 

[BayCityBabe]

Quote:
The lab results came in and the state vet was WRONG!!! It was in fact Mareks! Likely came from all the wild birds on ouur property. DH keeps the feeders loaded! I am glad to know this diagnosis - I suppose. More than anything, I am glad that most of my birds were immunized for Mareks. I will become a pro-immunization voice on this forum. What this means for my flock is that the remaining birds are immune - either through exposure OR immunization. That is a relief. I have been very worried that we had one of those ugly diseases that creates "carrier" birds. I do not want to be the Typhoid Mary that harbors some crud.

So, my flock is okay and I get to pat myself on the back

for being a good citizen. This whole ordeal makes me worry about people that don't have $$$ to throw around on poultry health. So maybe I need to get on a soapbox for immunization AND biosecurity.

 

[miss_jayne]

BCB...well, an answer at last. while i will have to agree to disagree with immunizations, i can empathize with the whole craziness of it all. oh my gosh.

i do however agree with biosecurity no matter what. there is no 'being too careful'.

so glad you now know what to do and can move forward.

 

[BayCityBabe]

Miss jane - I know you do not immunize. Have you ever had Marek's in your flock? Or maybe have just lost some birds & figured they were just weak? I think that my "save them all" orientation might be unrealistic.
I was commiserating with a woman recently, and she told me that when she was growing up, they would lose about 25% of their stock - "some lost to dogs 'n such, some just dropped dead".