Hi Wyorp Rock. The vet took the profile - age, lethargy, pale, weakness, and infectious anaemia is the only possibility that fits. Blood tests wouldn’t tell you much - you would only see a stressed neutropenia. They have no lesions that we can see, but are very very pale - the tongue is almost cream rather than pink, there is signs of haemorrhage on the wings, and one chick is showing malaena- dark sticky faeces.
It looks like a neurological problem, because the weakness makes them very wobbly, and at worst they fall over and cannot get up.
Tonight, my worst chick can shuffle around a little and rebalance when knocked by another chick.
CIA is ubiquitous, passive immunity is inferred vertically by immune mothers previously exposed to the virus. There is a vaccination that is given in water to chicks 12-16 weeks of age commercially, which is available in 1000 dose containers - no smaller. So not available to us back yard owners/breeders.
If an older chicken catches the virus, you most likely wouldn’t notice it, as it doesn’t affect them much. It’s only young chicks 12-18 days old that are susceptible. Like I said earlier, they carried the virus in the egg with them, hatched with it, and 3 of the Barnies are the worst affected. One Araucana and one Wellsummer are unbalanced, but still eating and drinking normally.
I was just very unfortunate that I bought these eggs when the mother was infected and did not yet have immunity.
I’ll try and get some photos tomorrow.
