Flock slowly being wiped out - possibly mareks??

[bamachick86]

Hi horseshoe13,
Im sorry but i have no experience with that. There is a list of possible causes here though: https://poultrykeeper.com/respiratory-problems/respiratory-disease-in-chickens/.

Fingers crossed for your new babies.

Gloria died last week, i didnt do a post mortem as the kids were too upset but it was quite sudden and a surprise as she had been improving.

I lost a duck this week to being egg bound with lash eggs. That was nasty poor baby. Not a great week, all round.

Hi KirstieJG, did you or your friend ever have any other similar issues in other birds? I was sad to read Gloria didn't make it but it sounds like you did a great job trying to save her. I had to put another one down today after she lost the ability to walk properly and was losing balance. This is the 7th one that died (or had to be put down) after showing neurological symptoms after seeming completely healthy. I kept her separated for nearly a month boosting her with vitamins and nutrient dense foods, but she never bounced back and only deteriorated. We had a wicked and stubborn bout of coccidiosis this past spring that I feared left many of them weak and unable to assimilate nutrients, but the paralysis left me fearing Marek's. They started showing these signs between 3-6 months but I keep hoping each one that has died will be the last one. And typically each time the symptoms start differently. Some will just look lethargic and die a day or so later; some I've found have just dropped dead without any warning, and others start to walk funny until they can't move much at all. It's really frustrating but we haven't had the time to get a necropsy as the closest lab to us is over an hour away.

 

[bamachick86]

I should mention I just separated another pullet today who just started high stepping today. A lot of times with the others that's how the paralysis began. They'll high step with either or both legs then eventually only be able to walk on their haunches, and it'll go downhill from there. She's at a great weight though, growing great and seems very healthy otherwise.

 

[KirstieJG]

Hi, we didnt get any high stepping from the birds, just weakness. I took another from her more recently that was terribly weak but on closer inspection she had severe lice, i treated all the chickens, hers and mine and we have had no further problems.

I do believe gloria had coccidiosis rather than mareks but i also think i may have over dosed her with selenium. I was giving her way too much and it may have been a stressed liver that killed her.

I hope yr strong pullet pulls through. Keep us updated. There are some posts on here about surviving mareks if thats what it is.

 

[bamachick86]

Very interesting, I'm glad you guys aren't dealing with those same issues anymore. Chicken keeping seems to be a neverending puzzle sometimes. I finally decided to take a fecal sample of my girl that's currently quarantined to a local vet, just so I could rule out parasites. Wouldn't you know it, my little ones are STILL battling coccidia almost SEVEN MONTHS after the initial outbreak. He's not a chicken vet but knows a lot about chickens and he didn't seem to think the funny walking/paralysis I described sounded like Marek's. But I can't find any link between coccidiosis and paralysis, unless I'm dealing with a secondary infection or severe malnutrition as a result of the damage the coccidia have done. I am glad to know at least one of the things we're dealing with so I'm going to start them [again] on amprolium and hope we can pull the rest of them through.

 

[jak2002003]

Its so frustrating and sad when things like this happen.

I am having a similar experience with my flock. I had about 50 bantam chickens and over about 6 months I am now down to 6!!!!!

The birds that died all seemed 100 percent healthy, plumb, perfect feathers, active and eating normally, with normal poops. Then suddenly one would become lethargic and either a few hours later, or several days, it would just give up and die. Even when lethargic it would look normal. No puffed up feathers or strange breathing.

Out of all the birds I lost I only had 3 display partial paralysis. In fact it all started when my top rooster started to do 'high stepping' and then lost control of his legs.

The 6 that survived are doing great. 3 months after loosing the last bird all seemed well.. so I let one hen hatch out a batch of her own eggs. The youngsters did well too. .and I was hopeful all was over. But once they got to just starting to lay eggs all 5 of them died as the other birds did.

How long does this disease stay on the land? I cleaned all the coop and threw out feeders and nest boxes... but I can not clean the soil or land... they live free range in the daytime.

 

[jak2002003]

Also does anybody know if pigeons can get Marek's disease from my chickens, because I have started to loose some of my young fancy pigeons once they leave the nest.

 

[Eggcessive]

Mareks mostly affects chickens, although it has been reported in turkeys in some countries. Here is a good link to read about it: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/poultry/neoplasms/mareks_disease_in_poultry.html

Perhaps there is another disease affecting your pigeons since there are so many viruses in other species. Symptoms you are seeing might help. Here is a list of common pigeon diseases:
http://www.northstardoves.com/pages/pigeon-diseases

 

[bamachick86]

jak2002003 That's really interesting that you're seeing similar issues in yours--the high stepping and partial paralysis and seeming fine until suddenly they aren't, all around egg laying age. I thought my strong ones were in the clear until they all got to about 5-6 months, which is when they should've started laying. Have yours ever fought coccidia? I'm still trying to figure out if the neurological symptoms and death is directly from the coccidia or if that just made them susceptible to something else like you're experiencing with yours. Regardless I'm treating mine again for coccidia and going to give vitamin B injections a shot since B deficiency can result from coccidiosis, based on what I've learned from my own research and other chicken pros.

 

[jak2002003]

jak2002003 That's really interesting that you're seeing similar issues in yours--the high stepping and partial paralysis and seeming fine until suddenly they aren't, all around egg laying age. I thought my strong ones were in the clear until they all got to about 5-6 months, which is when they should've started laying. Have yours ever fought coccidia? I'm still trying to figure out if the neurological symptoms and death is directly from the coccidia or if that just made them susceptible to something else like you're experiencing with yours. Regardless I'm treating mine again for coccidia and going to give vitamin B injections a shot since B deficiency can result from coccidiosis, based on what I've learned from my own research and other chicken pros.

I don't think mine ever had coccidian. They never had anything wrong with their poops... never any blood or anything unusual.

Out of the 50 plus birds I had only 2 showed the high stepping and one has some wing paralysis.

The others seemed 100 percent healthy and active... then one would suddenly get lethargic and die over a few hours (rarely a few days). I last nearly all of them in the end. Just have a few left now.

I have been doing research and found out its a virus... so no way I can get rid of it from my land. I am going to let a surviving hen hatch out her eggs again... and if this lot die too I will just give up keeping chickens.

 

[bamachick86]

I'm so sorry to hear that. What virus do you suspect? I'm sure different than what mine are experiencing since you are in Thailand, but I'm not ruling anything out, especially since our symptoms sound so similar.