Chick with discharge from vent acting lethargic

[Sevelia12]

That it's eating is a great sign!

Euthanasia is a hard call to make, especially with no experience.
If they can move, eat, and drink on their own I let them continue.

I agree. Thank you! I am surprised and excited to see her eating so well. Will update if anything changes.

 

[aart]

I agree. Thank you! I am surprised and excited to see her eating so well. Will update if anything changes.

I've had few that I thought weren't gonna get with the eating/drinking program,
last hatch had one that wandered around in a daze for a couple days,
then all of a sudden, bam, it was fine<shrugs>.

 

[Sevelia12]

Update on my babies.
The 5 healthy ones are still healthy and wild! I didn’t get to spend much time with them today but I checked in on them regularly and they are all thriving.
Clementine - the one with the puffy vent .. she is pooping normally now, vent still puffy but otherwise acting fine. No leakage. I treated with a tiny bit of Vaseline and she is inside on a heating pad next to me.
Janis Joplin - I cleaned her butt this evening and held her for about 30 minutes and didn’t see any more leaky butt. She is pooping and acting normally. I treated with Vaseline and she is inside on the heating pad next to me.
Annie - the worst of the 3.. I thought she was a goner last night. I washed her butt and held her for a long time. She is still having some leaking but it seems to have slowed down a lot. I also noticed that her poo has a sweet smell to it although it looks just like the others, normal. I put Vaseline on her butt and she is on the heating pad next to me.
I spoke with the lady I got them from and she recommended for me to make a mash out of their food, eggs, and plain yogurt. I did this and they gobbled it up. This is NOT diarrhea.. this is a clear fluid that leaks out and dries in white patches and seems to irritate the skin. Her poo is normal. I am convinced that this is a yeast infection of some sort (even though I can’t really find anything online supportive of the fact that chicks can get vent gleet except one article saying that it can be brought on by stress). Since starting the probiotics all their behavior has improved and even though we still have some leakiness, I see major improvements in Annie. I do think the heating pad is a better option for Annie in particular. She seems to really stress under that light even though she won’t leave it. She seems so much happier tonight that I almost can’t even believe I feared for her life last night. I really hope I have more good news in the morning. I have read enough of these threads now to know that it could still go downhill but I’m holding out hope. Thanks all.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Thank you for the update Hopefully they will continue getting better
Speaking of heating pads vs light ... Search the forum for Blooie's thread on MHP (Mother Heating Pad). It convinced me to try, never went back to the light ... I see the difference in the chicks; quieter, less skittish & no worry about temps.

 

[Willmore]

To say that there is “no cure” for Marek’s disease is not the truth. It may be true for Allopathic medicine, which cures nothing since it only treats symptoms. I cured chickens with Marek’s by giving Homeopathic Hypericum 30C as well as Colloidal Silver. Took about a week, but every day the birds were stronger, until completely healed.

 

[aart]

To say that there is “no cure” for Marek’s disease is not the truth. It may be true for Allopathic medicine, which cures nothing since it only treats symptoms. I cured chickens with Marek’s by giving Homeopathic Hypericum 30C as well as Colloidal Silver. Took about a week, but every day the birds were stronger, until completely healed.

..and did you come to the conclusion they were 'cured' of the Mareks virus by observing a lack of symptoms, or did you have them tested to confirm they were no longer carrying it?

 

[Sevelia12]

Update on the babies..
clementine seems to be doing well. I put a little Vetericyn on her butt but the inflammation seems to be pretty much gone. She’s acting fine and poo is normal. (Yay!)
Not much change in Janis Joplin or Annie since this morning. They are eating and drinking. I put them back in with the others because they didn’t seem to be happy on the heating pad anymore and they seem to be keeping up well. Annie still stays under the light a lot but she does seem to be roaming about a bit more than she was. I did cool them down to about 90.. at first they were huddling but I left it awhile because I really felt like it was staying too hot and now they’re spread out and acting comfortable. I’m still concerned about the leaky vent on both A and JJ but they seem otherwise healthy. I am continuing the probiotics in the water and their baby chick food with occasional yogurt mashed in, and bluekote on their butts. The only real change in the leaky situation I see is that where it used to be a wet dirty butt, it now seems to be a dry white crusty flaky butt. If it is in fact yeast, I THINK that’s a good sign right? Seems like maybe that’s a sign that the yeast is dying?? Anyway - I will update when I see a change. (Hopefully good changes only!!) Sorry for the lengthy posts, I just want to try to give good details for anyone else who may have this problem.

 

[Sevelia12]

Update.. I cooled my brooder down significantly 2 nights ago and uncovered the top so they can get better ventilation and they’ve been steadily improving since.. all acting normal.. eating very well and drinking.. leaky discharge is gone in all but Annie and her is *almost* completely gone.. she has also stopped staying directly under the light like she was and has started moving around just like the others... still mashing their food with water and doing probiotics in their drinking water.. have been alternating bluekote and Vetericyn on their vents but as of today I’ve only been doing the Vetericyn. Knock on wood but I’m thinking we may make it through this. Yay!