Five-month old Australorp suddenly lame. Update: Now another pullet going lame!

[Eggcessive]

Here are a couple of threads with Denagard dosage and hints on making it taste better:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/denagard-confusion-please.1141363/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/denagard-dosage.819104/

 

[azygous]

Thanks, @Eggcessive The word "confusion" in the one link appears to be tailored for me.

 

[LaFleche]

The active ingredient of Denagard is Tiamulin:

 

[dawg53]

@aart yes, but my senior brain is still confused. It's getting dangerously close to 80, and math confuses it. It's a wonder I can still find my shoes and remember I have chickens.

Dont feel bad, math has always had me confused.

 

[azygous]

I brought May inside to do some throat swabs to send off to be tested for MS. She has lost ground since this morning. She's lost weight, and now she's becoming too weak to stand. This is extremely upsetting. This is how the first pullet went into her final decline.

In the morning, I will tube some nutrients into her. Then I will try to get the swab samples mailed (if I can drive off this mountain without sliding off the snowy roads into a canyon) and hope that that stellar jackass Louis DeJoy hasn't trashed the USPS so badly that the samples take so long to get to the lab that they're worthless.

 

[Perris]

Then I will try to get the swab samples mailed (if I can drive off this mountain without sliding off the snowy roads into a canyon)

you matter more than your birds Azygous; please don't take undue risks

 

[LaFleche]

I brought May inside to do some throat swabs to send off to be tested for MS. She has lost ground since this morning. She's lost weight, and now she's becoming too weak to stand. This is extremely upsetting. This is how the first pullet went into her final decline.

In the morning, I will tube some nutrients into her. Then I will try to get the swab samples mailed (if I can drive off this mountain without sliding off the snowy roads into a canyon) and hope that that stellar jackass Louis DeJoy hasn't trashed the USPS so badly that the samples take so long to get to the lab that they're worthless.

In case she dies, send her off for necropsy and get a Marek's test done.

All this makes me think it is Marek's, as often the affected birds will also be prone to all kinds of bacteria and germs due to their immune system being impaired by the Marek virus.

you matter more than your birds Azygous; please don't take undue risks

Yes!!! Please be careful!

 

[texsuze]

Very disheartening to hear that May has lost ground

Fay went to vet today. They're doing curbside greeting since we have a spike in the "cootie" numbers, so I didn't go with her in the exam room. Vet met me at my vehicle and we went over the details and my interpretation (MS vs Marek's) of her symptoms.

I was given a bottle of meloxicam to help her with any pain issues; 1.3 ml orally b.i.d. Vet is sending blood to my alma mater's poultry lab for (1) CBC and (2) MS testing. Thinks we'll know something tomorrow (ha!) or next day, before Xmas holiday. He's going to refresh his memory re: antibiotics to use if Fay's bloodwork comes back positive for MS.

She is still the same, squatting more, walking less, but talkative, eating, drinking, pooping, preening. These chickens are amazingly resilient in the face of disease. I'll give an update once I get the bloodwork report.

 

[NinaJoy]

I thought Tractor Supply vaccinated for Marek?

 

[azygous]

I thought Tractor Supply vaccinated for Marek?

No. They should. But it would decrease their corportate profits. Corporations may "be people too", as Mit Romney famously said, but they seem to lack all moral incentive.

Only if you order direct from the hatchery and request Marek's vaccination will chicks be vaccinated. If these big corporate feed stores did ask for Marek's vaccinations for the thousands and thousands they sell, Marek's could be wiped off the map.