Help.. I think they have Mareks

[scruffsmom16]

What can I do?

My husband bought chicks from a feed store a few weeks ago.. The weather here has been cold and rainy so they have taken up space in my dinning room.. They are in a 6 foot by 3 foot box with pine shavings on the bottom.. Since they are inside the box is cleaned daily.. They have two red lights and a place to get out of the heat and cover.. They are fed chicken starter crumbles.. We have well water and we use bottled water for them.. I am at a loss here as there are not walking.. One is very small the other two are twice as big..
I wouldn't have purchased chicks from this feed store however I have taken them in and taken care of them.. I just don't know what could have happend? What can I do? I won't put them out with my other chickens.. I have also separated the sick ones now into a smaller box where they lay together.

 

[scruffsmom16]

To add the are eating and drinking.. They manage to stumble over to the food and water.. Legs are straight out and toes curled when they lay down.. Almost like they are dead..

I am hating this very much.. I have had chickens my whole life and this has never happened once..

 

[TalkALittle]

Honestly, I'd cull them. And I would never suggest anything like that lightly. You are risking the health and lives of your own flock and any future flock you may have by keeping sick birds that you didn't want or expect to have in the first place.

The way I see it is that my first responsibility is to my own flock. If I could help in a way that didn't put my own birds at risk then I would, but otherwise, those birds would not be on my property.

Another thing to think about is that if it's Marek's then they likely have a lot of suffering ahead of them. The most compassionate and humane thing might just be to euthanize them now.

 

[scruffsmom16]

That is what it's looking like.. We will go to the vet in the morning. I just know that's what it is..

Thank you

I am not giving up I am just being realistic.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you have any photos?
I'm not saying it isn't Mareks.
A vitamin deficiency or genetic defect could be a possibility.
Curled toes "can" be a sign of Riboflavin/B2 deficiency. You could add some vitamins and electrolytes to their water, just to see.
If you do suspect it is Marek, I would ask the vet to TEST for it. I would also call the feed store and ask about their source of chicks, where they came from and if they were vaccinated for Mareks. That way you can let the vet know, so they can make sure the vaccine does not create a false positive on the tests.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/p...iencies_in_poultry.html?qt=curled toes&alt=sh
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/217/vitamin-b2-deficiency/
http://www.tillysnest.com/2014/03/vitamin-deficiencies-in-backyard-chicks-html/
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/poultry/neoplasms/mareks_disease_in_poultry.html?qt=mareks&alt=sh

 

[scruffsmom16]

After researching this most of the night into this morning I am unsure if it is Mareks.. Most likely it is a vitamin D deficiency.. They do not have diarrhea, weight loss, nor have they become visually impaired.. They seem to have steady control of their wings and their eye are equal, dilate and are reactive to light.. They jump, hop and some what fly over to the water and feeder.. I purchased an electrolyte supplement and vitamin D.. I will see how they progress.. For now I have them seperated from the others and they are enjoying some good sunshine..

 

[Eggcessive]

I would tend to think that it is a vitamin or mineral deficiency from hatch as Wyorp Rock has suggested. Hatching temperatures and conditions, genetics, and early care at feed stores also will have many effects on chicks. Shipping stress in shipment to the feed stores can cause a lot of problems. Mareks disease symptoms can show up as early as 3 weeks, but more typically is later than that. A good poultry vitamin/electrolyte powder to add to their water is what I would use, and make them drink as often as possible.

 

[scruffsmom16]

They are coming around one is walking completly the other is standing on her own we are making progress.. It must have been a vitamin deficiency..

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They are coming around one is walking completly the other is standing on her own we are making progress.. It must have been a vitamin deficiency..

That's good news!
What type of vitamins did you end of giving them?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I hope that it isn't Mareks. That is a death sentence at my place. It is incurable and the best that you can ever hope for is the infected bird holding on by its wing tips coupled with the infected bird continuous shedding the herpes virus that causes Mareks spreading it to every flock member.