Sorry in advance for the length; trying to be thorough.
In early summer one of my comets died. She had lost a significant amount of weight and her ability to walk/support herself. She could poop right up until the end, though she had obviously not been eating much with her inability to move around. With no obvious reason for her death, I started keeping a closer eye on the flock. Now a second comet has developed the same symptoms: extreme weight loss, loss of mobility, purple comb, lethargy. I thought it might have been Marek’s with the loss of mobility/ability to stand on legs. But this comet has been able to stand a bit and move around (she is crated) without disturbing the food and water dishes, so I know she isn‘t just flopping around to relocate herself. In other words, while she is seriously handicapped, she isn’t getting progressively worse in her ability to use her legs. I now think she is just incredibly weak.
After ruling out Marek’s with some degree of confidence, I thought it might be mites. I checked tonight and I see no evidence of mites on any of the other girls. My sick girl had a couple of spots on her comb that could have been mites, but I couldn’t get close enough without taking her out, and I didn’t want to disturb her. I will check to see if the same spots are there tomorrow morning; could just as easily be spots.
(By the way, do mites run from light? Would they be moving around on a chicken or generally stationary?). I will also check her out tomorrow with an inspection of feathers, skin, etc. No evidence of mites crawling around on the structure either.
So, with no mites on any of my other chickens, I don’t think it is mites.
What else could it be?
I have changed her feed to a 20 or 22% chick feed and I am supplementing with yogurt and eggs as well as Poultry Cell and an electrolyte booster in the water. She will still eat their regular pellet food as well. I have seen her drink several times. And she is pooping; looks okay. I offer the yogurt or egg supplement about every hour in small quantities. Her crop is small but I do not believe it was empty at the end of today. She was practically dead yesterday. She seemed more alert and aware today, with very little of that near-death eye closing thing they do. Aside from being weak, and weighing next to nothing, she almost looks good. What else should I do?
In early summer one of my comets died. She had lost a significant amount of weight and her ability to walk/support herself. She could poop right up until the end, though she had obviously not been eating much with her inability to move around. With no obvious reason for her death, I started keeping a closer eye on the flock. Now a second comet has developed the same symptoms: extreme weight loss, loss of mobility, purple comb, lethargy. I thought it might have been Marek’s with the loss of mobility/ability to stand on legs. But this comet has been able to stand a bit and move around (she is crated) without disturbing the food and water dishes, so I know she isn‘t just flopping around to relocate herself. In other words, while she is seriously handicapped, she isn’t getting progressively worse in her ability to use her legs. I now think she is just incredibly weak.
After ruling out Marek’s with some degree of confidence, I thought it might be mites. I checked tonight and I see no evidence of mites on any of the other girls. My sick girl had a couple of spots on her comb that could have been mites, but I couldn’t get close enough without taking her out, and I didn’t want to disturb her. I will check to see if the same spots are there tomorrow morning; could just as easily be spots.
(By the way, do mites run from light? Would they be moving around on a chicken or generally stationary?). I will also check her out tomorrow with an inspection of feathers, skin, etc. No evidence of mites crawling around on the structure either.So, with no mites on any of my other chickens, I don’t think it is mites.
What else could it be?
I have changed her feed to a 20 or 22% chick feed and I am supplementing with yogurt and eggs as well as Poultry Cell and an electrolyte booster in the water. She will still eat their regular pellet food as well. I have seen her drink several times. And she is pooping; looks okay. I offer the yogurt or egg supplement about every hour in small quantities. Her crop is small but I do not believe it was empty at the end of today. She was practically dead yesterday. She seemed more alert and aware today, with very little of that near-death eye closing thing they do. Aside from being weak, and weighing next to nothing, she almost looks good. What else should I do?
