Hens can't walk

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Speaking of which... I will be shopping tomorrow, the day before Easter, to buy things for our daughters Easter basket. If I survive, I want a medal. Hahaha.
 
We put the pullet down tonight. She was having trouble breathing and could no longer eat or drink. We tried to baby our silkie hen through this phase and it was horrible. I couldn't watch her waste away like that too. Her hospital tub in the garage looked like she made a snow angel from her attempts to move around while we were at work today. Her brother and sister in the backyard are still doing great. We don't have any other chickens showing any symptoms. That trio (now a pair) was one that I wasn't going to keep on a permanent basis. Now it seems that will change if the necropsy points to Marek's. I also have two trios of buff brahma bantam chicks I also wasn't going to keep, as I didn't know what breed they were when I first picked them up at TSC. Couldn't really examine before purchase because you can't touch them, and I just assumed for $2.99 they would be cochins because they are more common around here.

I'll probably be freaking out until I hear back. Lol. I'm emailing first thing Monday morning to see if they've even examined her yet.
 
I'm sorry for you loss
hugs.gif

Hopefully you will get the results soon.
If you can please keep us updated as to the results you receive.
 
I have a mature hen a yr or more old. Have moved 2 young hens in & cock.. that will attack anything! The poor old hen I think is beat up by its aggressiveness. Hen looks healthy & is FAT.. eats, but can barely walk. Can't roost etc. Acts normal other than not mobile.
 
Sorry for your loss - in my short experience, it is only the favorites that get sick and die :(.

As far as the necropsy goes, I am in Virginia - and I just turned in a rooster on Thursday. The technician told me to call for a prelim the next day - so I did. I talked to the vet on Friday about his prelim findings, which turned out to be a massive parasite infestation in his gizzard. He will email me the final results - however I didn't ask how long that would take. So, maybe you could call, and get a few answers that way.

I knew parasites were bad, but I thought I would have more warning than lethargy for less than 24 hours and then dead. What another horrible learning experience, and yes, it was my second favorite rooster that died - and not one of the mean ones that hate me :(

I hope you don't lose anymore - and enjoy your Easter weekend. Good luck :)
 
I don't know if they transported her to another lab, or if they will do the necropsy in Tifton. I don't have a number for the Tifton facility, just an email because he comes down by appointment only. I know I'm supposed to get the results emailed within 2 business days of them doing the necropsy. It was just a room with a door that stays unlocked, it has a small table with the forms to fill out and a fridge to put the bird in. I didn't know I could have taken her anytime to drop her off. I thought the facility was only open for that like during the week when people were there. So I waited until Monday to drop her off. He had told me through email he wasn't sure if he would be going to Tifton on Monday or not. So it could have been a few days before they actually looked at her. I was originally talking to him through email over the weekend, I emailed and expected to not hear back until Monday. So it's probably hooked to his phone. I don't want to bother him on Easter weekend and be THAT person. So I'm going to wait until Monday and see if I hear back before emailing him again.
 
I know all about the favorite always going. That seems to happen more often than not. My sister raises rabbits and her daughter had picked put a male to keep and he was the sweetest thing. He was the nicest one of the litter, and she'd named him. My sister was already calling him the small tragedy. He died one night and they don't know what happened to him. My daughter has his sister at the house and she's doing great, we haven't had a single issue. If it's nothing contagious with our chickens my husband is already talking about not keeping the silkies. Because our silkies, with the exception of the one that passed, are turds. We got them as adults and the others never really warmed up to us. They just keep to themselves. Mildred loved my husband and she'd run up to him and let him pick her up and cuddle her. The others don't really care if we're ever around as long as they have food. They're all completely healthy. Our nicest laying hen that likes to sit with us had an ingrown scale that we had to remove from one of her toes. She nearly got bumblefoot. Thankfully because she spends so much time with us we caught it before it got bad. Hopefully my silkie mix that I just think is gorgeous will be safe because she hates us. Lol.
 
Please let us know what the results are. I'm always trying to learn more about the crazy world of what goes wrong with chickens. My SO asked me the other day, are you sure you still want chickens. I nodded emphatically yes - I love (most of my) babies, and when they aren't sick - they are so much fun to have around!
 
Still haven't heard anything. Except, doesn't Marek's cause like 60% flock mortality? I've got 3 and 4 week babies that would have certainly been exposed, especially since the 3 week olds were hatched out and raised by one of my silkie moms. The only losses we had were the two babies mama helped escape the pen and became hawk snacks. We still have 24 healthy babies... in the backyard with our chickens. Aside from the lost ones the mom tried to take out in the open yard, the only losses we had were the weakest babies we bought from TSC within the first couple of days we had brought them home. If I had something crazy contagious in my flock wouldn't the unvaccinated babies be dropping like flies by now?
 
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