chicken epidemic!!

[ten chicks]

First Welcome to BYC. The only thing that i find puzzling is that your rooster came down pretty fast(i believe you mentioned one day)? Incubation varies from about 6-21 days. With MG there is also the possibility of a secondary respiratory infection such as E.coli which will result in higher mortality. Infection can persist for weeks. Drugs used to treat MG are usually Tylosin or Tetracyclines.

Birds that manage to overcome infection are usually not cured and will remain carriers for life,but some birds have little or no other outbreaks of symptoms(i say symptoms b/c they may still be carriers).

MG can be spread from bird to bird,through egg and by our own hands/clothes/shoes/utensils/equipment,etc.

Your choice on whether to cull,many do,but again many do not and birds do just fine. If you ever introduce any new birds make sure you quarantine and be knowledgeable regarding MG and symptoms and probably a good idea to purchase birds vaccinated for MG in the future.

 

[Rachel N]

Well it started with their wings being droupy and then slowly started stumbling and couldn't walk. They were both super alert and normal otherwise, just couldn't walk. They looked like they doing the splits when they tried to stand up. It was so sad it is just so weird, there would never be two sick at once. They'd all be fine, one would get sick and die. And then another would start getting sick!

 

[Rachel N]

Thank you ten chicks for the info! We are planning to get some chicks in spring. Do most hatcheries vaccinate for mg? As much as I know culling would help, and I really want this to end, I just can't bear to kill my rooster!

 

[ten chicks]

If all birds were exhibiting paralysis,then i would be a good idea to get a necropsy done on any other birds that die to find out exactly what you might be dealing with. Paralysis as you described also fit with Marek's disease.

 

[ten chicks]

I'm not sure if all hatcheries offer the MG vaccine. Keep your rooster and see how he does.

 

[Rachel N]

I almost feel as if there are maybe 3 different diseases going on here! I wish I could go back and not buy these hens in the first place! I should have trusted my gut! Marek's is my biggest fear. Isn't that a death sentence to all chickens, and lasts for years??

 

[Pyxis]

With the paralysis and the respiratory symptoms combined, this may actually be Newcastle's. Does this sound like what they had? These would be the symptoms: Wheezing, breathing difficulty, nasal discharge, cloudy eyes, laying stops, paralysis of legs, wings, twisted heads and necks. I'm with ten chicks on the necropsy. It's the only way to know definitively.

The bad news is that if Newcastle's, there's no way to treat it because it's a virus. It's also highly contagious. The good news is, if the birds recover they aren't carriers.

 

[Rachel N]

They didn't have the twisted heads and necks, but the rest is pretty accurate. I actually thought 2 have gape worms because of how they were breathing. They would stretch out there neck and open their beck wide everytime they breathed. Is that part of it?

 

[Rachel N]

So how do they ever recover? Just by pure chance?

 

[Pyxis]

Yes, unfortunately. Usually birds under six months old die. Birds older than that can recover. I'm really leaning towards Newcastle's on this one since it sounds like they had all the symptoms but one. You can help them by keeping them warm, adding vitamins and electrolytes to their water, and feeding them well and making sure they're eating, maybe offering things like scrambled eggs for the protein, but that's really it. There's no treatment. Just like us with a cold, they need to get over it on their own if they can. You really might want to send a bird for necropsy, just to make sure this actually is what it is, although it seems the most likely choice.