Chick with wobbly legs.

[rdilbarova]

Thank you for all your well wishes and responses.

Our "Amber" is holding both of her legs down together, while she is resting on one side. She can't stand up at all. I have isolated her, changed to a medicated feed, feed her eggs and yogurt (her favorite) with her feed, and give her electrolytes. She is not much interested in her feed alone.

We live on an island in Washington state, so the only B vitamins are in tablet form (B2, B6, B12) which I was unsure which to used. I got an electrolyte/ vitamin mix (Save A chick) from my daughter's poultry teacher, but it had a .25 ounces of powder per GALLON of water. Even if I reduce down to a quart, I'm not sure I'm giving enough. With possible E and/ or B deficiencies, I thought Poly Vi Sol in small amounts in her water would help. At this point, I'm trying anything.

As for Amber, she is wasting away. I feed and hydrate her every hour or so, with the exception of the night. I actually got up at 2:00 in the morning last night to feed her, though. My husband says keep trying. My eight-year old daughter, loves her so much, I can't give up entirely. We take her to the garden, let her sit in the sun. She can see her other penmates, and cheeps for them. She tries to raise her wings and legs, but I don't see much improvement. The first night we isolated Amber from the others, one of her penmates kept churping for her. She now has green poo with wet liquid, which sounds like slow starvation. She just looks up at us with bright eyes and peeps so sweetly, it's hard to give up.

I was going to take her to the vet, but wanted to give the electrolytes and vitamins a little time.

Now, I thinking big questions about LIFE, the quality, the responsibility of these living things in our care. We just buried my sons favorite chick last month, so it's harder to imagine doing so soon. We just started our first flock this summer, thinking the children old enough to take care of the hens. Honestly, I'm not so sure I'm ready for some much loss in our lives. It would have been better if we found her dead in the morning. I'm worst than my daughter at this point. I think my daughter has some hope for a turn around.

And, to make matters worst, I confirmed that my daughter's teacher didn't get the chicks vaccinated for Meraks from the MM hatchery. It cost 16 cents! Not to blame anyone, most of my chicken-raising friends don't think Meraks is too common. Every book I read says its very common, so why are all these knowledgeable backyard poultry owners not reading the same books as me? Why not vaccinate them???! I've spent a lot of heartache over something that may have been prevented. Two days ago, I assumed Amber was vaccinated, now, I'm starting to think you were right. Meraks. What an ugly way to go.

Reading the other threads on Meraks, my heart goes out to the others that have lost a whole flock. If nothing more than support, I thank you for your kind-hearted thoughts and well wishes. I really don't know what I will do with Amber at this time.

Don't beat yourself up over it. I know that you are caring for these chickens as well as you can just by researching information and making such a whole-hearted effort to make your chick better. I've seen chickens living in squalor, sick and confined in a way too small area. Things happen with chicks... When I got my batch of 16 I was told by my parents (who raised chickens before we came to America) that I would be LUCKY if HALF survived. Even with vaccinations and medicine, things go wrong.

I lost my first chick due to a birth defect and spent time sulking about it. When the buttercup got sick I vowed to do everything I could to make it better, and I did. The chick got better after I cared for it for so long. But because of the deficiency, it had a small body weight and long wings, which allowed it to fly higher then its friends and it escaped from the brooder. This morning, my dog got to it and I found the creature that I had cared for so well for a week dead in a head of blood and feathers.

I honestly thought that I would not be the one to ever say this, but things happen with chickens, and there are always losses. And you have to accept it. I'm not saying that you shouldn't feel bad, I'm saying from my experience and from reading extensively, there is a lot that can go wrong. I lost an entire flock because I did not quarantine for long enough.
But now I know better, and I have learned from my mistake.
I spent hours crying about it, but I know I will never make that mistake again.

My point is, there will be heartache. But, the joy that you will feel caring for / raising your chickens (in my opinion) will more than make up for it.

As for Amber- the most common B vitamin deficiency in chicks is B12. I would not give up on her unless you financially cannot continue to care for the chick. In that case, if she dies you will know you did all you could. However, if she is in pain, you have to ask yourself if it is worth putting her through treatments that may not work.
Amber does not sound like she has what my Buttercup had. The poop is different and the behavior (with the way the legs are) is different. Maybe it is a more advanced form of deficiency, but I do not know and have no other knowledge to share with you.



