Got a chicken and it's acting sick and I'm a newbie. Advise please?

[Cheryl Martin]

New Year's Day update. Thanks again for all the info from everyone. My Barred Rock (who is currently living in my basement), seems to be improving. We were able to get outside in the sunshine a little bit a couple of days in a row. I tried creating a dust bath to see if she would scratch and roll in that in the sun, to maybe try to help the itching, but she just stood in it. So I shook handfuls of it in her feathers to try to help. Then she would shake it out. She is eating and getting stronger, pooping a lot more, but occasionally it is diarrhea. I have been feeding her feed wet with an electrolyte mix of sugar, baking soda, and salt that I found on line. I was hoping that would help ensure she is getting the liquids she needs plus a little boost. Since the diarrhea, I've tried to give her just plain water and dry food but she doesn't eat as much with the dry (I mean who would so, right now we are in watch and wait mode. She is warm and well feed and talked to daily, but she still keeps her eyes closed 99% of the time. She will open them briefly if startled but closes them right back. I haven't been able to get a good look at them and haven't forced them open to examine. Don't want to freak her out. If she moves to far away from the food, she can't find it on her own. So at this point, I don't really know what to do next. Other than the closed eyes, acting very timid about walking any where, she seems to be doing better. Any suggestions on what to do next?

 

[micstrachan]

I find the eye closing thing concerning. Would you consider placing a couple drops of sterile eye wash on each eye and see what happens? I just wonder if there could be something wrong with her eyes... something making them sting.
Also, I missed it if you shared - does she vocalize at all? I wonder if you recorded your flock chatting with each other and played it back for her if she would perk up. On top of not feeling well, she might be a little lonely and depressed. Just a thought. Does this seem like a reasonable thing to try?

 

[Cheryl Martin]

I find the eye closing thing concerning. Would you consider placing a couple drops of sterile eye wash on each eye and see what happens? I just wonder if there could be something wrong with her eyes... something making them sting.
Also, I missed it if you shared - does she vocalize at all? I wonder if you recorded your flock chatting with each other and played it back for her if she would perk up. On top of not feeling well, she might be a little lonely and depressed. Just a thought. Does this seem like a reasonable thing to try?

I have considered trying to wash her eyes with something but haven't been able to find any good suggestions and didn't want to do something that might hurt her. I'll get some eye wash and see what happens with that. She will occasionally open her eyes if she is startled, but it's quick. She doesn't seem to have pronounced color difference between her eye color and the pupil like the other girls. She can be vocal, she will talk a little but not for long. Sometimes she will talk when I make chicken noises to her. I'll try to record the other girls and see if that gets a response. I have a tv downstairs so maybe I can find some barnyard noises or something that has chicken noises and try to play that for her during the day. I wish I knew how she became blind, is she old, did she get sick? She is a significant size as you can see in the picture, so she has obviously spent somewhat of her life eating and moving normally. The way she is now, she would never survive in a regular coop. I don't think she would ever find food. She doesn't scratch around and search the ground like the normal girls. Thanks for the input. I'll try washing her eyes and see how that goes.

 

[Cheryl Martin]

Saturday 1/14 update. Thank you to everyone who has followed along and given such helpful advice. So here's a new picture and an update. The picture on the right is when we got her on Christmas eve, the one on the left is current.

Health wise she is doing great. Normal poops, eating good, moving more, talking more. Still keeps eyes closed.

Soooooo....... She crowed today! So, apparently she is a he! This just tops off how my chicken experience goes I have starting researching to see if in fact she is a he - but it's so hard for a novice to tell. The whole feather thing is iffy. Maybe the neck and saddle feathers look longer and skinnier, I just don't know. I'll attach a full body pic too so maybe someone can tell.

