HELP!!!!!!

[wychickenwrangler]

We have a little bantam hen and we can"t figure out what"s wrong with her. it started out 2 days ago when she was just limping around. Today she will not walk at all & just lays there all puffed up. We thought that maybe she had hurt her leg, but now one of our 4 month old orpingtons is exibiting the same behavior. What can we do ???????

 

[RJo1]

I'm far from being a vet and new to chickens myself, but I read somewhere that heavy breathing can be a symptom of Marek's disease. However I also read that it usually hits a chick at 4 to 5 weeks old and the disease is not passed vertically--from the mother through birth. So I really don't know if a chick as young as yours can have Marek's. I will post again if I find anything else. Best wishes.

 

[RJo1]

I mean... as old as yours. I do know that Marek's causes paralysis and spreads through flocks quickly. Maybe quarantine just to be safe. Vaccinations can be given to newborns, but I don't know about adolescents/adults.

 

[RJo1]

Caused by darkling beatles, mealworms, moist bedding, and virus infected dander/poor ventilation.

 

[NovaAman]

Any other symptoms? Breathing heavy? Pasty butt?

 

[shelbear81]

In order for me to be of any help, I need to know more about what the hen is doing, and how old she is... I have a very awesome reference book that I can cross reference syptoms with diseases and such... Let me know, before she stopped walking were her movements jerky, was her neck twisted, were her wings droopy, does she have tremors, or swollen joints? all important questions!! Let me know if I can help.

 

[leadwolf1]

What you are describing sounds an awful lot like Marek"s If it is, there is nothing you can do. If it isn't, you can try vitamin therapy and see if it helps. .5mls poly vi sol once daily and 400ius Vitamin E twice daily.

The only way that you can find out if it is Marek's is to euthanize one of the birds and have a necropsy done. Most states have labs that will do them for little to no cost. Please read threads on here about Marek's. Seminolewind has a lot of good information on her profile page about Marek's.

Marek's is spread through dander, feces and saliva. It is highly contagious. I have never read where it is spread through mealworms and such...if you could provide the references for those, I would be very interested in reading them.

Alot of information states that it is a disease that is seen from 14 weeks to 25 weeks. I am here to tell you that the age limit is a bunch of bunk. I've seen birds lost to Marek's as early as 6 weeks and I've lost birds to Marek's as old as 15 months. It is a horrible disease and if you suspect that it might be in your flock, I would recommend getting that necropsy done as fast as you can. Remove the birds showing symptoms from the others, quarantine them...disinfect your coop from top to bottom. Marek's is found in the soil, waterers and feeders...disinfect everything that you can with bleach or oxine. Scrub waterers and feeders.

I am hoping that Marek's isn't the cause. It is a heartbreaking disease that shows no mercy.

 

[RJo1]

First, thanks for the additional info regarding Marek's. Here's one scholarly source of many regarding mealworms and darkling beetles: extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf. This one is to the point and easy to read. Just hit Google if you want more info.

Not to hijack this thread, but much to my dismay, I just realized I probably have a problem as well--an underdeveloped OEG hen with a twisted short neck, about 8 to 9 weeks. Time to quarantine and disinfect.

Unfortunately my run is sometimes used as refuge by small birds that go through 1" wire! I guess to escape the Sparrow Hawks and the Peregrines that frequently attack them. Also, wild turkeys seem to be called in by the chickens. All this can't be good for Marek's.

 

[leadwolf1]

Wild turkeys don't spread chicken Marek's but the wild birds can and do.

 

[leadwolf1]

Thank you for the link. The beetles and mealworms must be found in an infected coop, not ones that are 'farmed'. I was just curious since I feed mealworms all the time and haven't yet found the source of my flock's infection.