Help!! Easter egger really bad idk what it is

[Chicken Kate]

Ok, so hubby came running in to tell me my easter egger is in bad shape. She was balled up, eyes closed chirping loudly. I picked her up, opened eyes, clear, nothing coming out, clear nose. She curled her toes around me, closed her eyes again...she sounded as if she was screaming. I placed her on paper towel, she suddenly falls over, slowly tucks her head into her chest. I was sire she was gone. Suddenly she streched out her neck and i stood her up. A little balance issue. Now she is standing. I rushed gatoade and now she is standing and chirping, but still balled up. She even has a weird gurggling chirp. She is two maybe one and a half months old. She is outside all day long. Perhaps a stone in her stomach? I didnt notice any odd poops either .Maybe injured some how? I checked her body, nothing seems bad...ugh i wanna help .

 

[Chicken Kate]

Thank you all for your positive posts and encouragement. I have decided that i just cant be without my chickens. (Gee, who didnt see that coming lol) turns out that my EE jad swallowed a pebble as i had feared. I have moved my remaining three babies and all are well. So glad it was not Mereks.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm afraid that looks like Marek's disease to me. The best you can do is keep her warm and as comfortable as possible and encourage her to take a vitamin supplement and eat an egg or if she is unable/unwilling to eat even with your assistance then it would be kinder to euthanize her as she looks extremely sick.
You might want to consider having a necropsy done if she does die. Some state facilities provide a subsidised service which makes it worth while using. There are lists of state facilities for such here on BYC if that is a route you might want to take.

I'm sorry I can't offer much hope for her. I know how hard it is to care for very sick birds and to make and carry out those difficult end decisions.

 

[rebrascora]

I don't think dear its Marek's some vitamin deficiency mimic like Marek's. Marek's first symptom is paralyzed wing or leg ..curled toes are vitamin deficiency ...

How much personal experience do you have with Marek's disease or are you just going by what you have read?

Marek's can present in a multitude of different ways. The commonest is probably lameness or a dropped wing but it can kill suddenly with no apparent symptoms, it can be as subtle as being unable to control one eyelid or eye pupil and it can suppress the immune system so that infections set in or parasites like coccidia flourish without any paralysis occuring. I was reading a necropsy report the other day where it had suppressed the immune system to the point that the bird asphyxiated from wet pox lesions and mycelium growth in the trachea.

 

[rebrascora]

As someone who has had Mark's in their flock for several years I can tell you that it is not as bad as everything you read about it and it is much more widespread than the vast majority of people would believe. It is a bit like the human Herpes virus in that a large proportion of the population have it but it lies dormant until an outbreak occurs and they are often caused by a stress trigger. Some birds recover from these outbreaks, but will be prone to further outbreaks and others will be resistant. If everyone adopted the approach of culling their flock when they had an outbreak of Marek's, there would be very few backyard flocks left. Many people assume it is a vitamin deficiency because the first thing that is suggested is to supplement vitamins.... which can help support the immune system and even help the neurological system to repair, so definitely worth while doing, but birds with Marek's sometimes recover from paralysis as quickly as they went down with it, others take weeks or months to recover and others decline and die. It is sad every time I lose a bird to it but I have many birds that have been exposed to it and do not suffer from it and I try to breed from those birds.
I am conscious of taking precautions to prevent spreading the disease but I do not let it prevent me from enjoying keeping poultry. It is just another challenge, like pests and predators that needs to be managed.

 

[Eggcessive]

After seeing her age and her runny poop, I would have thought it was probably coccidiosis, which causes extreme weakness and dehydration. The drooped neck can be a sign of dehydration, Mareks, and other illnesses. I have doubts about Mareks, but Rebascora is a very good authority about Mareks, and she has much experience. It has many different signs in each bird, and commonly is found in birds between 4 and 28 weeks old, but can happen to older birds as well.

Refrigerate her body, and contact your state vet to get a necropsy and testing. It is very worth knowing what caused her illness. If you see other chicks with diarrhea or sleepiness, go get some Corid (amprollium) from your feed store, and start treatment for possible coccidiosis.

One person mention possible Newcastles, and it is not a disease found in the US, at least the exotic newcastles that is seeious. Another mentioned sulfa drugs for coccidiosis, and those are only avilable with a prescription from a vet in the US.

Please let us know what is found with the necropsy, and so sorry for your loss.

 

[Saaniya]

I'm afraid that looks like Marek's disease to me. The best you can do is keep her warm and as comfortable as possible and encourage her to take a vitamin supplement and eat an egg or if she is unable/unwilling to eat even with your assistance then it would be kinder to euthanize her as she looks extremely sick.
You might want to consider having a necropsy done if she does die. Some state facilities provide a subsidised service which makes it worth while using. There are lists of state facilities for such here on BYC if that is a route you might want to take.

I'm sorry I can't offer much hope for her. I know how hard it is to care for very sick birds and to make and carry out those difficult end decisions.

I don't think dear its Marek's some vitamin deficiency mimic like Marek's. Marek's first symptom is paralyzed wing or leg ..curled toes are vitamin deficiency ...

 

[bobbi-j]

Before you give up, have a necropsy done on the sick one when she dies. It's hard to deal with something if you don't know what it is.

I'll say I don't normally necropsy the random bird that now and then, but I think I would, if I suspected something like Marek's.

 

[ChickenLady2014]

I'm sorry Chicken Kate that your bird is sick. I would not give up quiet yet. Wait & see how she is doing or cull her if she is suffering, but please don't give up on all your birds unless you send her out for a necropsy & it comes back positive for Mereks disease. Even if you have to pay to have the test done it is by far cheaper than losing all your birds & everything you have put in to have birds (coops, runs, watering containers & feed containers) I wish you the best of luck

 

[Eggcessive]

Baby and young chicks are the ones most affected by coccidia in the soil and droppings, especially when there are older birds around.

Please do not cull your flock because it might be Mareks. Get a necropsy done to ease your mind.