HELP!!! young silkie unable to stand, falling over to one side.

[edits]

hi,
we need some advice on what else we can do. please help!!
1) What type of bird , age and weight.
silkie approx 10 weeks old, weight unknown.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
started as a limp, has slowly become more and more pronounced to the point she can no longer walk, tends to fall over to the side a lot. and now will spend most of the time resting on her hocks or lying on her side.
3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
none we can tell, she is VERY reluctant to be picked up. this is slowly changing, but we cant see any obvious signs of trauma.
4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
chased and attacked by older chickens repeatedly (20 weeks)when introduced to the flock.
5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
not lately, we are now hand feeding/drinking her in isolation, (last 2 days) but very little appetite.
she was eating Layer pellets and seeds (the lady at feed store said they would also be okay for the younger ones)
today we have started her on a diet of yoghurt (much improved appetite) Vitamin B in her water (how much is too much) and grower crumble (bought today)
6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
mainly normal, there have been a few dark runny ones today (possibly attributed to yoghurt being all she has eaten in the last 24 hours)
7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
as described above also isolated in bath with towel down for grip, hay at one end for nesting and feed/water.
**Temps here have been 36+C (over 100 F) for the last 3 days and will continue for at least 4 more, so we decided it was better for her in the AC cooled house with a fan**
8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
Do not know of ANY avian vets in SA. Struggling students so expensive treatment is beyond our budget
9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

10) Describe the housing/bedding in use
As described above in administered treatment question.

any advice will be much appreciated. we are very concerned about her/him and really dont want to lose her.
Thanks in advance.

 

[cicene mete]

In the absence of obvious trauma, I would think Marek's Disease.

 

[noriko]

I'm sorry to hear about your silkie. I also think your silkie might have Marek's. And I think your silkie is a beautiful boy. Noriko.

 

[edits]

oh no, i was really hoping that it isnt mareks (wishful thinking?) but thanks for the prompt responses.
i guess ill try to treat it for that aswell. I REALLY dont want to cull.

so should i now assume my flock of 4 all have it? darn!!
i read on another post re mareks that if they are raised with turkeys, it is like a natural vaccination.
The breeder we got it from had quite a few large old turkeys aswell but again, wishful thinking???

noriko, i was also starting to think that she was a he. the crest looks very "wind swept" in the pics.
not that it makes much difference to me but the neighbours might have hated it when he started to crow!!

im preparing for the worst, hoping for the best.

*UPDATE* he is struggling to stand at all now and swaying heavily when he does, like hes drunk!
we have to place food right under his beak but he an has increased appetite and eating a lot more of the crumble than before, still not drinking too much though.
can they overdose on vitamin B??

thanks again for responses, even if its horrible news.

 

[THough1956]

I have lost one to the same symptoms and have one that seems to be recovering. I am also thinking it is Mareks. I have had chickens a long time and have never delt with this before.

So sad. Good luck.

 

[CreleChick]

Sorry, sounds like Marek's.

 

[edits]

I'm pretty sure our chicky has Marek's, It is over 100*F here and I have been arriving late and leaving uni early to spoon feed my silkie yoghurt, crushed pellets and water (no one understands). is there anything else i can give it?..... the silkie and I are both exhausted, but I will try anything!
Thanks.

 

[noriko]

Hi, edits. I know how you feel....I'm sorry to hear that your silkie's not doing well. I've lost some chickens from Marek's this year so, I've read a lot & learned a lot about Marek's. Some times your chicken survive from this desease and sometimes not. That depend on which part of body do your birds get Marek's (leg, wing, neck etc.) But even if your birds survived from Marek's, everybody will be a carrier. So, only thing you can do for your birds is the vaccination for Marek's. You have to Vaccinate your birds, younger is better or you can get the vaccinated chicks from the hatchery or the breeder. If you search "Marek's Vaccination" on this site, you'll get a lot of good info. from the member of BYC here. Actually, I have one infected bird here now. He is 9 mon. blue Ameraucana roo & he's limping but eating, drinking well & still very active to me. I always talk to him (lol) and make it sure he's eating & drinking well. He's been like this for almost a month but, he looks healthy and active except a limping problem. I give everybody yogurt, cooked egg, cheese, lunch meet, whatever we eat except lot of sugar contained food for their treat. I hope your silkie will get better for you! Just check on Marek's desease & Vaccination here. You will get a lot of info. and they explain everything better than I do. (I'm not really good at explaing the stuffs with English since I'm Japanese.

)

Please let us know how your silkie is doing. Good luck. Noriko.

 

[edits]

*UPDATE*
he is getting worse, appetite has decreased, no longer wants food (unless its a treat like watermelon) or water (maybe the vit B tastes bad?) and his legs are stretched out all the time.
he cant stand or even balance sitting upright without help. his legs also seem to be "shaking" a lot, at one point it looked like he was having an epileptic style seizure!
his eyes are still clear, no real paralysis of wings, he flaps around a bit still, just doesnt get anywhere!
I read on another post that they are not in pain and I just cant bring myself to kill him!!!

It had been a slow process when he was in the coop, but maybe it was necessity that kept him on his feet and running away from other chickens.
ever since isolation (5 days) he has gotten steadily worse and i dont think hell make it.
but still, fingers crossed.