Black Silkie Roo died this morning randomly

[cherieangelle]

My 9 month old silkie rooster died this morning, yesterday & the day before he was kinda lethargic. He’s usually the one that is always alone and strays from the crowd so I didn’t notice anything different 3-5 days ago, my daughter noticed he was kinda lethargic 2 days ago and yesterday he came out to eat & then laid down in the shade in a corner behind the feed. I brought him inside. He slowly got worse & worse & this morning he died. Only symptom I saw was him losing feathers on his head. I never saw bugs on him. He did have some runny poop when I saw him poop last. I’m very worried it could spread to my other chickens. One of my chicks has an eye that’s closed but not swollen. I’ve been spraying it with pink eye spray stuff. Could this be something that could be related. I’m so stressed. Also should add we just left for a family reunion for 5 days so I’m a nervous wreck being gone

 

[coach723]

Without a necropsy it's very hard to know what may have happened, or whether it could affect any other birds. Was he the only boy? Feather loss on the head suggests feather picking or attack, he could have been attacked because he was sick (the other birds often recognize illness before we do), or if there are other boys, maybe fighting. Runny droppings can have many causes, some of which are "normal' some of which could be illness caused. The eye issue with the chick could be injury, infection, irritation, or a respiratory virus. How old is the chick? I would flush the eye well, look for any damage or signs of infection, and use either Terramycin eye ointment or plain neosporin in the eye several times a day. Pictures are often helpful.

 

[cherieangelle]

It almost looks like it was dirt or something but the chick has become lethargic as well
It’s around 2 months old. All the rest of the chicks are running around fine & it’s just standing there alone.
I’ve been putting the ventricyn pink eye spray for the last 3-4 days though

 

[cherieangelle]

My roo was very calm & docile so I really didn’t notice him being weird til he was laying down alone in the tall grass. I’m so sad.

 

[coach723]

Pictures of the eye would be very helpful. If you are not seeing any improvement from the spray (it's mildly antimicrobial, but it's not an antibiotic) then I would switch to one of the ointments. Flush the eye well, look for any damage or pus, then apply the ointment. Look for any bubbles in the eye, any discharge from eyes, nares or beak, any facial swelling, wheezing, coughing, sneezing. Look inside his beak for any plaques or lesions, yellow spots or gunk. Look at the choanal slit in the top of the inside of his beak, see if it's clear. In addition, get a good look at his droppings, see what they look like, normal or not. If you have a crate, I would crate him for the short term, until you have a better idea what's going on. It will be easier to monitor him, and will keep him safe from others.

 

[cherieangelle]

Pictures of the eye would be very helpful. If you are not seeing any improvement from the spray (it's mildly antimicrobial, but it's not an antibiotic) then I would switch to one of the ointments. Flush the eye well, look for any damage or pus, then apply the ointment. Look for any bubbles in the eye, any discharge from eyes, nares or beak, any facial swelling, wheezing, coughing, sneezing. Look inside his beak for any plaques or lesions, yellow spots or gunk. Look at the choanal slit in the top of the inside of his beak, see if it's clear. In addition, get a good look at his droppings, see what they look like, normal or not. If you have a crate, I would crate him for the short term, until you have a better idea what's going on. It will be easier to monitor him, and will keep him safe from others.

I got my neighbor going to get him today hopefully! It was looking better but it’s still closed every time I go check on them in the mornings & night so I wash it & spray it with meds. There was some white stuff at the bottom today but nothing else on her is abnormal. I just wish I knew what to do to help. I have LA 200 should I try that?

 

[coach723]

It very much depends on what's actually wrong. If it's only one eye and the other looks normal then it could just be injury or debris in that eye. I would be inclined to try treating that eye only, and see if it improves. If things change, or get worse you can reassess. It could be respiratory, but I would expect some other kinds of symptoms to crop up also. Once you get a look at droppings, that may help. At two months old coccidiosis has to be considered as well. That can cause lethargy, not eating or drinking, droppings will usually be runny and or mucousy, and sometimes have blood in them, but not always.

 

[cherieangelle]

It very much depends on what's actually wrong. If it's only one eye and the other looks normal then it could just be injury or debris in that eye. I would be inclined to try treating that eye only, and see if it improves. If things change, or get worse you can reassess. It could be respiratory, but I would expect some other kinds of symptoms to crop up also. Once you get a look at droppings, that may help. At two months old coccidiosis has to be considered as well. That can cause lethargy, not eating or drinking, droppings will usually be runny and or mucousy, and sometimes have blood in them, but not always.

I haven’t seen any runny poop from anyone but the chick died today & I had been treating it. It had not a single other symptom other than the eye looking like it had debris in it. I agree that’s what I thought too. But now both chickens have been sickly acting for 2-3 days & died randomly. I assume the heat but I would assume they would all be doing it. I’m at a loss

 

[Rose the Legbar]

It sounds like how Marek‘s goes through a flock that is vaccinate. Mareks in vaccinated birds doesn’t show until it is too late. There was a huge post about someone on here trying to find a cure for Mareks (or a way to slow the death). I’ll need to find it but it sounds exactly like what you have here.

 

[coach723]

If you still have the body, consider sending in for necropsy. It's not terribly expensive in some states, and it can give you a definite answer and valuable information. That way you will know for sure if it's something concerning for the rest of your flock. I would not assume Marek's unless you have it confirmed by necropsy, there are many things that can mimic Marek's symptoms. And when you don't know the cause it's hard to know if two losses are connected, or if it's just coincidence and one has nothing to do with another. Here are necropsy resources by state, you can call and get the particulars. If you don't still have the body, I would still call and get the particulars so that you can send in another, in case you have it happen again.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html
There is no treatment or cure for Marek's, if it turned out to be that. Some birds do recover, but most do not. It is very easy to jump to the conclusion it's Marek's, but if it's not, then you could be missing something else important to know.