Buff Orpington with arrested development? She's not growing up!

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Thank you all - for the wise input, and deductions of reasoning. It's been - (believe it or not) somewhat calming to read these words of sound advice. I stayed up late last night reading everyone's comments, and I've come to the agreement that sweet Goldie- needs to be put out of this suffering.

She never grew past the size of a 3 month old pullet; She had a head tick from day 1,
She huddled & stayed under the baby brooder longer than everyone else; She never grew a comb or waddles; Never put on weight & never laid an egg or acted/developed like the other girls... yet she was given the same food & healthy advantages. (probios, ACV, garlic, herbs etc) So, I'm leaning towards neurological issues... but will do a heavy duty disinfection & scrub down of the coop & run, change the bedding etc - just the same... incase it is Marek... (it can't hurt).

I think I will go get a blood test done on her - to now for sure if it is Marek's... and then I can know what's ahead.

My little coop has always been a happy place for me & my chickie girls - yet the last few weeks it's become a sad place. I need to refocus - and concentrate on the health & joy of the other girls too.
 
FiddleChics said:
Thank you all - for the wise input, and deductions of reasoning. It's been - (believe it or not) somewhat calming to read these words of sound advice. I stayed up late last night reading everyone's comments, and I've come to the agreement that sweet Goldie- needs to be put out of this suffering.

She never grew past the size of a 3 month old pullet; She had a head tick from day 1,
She huddled & stayed under the baby brooder longer than everyone else; She never grew a comb or waddles; Never put on weight & never laid an egg or acted/developed like the other girls... yet she was given the same food & healthy advantages. (probios, ACV, garlic, herbs etc) So, I'm leaning towards neurological issues... but will do a heavy duty disinfection & scrub down of the coop & run, change the bedding etc - just the same... incase it is Marek... (it can't hurt).

I think I will go get a blood test done on her - to now for sure if it is Marek's... and then I can know what's ahead.

My little coop has always been a happy place for me & my chickie girls - yet the last few weeks it's become a sad place. I need to refocus - and concentrate on the health & joy of the other girls too.
Click to expand...
:hugs

It's always tough to put down a bird you raised from a chick, especially one you were hoping to be a productive egg layer. If it is Marek's, the clean up won't help. Your other birds have already been exposed. It won't hurt in general and may help with a couple other diseases, but for Marek's... it won't help. The test to see if it is Marek's would be good to get. If she does have it, there are things you can do to help the rest of your birds a bit. If she doesn't have it, it is peace of mind for you. I really think she probably has something congenital wrong with her that wasn't bad enough to kill her early, but has hindered her growth and development.
 
@Redhead Rae - Thank you so much. <3 I have isolated Goldie in the garage now... and I'm going to call around and see if I can find a vet who will take chickens, and definitely get a blood test done so I know once & for all. I"m leaning towards (praying for) congenital issues.
I think I could go nuts - trying to irradiate the dander from Mareks... and you're right... there's nothing I can do more - at this point... I do keep a really clean coop & run - and scrub the roosts down each morning with a stiff brush & natural spray cleaner, & pick the runs up too. (I only have (had) 4 chickens so it's an easy task... and I enjoy being out there with them). I've honestly never smelled ammonia or the bad fumes people talk about associated with chickens. I keep things pretty tidy. All the chicks were vaccinated for Marek's... (i know that's no guarantee) but she just never thrived like the others. I dread to think it's Mareks... so a test will put my mind to ease for sure.
 
Wyorp Rock said:
@FiddleChics where are you located?
We can give you direct links to your state lab or you can look it up here:https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

A lot of times, depending on where you live, the state lab is way cheaper than a vet and you will get good information.

If you get testing, please let us know what you find out.
Click to expand...

Thank you #Wyorp Rock. I took her to a bird vet today, and he came to the same uncertain, best guess based on the facts -that we all did here on BYC. But honestly, I think BYC had a tad more insight on things. At 8 months, she weighs 1.4 lbs... no comb, waddles, her eyes are clear, black pupils and bright. She's eating too... so he said those aren't part of Marek's - so maybe she's just a 'runt' and though she's rallied thus far - she's probably not capable of going much further. :hit

I thought they could draw blood & test it, but apparently not. There's no way to tell if it's Mareks until an autopsy. So I'll wait. He gave me some anti-inflamititory medication for her, and a paper with info for our local Health Dept - in case it is Marek's - because the Health Dept must be notified. He did say it would be le$$ with them too - if they did the euthanization/testing - as you have said.

But... being Thanksgiving tomorrow... I am opting to let her come inside, in the big cage, pamper her and have her be with the family, feed her her much loved treats, & let her just 'be' for a few days more while I think (not crying). I dare say she perked up so much and loved riding in the car... looking around & honking... she's truly a very sweet heart... <3 I will post on what happens - for sure.
 
FiddleChics said:
Thank you #Wyorp Rock. I took her to a bird vet today, and he came to the same uncertain, best guess based on the facts -that we all did here on BYC. But honestly, I think BYC had a tad more insight on things. At 8 months, she weighs 1.4 lbs... no comb, waddles, her eyes are clear, black pupils and bright. She's eating too... so he said those aren't part of Marek's - so maybe she's just a 'runt' and though she's rallied thus far - she's probably not capable of going much further. :hit

I thought they could draw blood & test it, but apparently not. There's no way to tell if it's Mareks until an autopsy. So I'll wait. He gave me some anti-inflamititory medication for her, and a paper with info for our local Health Dept - in case it is Marek's - because the Health Dept must be notified. He did say it would be le$$ with them too - if they did the euthanization/testing - as you have said.

But... being Thanksgiving tomorrow... I am opting to let her come inside, in the big cage, pamper her and have her be with the family, feed her her much loved treats, & let her just 'be' for a few days more while I think (not crying). I dare say she perked up so much and loved riding in the car... looking around & honking... she's truly a very sweet heart... <3 I will post on what happens - for sure.
Click to expand...
:hugsAwwww.....:hugs:hugs:hugs
Bless your sweet heart and her's too!

Thank you for the update.
I do hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving. Please keep us posted.
 
Even if there was a blood test for Marek's Disease the simple fact that your chicken was vaccinated for Marek's Disease would result in a false positive test.

In fact it is against the law to even develop a vaccination for Pullorum because making a vaccine would invalidate the blood antigen test used in the National Poultry Improvement Program (NPIP). This means that any chicken vaccinated against Pullorum will test positive for Pullorum. A better strategy is to not allow any chicken with Pullorum Disease (and Marek's) to live or reproduce because Pullorum can be transmitted through the egg and I think through chicken sperm as well as by all other means.

I am sure that the same thing is true if an Marek's Disease blood test was available.
 

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