And he is obviously feeling much better. I have been taking him outside when the weather cooperates to be close to the other chickens so he can hear them. He pretty much just stands in one place though, no scratching or moving much. He will take a few steps but very timid in walking - cause he can't see. We have started putting in eye drops just to see if that helps. He is opening his eyes more but still doesn't seem to be able to see. The eyes are kinda cloudy so my hope for vision has pretty much gone away. But on the bright side, he is getting healthy. Now. What to do about a crowing rooster in my basement?..... Haha, this is just so funny to us. What an adventure! Thanks for your responses.

 

[rebrascora]

I was beginning to doubt myself when no one else picked up that he was looking male. Pleased to hear he is a bit stronger and making progress. Will you be able to keep him (local bylaws etc)? If not, it might be best to consider euthanizing him now rather than spend any more time trying to rehabilitate him. It is hard enough to find homes for healthy unwanted cockerels but a blind one would be even more difficult. Added to that, it may be that his sight problem is caused by Marek's disease and the last thing you want to do is pass that on to someone else's flock. I know this may seem harsh but sometimes the realities of chicken keeping can be harsh, particularly for unwanted males.

 

[Cheryl Martin]

I thought someone mentioned him looking like a male but I couldn’t find who said it in the feed. I live out in the country so no rules on chickens or roosters. I’ve tried to find info on mareks and so far he doesn’t seem to fit any of the other conditions. It seemed in my research that it doesn’t take long for mareks to take affect on them does it? I am proceeding with caution and not going to cross contaminate and mix him with my other chickens until I know for sure. He seems to be in good shape other than the eyes. And at this point my heart is invested (good or bad) so I won’t rehome him. I’ll just figure out how to add to the coop so he can eventually be outside but not with the girls once I know for sure it's not mareks. Any advise or thoughts is appreciated. As always, I appreciate all the help.

 

[rebrascora]

As someone who has Marek's in their flock.... I've been dealing with it for the past 3 years.... I can tell you that there are no hard and fast rules with it. It often affects the neurological system often asymetrically, so it could potentially make him struggle to open one eyelid and the ocular version certainly causes sight problems. I've had birds mostly exhibit lameness or a dropped wing or wry neck or wry tail rather than ocular issues but I know the disease well enough to say that the average person is kidding themselves if they rule it out purely because their symptoms don't fit what they read about it. Every chicken exhibits Marek's differently and whilst there are some classic symptoms which make it pretty obvious, I would guestimate that not even half the birds with Marek's will get those.
It is also an exceptionally common and widespread disease and very easily contracted but can stay dormant for months before you see any indication of it. So the likelihood of getting it is quite high. If you think of how many people have the Herpes cold sore virus, and how many of them you would know have it.... ie what percentage of the population carrying the Herpes virus actually have a cold sore at any point in time. Marek's is a similar virus. Completely invisible until a bird is stressed and has an outbreak. Unfortunately Marek's is more deadly and spread more easily..... direct contact is not necessary. It is contracted by inhaling the dander dust from an infected bird which can be carried on feathers, clothes, shoes, hair and skin of people or animals and even short distance, on the wind. Some birds are resistant to it, some are not. Many are invisible carriers which is why people get caught out buying healthy looking birds and 2-3 months later they have a bird go sick with it. It is almost like the bird equivalent of AIDS.

Anyway, I hope I am wrong and this is something less worrisome. It is at least good news that him being a cockerel is not a problem in your location. I know how attached you get to them when they are needing TLC like this.... I have nursed enough of my own birds by now with Marek's to understand that bond and as long as there is hope you feel compelled to keep trying and I wish you luck with him.
If it is Marek's I have found grass and sunshine to be one of the best treatments but not always available, especially in our British climate. The disease compromises the immune system as well as affecting the nervous system, so a good quality vitamin supplement and perhaps a probiotic or fermenting his feed to improve digestive function so that he absorbs all the nutrients efficiently. Also a little meat or fish or egg occasionally is good. None of these things can be detrimental, so even if he doesn't have Marek's they will still be good for him.

Good luck.

 

[Cheryl Martin]

Thanks for your response. You are obviously very knowledgeable and experienced with this. I appreciate your information. There are so many things that I still have to learn about the whole chicken world. Things I know to do differently next time. I am so sorry that you have had to deal with it for so long with your flock. That has to be frustrating and heartbreaking. How many chickens do you have?

