bumblefoot? help asap please..

[Rhiannon24]

well we have had her inside the house now for 2-3 weeks..so she is safe from the other chickens..but still going down hill i wish we knew if she was incurable or not..its so hard not knowing what the right thing to do is!!

 

[Mr Beaks]

Is there any way your vet can run tests to confirm Mareks? There are some vitamin deficiencies that mimic Mareks and if she had a bad case of mites she could be depleted.

 

[Eggcessive]

Well it is looking more and more like mareks disease she perked up a bit yesterday but this morning she refuses to drink and barely ate a few bites of food.. for a few months now as i said b4 she seems to have trouble pecking at the food and getting it the first try..her pupils keep getting big and small..almost like pulsing its weird.. i wonder if she is able to see at all or not..
praying so hard that it is NOT mareks because we dont want to lose her and/or the whole flock!! so far she is the only one showing any ill signs..i wonder if it is mareks how long it would take for other chickens to start showing signs?? if she isnt any better tomorow i will probably take her to the vet and have him put her to sleep..its not fair to allow her to suffer like this..and she is suffering and not getting any better only worse..*sighs*

Sorry that she is looking worse. If your vet feels like she has Mareks disease, I would have them send her to the state vet for a necropsy, or have lod drw to send to Texas A &M for a Mareks test. There are other national vet labs that will do the PCR test for Mareks also.

 

[Mr Beaks]

Rhiannon24,
Please forgive my ignorance as I am fairly new to chickens. I just looked it up and noticed it would have to be done thru necropsy. Didn't realize there were no blood tests and was only trying to help. Good luck to you. Will be saying a prayer for u and your bird/s tonite. Take care.

 

[Rhiannon24]

well i found 1 post on here where some one had a blood test done for mareks..waiting on a reply from them right now to see what thats all about

 

[Mr Beaks]

Rhiannon24,
How is your hen? Hope all is well

 

[Rhiannon24]

she had to be put down last week..she was getting worse and going downhill fast..no matter what we did..i miss her like crazy!! the vet did a necropsy? where they just look at the body and organs (dont test them etc) she said her organs all looked normal except the liver was slightly enlarged.. this was not an avian vet and i wasnt happy with the job she did..she didnt say if it was bumblefoot also or not..all she said was about the liver..they didnt even do a blood test for mareks like i thought was included..they said if they would have done blood and other testing it would have cost a LOT more..but they didnt tell us that to start with so we thought it was all just part of the necropsy..frusterating!! so..i guess we will never know what was actually wrong with her but so far none of the other 15 chickens show any signs of illness PTL!! i hope and pray it was an isolated case..what ever it was!!
I did learn a LOT from this experience though and i am thankful for that!! in the end i dont think it was mareks after all because it is VERY rare for a chicken over age 1 to actually present with walking/leg/lame issues..they can have mareks with out showing signs of it though and pass it on to baby chicks and others..that is why i wish we knew for sure....but oh well!!
It could have just been the leg/foot injury then her having mites for who knows how long before we noticed them and she was anemic so that could have been what was makeing her so weak and it could have just been to late when we treated her for the mites..but then there is the weird issue of her not being able to get the food she pecks at for several months now..some thing neuro for sure and she wouldnt jump from the roost/nest boxes we had to put her on the ground every morning (for the past few months also) ..she flew into the coop door a few times when trying to get off the roost and i think thats when we had to start putting her on the ground because she would sit in the nest box all day if we didnt..when i told the vet that at the last visit she was very concerned and said some thing more than bumblefoot is going on and it doesnt look good..(my mom took crystal to the vet the week b4 and didnt mention those details so the vet thought it was only leg/foot related) she planned to do bumblefoot surgery that day but we ended up just having her put to sleep for her own sake..she was so miserable!!



Here she is chilling in my arms while we checked out her leg/foot..she was a very layed back and cuddly hen!! and her with her 2 sisters sugar and flicka (this 2nd picture was take last year i think)

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. There is a blood test for Mareks that most vets could draw and send off to Texas A&M or one of the other Mareks testing centers. The name of the test is called a PCR test for Mareks, and costs about $30 at A&M. With a liver problem perhaps the spots on her legs were hemorrhages into the skin? Liver problems create bleeding problems, and one disease common in chickens is fatty liver hemorrhagic disease. The liver can appear large, and sometimes is an unusual putty colored. If you have any other problems with your chickens, it might be good to get in touch with your state vet, since they can answer questions about diseases that are common in your area. You can also find out about costs for necropsies.

 

[Mr Beaks]

I am so sorry for your loss. I know it hurts and you miss her but you were right to end her pain and suffering. You did your best, you are a good chicken mama. I saw her pic, such a beautiful girl! Feel free to PM me if u need anything. God bless and take care!