I wish you the best of luck with Amber and I feel your pain.

 

[Haunted55]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/741957/not-an-emergency-mareks-in-the-flock/640#post_11818165

Degroovie, please check out the above link. You would be more than welcome there. I am sorry, but I have to make this call. I believe this to be Marek's and it's probably a real good strain for it to be hitting the birds this young. There are supportive things you can do and there is always a chance your bird will make it through this part of the disease. One the above thread we are all in the same boat and help each other out as best we can. I am so very sorry. Look, give the Bs that you have. They all work on parts of the nervous system and will only help. You can try giving her a watery much of feed with a syringe, but make sure you know what tube to put it down. I have fed mine small pieces of bread dipped in the Sav-A-Chick vitamins. There are a lot of things and as you said, you will need to call it from here.

Again, I am so sorry and I wish and hope I am wrong.

 

[degroovie]

Thank you Rdilbarova and Haunted 55,

After shedding a few tears, my husband said I should just continue with our usual course of action. No need to make any hasty decisions. Somehow, it lifted a small weight as have the kind words.

I took Amber out in the garden with the kids, continued giving her all her supplemented food and vitamins, and supported her as she ate. She has more energy, and tires less. She spend a whole hour eating and looking around the garden at the bugs and who knows what else. My neighbor saw me in the garden and came over. She use to do chaplan work, helping the sick die peacefully. I told her about Amber and how hard we and a big "I" am taking this whole chicken sickness and possible loss. She told me, "Amber doesn't look like she is ready to die. Not today. Just go to the vet and get more information for her." Sage advice.

We live on an island, so the vet admitted that he wasn't as knowledgeable about birds as he could like to be. He listened to me discuss Meraks and a hopeful vitamin deficiency. He told me her temp was 105 and should be closer to 102, suggesting an antibiotic. I told him we just switched to medicated feed, so he suggested we just continue feeding her new crumbles. Not much more.

Then I went home, and gave Amber more TLC. I move her legs and they feel stiff, often trembling. She lifts her wings halfway and tries to take steps when I support her. She chirps all the time, has bright eyes, and tires less frequently. If, and a big if, she makes it through the week to put on more weight, I fear she may have permanent leg damage.

Haunted 55, I thought about your earlier thread. Your initial diagnosis was either Meraks and/ or Coccidiosis. I assume they can go hand in hand. But Amber's pen mate often stood on the water trough and pooped into the water, and now Amber has a fever (?). Is a fever common for Meraks? I haven't read this. I forgot to ask the vet about testing for Coccidiosis. I just read up on Coccidiosis and they mention "weak legs" in mature birds (The Chicken Health Handbook), but Amber is a nearly six-week old pullet. Also, I read Coccidiosis is "most common in growing birds three to six weeks of age" (The Chicken Encyclopedia), and that's right where Amber is. She had green ribbon-like poops with white watery liquid yesturday. Never blood. Now, she is starting to have less runny but less ribbon-like yellowy/ tan poop. I'm hoping this is a positive sign.

After I write this, I'm calling the vet back about a fecal sample.

Any more advice?????

Lol.

 

[Haunted55]

Thank you Rdilbarova and Haunted 55,

After shedding a few tears, my husband said I should just continue with our usual course of action. No need to make any hasty decisions. Somehow, it lifted a small weight as have the kind words.

I took Amber out in the garden with the kids, continued giving her all her supplemented food and vitamins, and supported her as she ate. She has more energy, and tires less. She spend a whole hour eating and looking around the garden at the bugs and who knows what else. My neighbor saw me in the garden and came over. She use to do chaplan work, helping the sick die peacefully. I told her about Amber and how hard we and a big "I" am taking this whole chicken sickness and possible loss. She told me, "Amber doesn't look like she is ready to die. Not today. Just go to the vet and get more information for her." Sage advice.

We live on an island, so the vet admitted that he wasn't as knowledgeable about birds as he could like to be. He listened to me discuss Meraks and a hopeful vitamin deficiency. He told me her temp was 105 and should be closer to 102, suggesting an antibiotic. I told him we just switched to medicated feed, so he suggested we just continue feeding her new crumbles. Not much more.

Then I went home, and gave Amber more TLC. I move her legs and they feel stiff, often trembling. She lifts her wings halfway and tries to take steps when I support her. She chirps all the time, has bright eyes, and tires less frequently. If, and a big if, she makes it through the week to put on more weight, I fear she may have permanent leg damage.

