Help!! Marek's Disease??

[casportpony]

Ohh, It is? Sorry, I am not good with medications and such.

Lol, no worries!

 

[pwand]

I

Ok I am brand new here and brand new to having chickens. I am not sure if this the right place to ask but I need help. I bought 5 chicks fromTSC and it was the last chicks that they had so they asked if I could take 2 for free that they had separated from the others. I of course not knowing any better took them. They gave me electrolytes and probiotics and said to make sure to keep the chicks separate from the others and give the electrolytes and probiotics according to the package directions. I am now at home and the 2 "sick" chicks look different from the others. All are supposedly tetra tints but the sick ones have black beaks and feet and their feet appear to be clubbed, the toes are curled and they have a very hard time walking on them. I am so scared of what it could be and if my other chicks could be infected. I also have 6 chicks 3 weeks old and am scared. I have all the chicks together except forget the 2 sick little ones. Any advice is appreciated.

if you can, return them immediately.

 

[Zrcalo]

Sorry... I just found it in another post on BYC. I am not good with poultry diseases. I'm very sorry. I am so mad at myself. I should have known.

It's okay! Everyone makes mistakes.

I would be /very/ leery about any "homeopathic" remedy that isnt a simple vitamin based supplement (even be leery of those).

Here's the reasons behind that.

1) the FDA does not regulate "supplements" or "homeopathic remedies"
-----------a) what you buy differs not only from brand to brand, but from bottle to bottle. Many times even /how/ the plant was raised affects its potency.
-----------b) these are sold by /volume/ not by potency.
------------c) the volumes are not regulated nor are they pure. They can contain some very harmful things (especially to animals) that are not listed.

2) Many times the claims listed on these items are not scientifically proven or tested.
-----------a) many times the "doctors" that are said to recommend it, are not doctors or have their doctorates in a different field, ie; english.

3) What you read on the internet should never be trusted unless it is from a credible, DOCUMENTED, source.
-----------a) looking up a study on NCBI is a WONDERFUL idea to support claims.
-----------b) a quick google search usually will suffice.


Now, I'm not saying that everything isnt true. It just isnt verified or regulated enough for me to want to try it. Then again, most the times these things are completely harmless. It's the very few instances where sometimes they arent.

ie; there was a guy who fed bleach to his infant because he heard it would help a cough.
ie; my parents spent hundreds of dollars on "magical water".

:| .... I still cant believe they bought the magical water.

 

[Haunted55]

I don't think this is right posting something that says "there is a cure for Marek's". It's not a cure. In fact the title of that thread was changed to delete the "Marek's" part.

I would like to see just 1person with laboratory proof that their Marek's bird was cured with this. Otherwise it's all hearsay. False hope. Hopefully someone can show some valid legal proof of their Marek's bird being cured. There are just too many illnesses out there that "look" like Marek's , and they get better.

Truth...I tried it myself and it didn't work at all. Seminole is correct, if it Marek's, there isn't a cure. It would be like coming up with the cure for the common cold. Ain't happenin'.

 

[Haunted55]

I had problems with maerks in the past and found that raising a turkey with my chickens took care of the problem.

Yes! It does doesn't it?

 

[Haunted55]

Ok I am brand new here and brand new to having chickens. I am not sure if this the right place to ask but I need help. I bought 5 chicks fromTSC and it was the last chicks that they had so they asked if I could take 2 for free that they had separated from the others. I of course not knowing any better took them. They gave me electrolytes and probiotics and said to make sure to keep the chicks separate from the others and give the electrolytes and probiotics according to the package directions. I am now at home and the 2 "sick" chicks look different from the others. All are supposedly tetra tints but the sick ones have black beaks and feet and their feet appear to be clubbed, the toes are curled and they have a very hard time walking on them. I am so scared of what it could be and if my other chicks could be infected. I also have 6 chicks 3 weeks old and am scared. I have all the chicks together except forget the 2 sick little ones. Any advice is appreciated.