Do you think that he would be regaining strength and getting better physically if he had Marek's? I started to feel like his poor health and bad eyes were due to a lack of nutrition since he has made such an improvement over the last 3 weeks. I had researched Marek's in the beginning as a reason for the blindness, but then since he started showing such improvement and since he didn't have any other symptoms, I felt like that might not be what it was. I guess I am just looking for a bit of hope for him. But, it shows where my knowledge in this whole thing is since I have thought he was a girl for the last 3 weeks Do you know of any other possibilities that would cause him to keep his eyes closed? Anything at all? He has just improved so much from when we got him, I guess I am looking for any possibilities. Again, probably my naivety in dealing with this.

Thanks again for the post. Stay warm. It's supposed to be 27F here tonight. That's probably not bad for ya'll but it's COLD for us here in the south.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi again.

Other than an injury to the eye or the nerve, I cannot think of anything that would cause it but I certainly do not know everything about chicken illnesses and diseases, just bits and pieces that I have picked up through reading or sadly experience with Marek's. I have certainly had Marek's birds that have made miraculous recoveries, so even if that's what it is, it's not a totally hopeless situation, especially if he is showing improvement. I've had some that were down and floundering for a couple of days having been fine and healthy immediately prior and then just as quickly recovered and you could not tell they had been afflicted. Unfortunately they are prone to further attacks if they recover from the first one, weeks, months or even years later. It will lie dormant until the bird's immune system is compromised or they are stressed, just like cold sores in humans. Both are caused by a Herpes virus. Unfortunately the Marek's virus is significantly more deadly that the cold sore virus but it's not guaranteed to be fatal. Usually secondary attacks are more prolonged and serious though. Keeping birds well fed, happy and stress free is the way to prevent Marek's outbreaks but there are things beyond your control like the surge of hormones at adolescence (believed to be one of the main triggers along with stress of excessive mating by young cockerels) and moulting which cannot really be avoided.
I've had other birds that I nursed for months and made enough progress to return to free ranging with the flock and laying eggs. And sadly quite a few that were not strong enough to fight it and once they stop showing an interest in food, I now know it is time to end it for them...... that is the really hard part and I always cry. You do get so attached to them when you are giving them one on one care. Whenever possible I cut them open afterwards and examine their organs, so that I can better understand the disease.
In the early days I went through several different suggested treatments like turmeric and black pepper or St Johns Wort but I started to realise that some birds were improving without any treatment and the ones I was trying to medicate got sick of the medicine and it stressed them and me trying to get them to eat it which was just counter productive. They need to be happy and eat well to fight it, not stressed and picky about their food. I stopped adulterating their food. I started taking them out into the fresh air and sunshine when it was warm enough and putting them in a cage on the lawn and scattering scratch on the ground in and around the cage so that the other flock members foraged around them. Competition for food (even if it is just perceived competition) is a great motivator and appetite booster. There also seems to be something a bit special about grass. I've not tried actually harvesting it and pulping it yet (you have to be careful not to give them long strands as it can cause crop/gizzard impaction but the birds that have recovered have been put out on and pecked the grass. I'm not by any means claiming that it will cure them all or even a percentage but my gut feeling is that it is beneficial.
I wish you luck with the little fellow and if you have any specific questions that you think I might be able to assist with, please feel free to ask.

 

[nightowl223]

The color (had I seen this post before this) would have had me saying male, too. Both Barred Rocks and Dominiques are like that, with the males having a lighter overall appearance than the females.

I note in the side-by-side pic that he had to have been very dehydrated when you got him, because of the shrunken comb. That, and his refusal to open his eyes, also leads me to believe he may have been bullied or frightened badly enough to "break his spirit," so to speak. I have had that happen before to young roosters that chose to take on the top rooster, and I found each in a corner of the coop, squatted down, eyes closed, and bloody. This fella doesn't appear battle-scarred, though, so I may be wrong.