comatose, limber twisted neck, random head shaking, unable to eat, Help Please! VIDEOS & PICTURES AD

[Eggcessive]

Here are some articles to read about Mareks if you have time later:
https://extension.psu.edu/mareks-disease-in-chickens

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Here is another good link with pictures. Click on the clinical signs for pictures, and then on gross lesions for more:
https://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/#/disease/Marek's_Disease

 

[azygous]

There are many different kinds of yeast and mold and fungus. All have in common the opportunistic tendency to attack and colonize weak things whether it be a chicken, a dying tree, or an over-ripe piece of fruit.

The yeast that attacks weak chickens is candida. Usually, this yeast colonizes the crop when the chicken is sick or has been fed too many things that create an imbalance in the crop, usually carbs or a clog of undigestible grass stems.

The candida can also work its way down into the gut, and all this yeast prevents nutrients from being absorbed and robs the chicken of a normal appetite, and it can kill eventually by starving them.

Most of the time, a simple anti-yeast med such as Nystantin will kill the yeast in a week and the chicken will recover, but when a chicken is very sick, their immune system is just too compromised to aid in overcoming the yeast. When I opened up my euthanized hen Molly, in her crop I found several days worth of intact meal worms and all the food I had been tube feeding her over the week. Neither her body or the Nystatin was doing anything to restore her crop to normal because she was so far gone at that stage.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I am so sorry for you and your chicken.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm so sorry
Please let us know what the vet finds out upon necropsy.

 

[mommaschicklets]

I am so sorry, but you are doing the right thing. I am glad your set is willing to euthanize and do a necropsy. She surely would have suffered if you had not made this decision. There are many links on line that show necropsies and how to do them. In Mareks, there can be very different symptoms in each chicken or with each strain. Ocular Mareks, for example, which affects the eyes, may not be seen in some flocks. Tumors on internal organs is common, and may be visible. Nerve tumors may be seen with an enlarged sciatic nerve in the legs. If your vet could take any pictures of organs to share, that would be wonderful. Please post your necropsy results here.

Thank you. I didn't think to ask her this am if she could take pictures. I'm assuming she will to share with her colleague. I'll ask her Monday when she calls and see if she will send them to me.

 

[mommaschicklets]

There are many different kinds of yeast and mold and fungus. All have in common the opportunistic tendency to attack and colonize weak things whether it be a chicken, a dying tree, or an over-ripe piece of fruit.

The yeast that attacks weak chickens is candida. Usually, this yeast colonizes the crop when the chicken is sick or has been fed too many things that create an imbalance in the crop, usually carbs or a clog of undigestible grass stems.

The candida can also work its way down into the gut, and all this yeast prevents nutrients from being absorbed and robs the chicken of a normal appetite, and it can kill eventually by starving them.

Most of the time, a simple anti-yeast med such as Nystantin will kill the yeast in a week and the chicken will recover, but when a chicken is very sick, their immune system is just too compromised to aid in overcoming the yeast. When I opened up my euthanized hen Molly, in her crop I found several days worth of intact meal worms and all the food I had been tube feeding her over the week. Neither her body or the Nystatin was doing anything to restore her crop to normal because she was so far gone at that stage.

oh thats so sad. I'm sorry. Thank you for sharing as I have a better understanding now.