Don't worry about Marek's now. You wouldn't see that at this stage of their life. These guys are too young to even be thinking that way. Sounds to me as if they are in desperate need of some TLC and vitamins. I would look up how others have made 'boots' on BYC to correct these kinds of problems. I used corn patches that have a skin freindly adhesive on the back of them. Straightened the foot and toes and put one of those, cut to fit, on the bottome of the foot. I also used some Vet Wrap to protect the feet from curious siblings. Vitamins in their water everyday, a little patience and they should be fine. Keeping them separate right now is a good idea until you can make sure there is nothing else wrong with them.

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

Spekledhen has some very good info as well! She can be found here on BYC.

Just an FYI, Tractor Supply does not buy vaccinated birds. They may tell you they do , in the store, but they do not. I got this information from corporate. It might be a good idea for you to find out what hatchery they got their chicks from just so if anything ever does happen later, you will have that information. Talk to the store manager and they can get you that information right then.

 

[chickee chick]

Thanks for the insight one them did not make thru the night and I am now worried about having just the one alone but don't want to put him with the others yet either.

 

[Haunted55]

Well my hen is still alive, it was a beautiful day today so i brought her out in the sun, i have to say she just wont give up she tries so hard to stand i actually saw her jump today but she still has no controll of her feet, one of her eyelids is closed shut and the other looks normal she has been eating but seems like she is not drinking much, not sure what to do with her i have tried everything i know of besides the st. Johns wort from the thread i saw.

Ems Chicks, do you have a Vet you could take her to? Did you try and find the Vet for your state? Eventually you will want a diagnosis from someone with letters after their name. I've been where you are and I know how hard it can be to make this decision, but I also know how important it is in the end. I had 2 necropsies done last year. The first one was ambiguous as the Vet who did the necropsie had no idea what caused the death in this bird. The second one, it was Marek's, no question.

Something interesting you might want to file away....birds that have been vaccinated for all 3 strains of Marek's do not show the internal symptoms during necropsy sometimes. Doesn't mean they didn't have Marek's just that the signs aren't always there to be read easily. It is very important to know the vaccination history of your birds and keep records of any medications they have been on during thier life. Just like kids, lol. this way you can give that info when it is needed.

As for what to do with her, give her vitamins in her water and love her until it's time to either say good-bye or time to return her to the rest of the flock. I'm not sure if I asked this, or if anyone else asked it either....Are any of your other birds showing symptoms? They all walk okay? No eye changes? Anything to make you think they could be sick as well? Other than the diarrhea, what are the other symptoms they all show? The closed eye and the diarrhea stick with me. They could be secondary to the Marek's, but something is nagging me about it. The eye could be injury or it could be a sinus infection in it's first stages. I don't know, I'm not there and can't see. When I was hit with this last year, I eventually had to sit down and write the timeline up as best I could. It helped me with understanding what I was dealing with, believe me. It also pointed out other things that had nothing to do with Marek's at all. Just a thought.

 

[Haunted55]

Thanks for the insight one them did not make thru the night and I am now worried about having just the one alone but don't want to put him with the others yet either.

I don't blame you. Sometimes chicks are born with troubles we can't see and nature takes care of it. I'm very sorry you lost the one. It's never a nice thing to have happen. If you have a small mirror you can put that in with the survivor and maybe a small stuffed animal as well. They will help with the chick being alone. I use clear plastic totes for this reason. If I have to separate one out they can still see the others as well as hear them.

 

[seminolewind]

Sorry... I just found it in another post on BYC. I am not good with poultry diseases. I'm very sorry. I am so mad at myself. I should have known.

I never meant it to mean you. I just get riled up from stuff like that. Most of us have read that thread because we're so despret to save our beloved chickens. I'm sorry if it sounded like I was ranting on you personally. NO. Not at all. You're in this boat with the rest of us, and you need support from us just as we do from you.