Haunted 55, I thought about your earlier thread. Your initial diagnosis was either Meraks and/ or Coccidiosis. I assume they can go hand in hand. But Amber's pen mate often stood on the water trough and pooped into the water, and now Amber has a fever (?). Is a fever common for Meraks? I haven't read this. I forgot to ask the vet about testing for Coccidiosis. I just read up on Coccidiosis and they mention "weak legs" in mature birds (The Chicken Health Handbook), but Amber is a nearly six-week old pullet. Also, I read Coccidiosis is "most common in growing birds three to six weeks of age" (The Chicken Encyclopedia), and that's right where Amber is. She had green ribbon-like poops with white watery liquid yesturday. Never blood. Now, she is starting to have less runny but less ribbon-like yellowy/ tan poop. I'm hoping this is a positive sign.

After I write this, I'm calling the vet back about a fecal sample.

Any more advice?????

Lol.

Oh...you wait a minute....I may have an answer for you and it may not be Marek's at all!!! I've got to find a thread on here and in the mean time, please, if you do have an antibiotic give it to her. Now. I know what the Vet said, but if he or she isn't up on avian stuff it could slip by them. Let me find the thread...

 

[Haunted55]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/752961/help-mareks-disease/220 Post # 226 especially, but the thread is good reading and has a lot of info in it.


Look, one of the things I've learned with Marek's is that I usually [read as haven't yet] do not see shaking in the legs. That tells me it's a deficiency. Read through the thread and find the pertinent parts about Gallina's bird. You may not have the same kind of bird but symptoms sound awful similar right now.

Not trying to give you any false hope, believe me. When you just mentioned the shaking though, it set off the bells and whistles. Do you have any Duramycin-10 for your birds? Any type of an antibiotic at all? Even human?

 

[degroovie]

I would welcome any hope, right now. I'm new to chickens, and I've been reading everything I can about chicken illnesses for anything hopeful.

I have Amber on Albon for Coccidia. The vet tech tested her poop yesterday and told me she was neither too high nor too low in cocci. Nothing definitive, so they decided to put her on antibiotics just in case. I hope this is an antibiotic that you suggested, Haunted 55 (?).

I read the post #226 from your reference, and a bit farther back to see what other illnesses can imitate Meraks. There were a lot of posts describing spongy crops and white discharge coming out of the nose when the chicken bends over. Today I noticed a similar white discharge, like water, run down her beak when she bent over. I haven't seen this much, though. this was right after we spent a good while in the garden so I wondered if she was overheated (?). Then I hydrated her and fed her, and felt her crop. When I felt her crop it was almost like her crop was empty with air, like a balloon, and the air popped when I gently pushed on it. Does this tell me anything? I'm so new at raising chickens that I had to look in one of my books just to determine where her crop should be.

Amber is eating mostly yogurt with crumbles, electrolytes with aspirin, vitamins, and now, Albon. She looks around a lot, and doesn't want to be confined. She sleeps well in the night, is active throughout the day. No real loss of energy. Loves being outside, and tries so desperately to move her legs and wings with only minute movements. I have to support her. She still shakes when I hold her and when she is resting on her side. She chirps and seems to vocalize out of a strong desire to move and at least be held upright. If there is a nutrient deficiency, I've read that it can take a while to see any improvements. I'm still hopeful. I've at least set myself up to finishing her six-day antibiotic treatment before making any serious decisions. She seems to enjoy life, somewhat, at least when she is taken outside.

 

[Haunted55]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/741957/not-an-emergency-mareks-in-the-flock/650#post_11843081

Look, even though I said i really think this could be vitamins, come over to this thread. Wiser heads than mine hang out there and you maybe able to get an answer. I am not sure what the antibiotic is, please tell me again if I missed it. Seriously, please come to the thread and post there, there are a lot of us who kinda hang out there and support each other. A lot of information there for the taking. The first thread I gave you was a bird that didn't fit the 'normal', whatever that is, symptoms of Marek's. Info there is good as well.

Look, the antibiotic and the Super B Complex are the things that will show a difference if there is one to be made. If you can get someone to got to a WalMart for you, have them pick you up a Super B Complex vitamin and add that in. Even it it were just plain old Marek's, the Bs can help. Help not cure, but with the leg shaking I honestly think this is a deficiency.