Help! Micro Serama is ill!

[FeeltheLove12]

I like the suggestion to keep her in low light....it certainly can't hurt (and is easily done since we are still getting snow in these parts!) Today, she has put on some weight and pooping up a storm...all looks normal. I do have Poultry Cell, and I feed organic...but fermenting it would be a better way. I will pick up some Corrid, so I am prepared and continue to hope for the best. I am also wondering about Show and Gamebird feed....

Thus far, there has been no masses between her legs, nothing tumor or egg-like....Out of an abundance of caution, I picked up some St. John's Wort....gotta watch out for the extracts/tinctures.....there's a ton of alcohol in them....wouldn't want that to be the cause of her staggering! I bought Boirin pellets and am diluting them to see if it helps. I also note that she is losing more feathers now than usual....molting? hmm....

For what it is worth, from what I have read the micros are not necessarily bred although sought after. They just happen I guess. I am not sure whether she was engineered or not....but the owner was sure anxious to be rid of her....granted my bird was quite valuable, but it sure makes me wonder.... I have had people contact me about wanting the teeny tinys....I don't really get it when the cost economic and emotional cost is so high.... Regardless, she is here now and I love her dearly. She will get all I can give her and I will be forever changed by what I can learn from her. Totally grateful for 6 ounces of feathers and pluck!! Thanks, again!

 

[FeeltheLove12]

Working on that now! Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[FeeltheLove12]

Just writing to report that my little girl passed away in my arms tonight....in the end, I don't think anyone knew what was going on for her...one expert never came through with a promise to send a supplement that would help, and the vet ended up discovering that she did have a bacterial infection...by then he had taken her off the antibiotics and she was so far gone by the time he got the blood test results back that we couldn't fix it. I can't believe she lasted 2 months being so severely ill but remained perky and content until last night. I actually had a friend do a Reiki healing on her, and that is when everything changed...So much sweetness in a little body....so very grateful to have had her at all.

Breeders and buyers of micros just for the sake of micros, are not my friends...... man should not play with the work of the gods.....poor baby....

 

[rebrascora]

So sorry to read that you lost her after trying so hard to make her well. You could not have done more.
Apologies for delayed response. For some reason I didn't get an alert that the thread had been updated and only just found it in my watched threads file. Didn't want you to think I didn't care.

 

[FeeltheLove12]

Actually, she's been on the antibiotic for 21+ days...but I was to discontinue it but to keep a close eye on her for symptoms worsening... and I think there's a little of that...I guess there is no horrible harm in continuing it indefinitely...and the calcium gluconate. In the meantime, I will check into the chickterectomy...if I can do it without causing her too much more trauma....I will....

I am just glad I know what the problem is, and that it won't affect the rest of my flock....she's missing them something awful...but I was afraid of contamination while I figured it out....

I am also glad I had some Baytril on hand because finding a vet to treat her in time would have been impossible. I think I was over medicating her, which probably helped knock the infection out enough to save her but upset her stomach. I got lucky finding someone knowledgeable by phone who recommended the proper dosage and calcium gluconate (TSC $6) which clearly helped a lot. I would never be without it in my Chick First Aid kit now.... The biologist said she likely cannot process the other kinds of calcium (in her food, oyster, Tums, egg shells, etc...)..

For as little as she is, you should see her fight me to take the meds now that she's feeling a bit better....I just want to make sure I know what else to look out for....

Thank you for troubleshooting this with me.....it helps immeasurably....

 

[FeeltheLove12]

The 21 days of antibiotics should have knocked out any infection. You run the risk of eliminating all her good microbes in her intestines by prolonging the antibiotic. Yeast infection could take advantage of it.

It's a real balancing act.

Oh boy! Don't I know it! She wouldn't be here today if I wasn't paying close attention to it, and that's why I wrote for support!! I am making sure she gets yogurt and keeping an eye on her vent for yeast....

 

[FeeltheLove12]

Well, thank you for that.....I certainly wanted to make sure she was healthy enough to undergo surgery first....she has gained some weight and is much better....just not all the way there.... I want to be sure I do all that I can for her without overdoing it....and that has been a balancing act from the moment she got sick.....so far, I have had no reason to believe she is dying or suffering unnecessarily.....(except when I had to use KY jelly and my pinkie to determine if she was egg bound...LOL), but I want to know what to watch for so that doesn't happen....I had no idea she was a micro, and still don't know if this is what kills them or if it is something else I also need to watch out for....she seems quite content....it's me that's not!! I don't want to miss something.....

Thank you for your input....it validates the razor's edge I am walking.... Well, worth it as long as both of our quality of life is maintained.....

You know that brings me to a question....do you think one 3-month course of the hormonal implant could give her significant recovery time to heal enough to make it not happen every time she releases a yolk? If that is a possibility, it may be money well spent at least the first time anyway.....

 

[rebrascora]

I've just reread your original post and the initial symptoms of walking backwards and flipping over are neurological, as is an unsteady gait ..... can you take some video footage of her walking and upload it to You Tube or Vimeo and then post a link. I'm thinking this may be Marek's rather than a laying issue or perhaps both. Serama are one of the breeds that are particularly susceptible to it.

If she was laying internally there is no way for egg yolk material to get into the digestive tract, so I don't agree with the diagnosis of EYP. I think it is more likely to be salpingitis and some yolk got squeezed past the blockage in her oviduct. Antibiotics would help to control that but it is unlikely that she would manage to lay eggs properly ever again and eventually it would lead to internal laying as the oviduct becomes totally impacted. Marek's suppresses the immune system and makes them prone to infections as well as the neurological inflammation and eventual tumour development. If she is continuing to ovulate (ovaries releasing ripe follicles) then this is a ticking time bomb. A hormonal implant might buy you and her some time but the stress both of having it done and the hormonal change might aggravate the Marek's if I am right about that. Having said that, if she continues to ovulate she is almost certainly going to die anyway if those eggs can't come out, so there might be nothing to lose in giving it a go .... apart from a chunk of cash! Xrays might give you a better idea of what is going on but I believe they are very expensive and may not be conclusive.
I have Marek's in my flock and I know how attached you get to the "special" ones that you invest time in nursing for weeks and months. It is hard to know when to keep going and when to let them go and the longer it goes on, the more attached you get and the harder it becomes. My rule of thumb is, if they are bright eyed and interested in food, then I give them every opportunity to fight it, once they lose interest in food, then I end it for them.
I wish you luck with her. She is a sweetie. If you decide to go for an implant (not even totally sure they can insert them into such a small bird) let us know how she gets on please. It would also be helpful if you can let us know how much it cost as these things should come down in price as more people opt for the procedure and vets become more experienced at administering it. The price can vary quite a bit between establishments too, but I'm thinking you are going to need to find an avian vet to treat such a small chicken, so less opportunity for shopping around.

 

[FeeltheLove12]

Just thought I would post an update on Penelope's condition....She is still with me...yay!
She did finally get a trip to the vet....because she was making slow progress doing what helped the first time. It am very happy I did it and it was pricey, but not out of line and worth every Penny (pun intended!) to have my peace of mind back....not just whether she lives or dies, but to know that I matter, too! And because I matter, she does! Sooooo......

She had a fecal analysis, x-ray, "pelvic exam" sans the stirrups, and blood drawn. No parasites (nice to rule it out but didn't think she did), no-eggs (but healthy looking yolks doing the right thing), no tumors, no broken bones, and no infection that could be detected by any other means than blood sample, yet to be analyzed. Absent the blood results, the vet thinks she may not have been eating enough and was worried about nutrition and how thin she was. Luckily, he weighed her and she had gained 2 oz since last time I weighed her, and she is now 8 ounces, but she needs to gain more....

One theory is the food was too large for her, and the other, via a chicken expert, is she may not be able to process the food she is getting. I am thinking Angel was jealous of her attentions from Boots, and kept her from it which may have started it.... Because interestingly enough, I had switched foods right before she showed signs of illness wondering about the size of it also... I think the expert is likely right because I have been wetting down her food and she is eating it. While she is gaining, it is not enough.... and she doesn't seem to have an appetite unless I am there (been working WAY TOO much)....poor baby...

While she is a micro, she must be a particularly hearty one because she has been ill for over a month now and is still quite strong even with my stressful attempts at helping her...and obviously, healthy in every other way....

I got some very good tidbits from both experts, both very sound....
Vent exam would not reveal most egg binding, because a sphincter separates the egg deposit spot from the cloa
Hard boiled eggs are better for them than fried because no oil is used and that is VERY hard for a bird to process.... (I have seen debates about that on this sight, based on what I have been seeing, I think it is accurate....no oil of any kind for Penelope! ...or any others of mine!

I'll update later on blood results and methods of getting the food to absorb....In the meantime, thanks, again and again!

 

[azygous]

Isn't it comforting to know exactly what's going on? Glad this tiny one is okay except for the weight. As long as you're moistening her food, have you considered fermenting it? That releases nutrients unavailable in the dry form. It could make a big difference in her absorption of available nutrients and she might gain more weight.