I am worried my Silkie hen may have a disease..

[Wild--Star]

With a heavy heart I must unfortunately say that my poor little chicken Heidi passed this afternoon.
I am heart broken....
At least she is no longer suffering but it shouldn't have had to happen at all.....


Another concern though is that I had only just put one of my other silkies separated in with Heidi yesterday as she seemed slightly unwell. I fear it is the same disease (Marek's i think), as Heidi started off the same way; often sitting alone, sneezing, looking hunched up and not normal. But since yesterday she has stayed in the same place and not moved, eaten or drunken anything. She would only move when i moved her. She seems really upset being separated from her other sisters but now Heidi is gone I am worried she will get worse. I think she is depressed. The other hens miss her too, I put her outside in a small cage today a few meters from the others and they all started called and freaking out and trying to get close so I felt bad but thought it best to put her back in the bird enclosure/shed where she is now staying so she has a less chance of spreading any disease.

How do I help her be happy again though?
Is there anything I can do to help her disease wise?

There is a huge storm now so I am worried she'll be scared with all the thunder as she is on her own, no rain can get into the back end of the bird shed where she sleeps but rain and wind can get into the front as there's wire at the front. Is this bad? Will this be very stressful for her?

I don't know how i can help her and I don't know how i can make her happier without great risk of spreading disease to rest of flock but I do not want to lose her too.

Does anyone have any guidance please? Thanks

 

[pippo]

With a heavy heart I must unfortunately say that my poor little chicken Heidi passed this afternoon.
I am heart broken....
At least she is no longer suffering but it shouldn't have had to happen at all.....


Another concern though is that I had only just put one of my other silkies separated in with Heidi  yesterday as she seemed slightly unwell. I fear it is the same disease (Marek's i think), as Heidi started off the same way; often sitting alone, sneezing, looking hunched up and not normal. But since yesterday she has stayed in the same place and not moved, eaten or drunken anything. She would only move when i moved her. She seems really upset being separated from her other sisters but now Heidi is gone I am worried she will get worse. I think she is depressed. The other hens miss her too, I put her outside in a small cage today a few meters from the others and they all started called and freaking out and trying to get close so I felt bad but thought it best to put her back in the bird enclosure/shed where she is now staying so she has a less chance of spreading any disease.

How do I help her be happy again though?
Is there anything I can do to help her disease wise?

There is a huge storm now so I am worried she'll be scared with all the thunder as she is on her own, no rain can get into the back end of the bird shed where she sleeps but rain and wind can get into the front as there's wire at the front. Is this bad? Will this be very stressful for her?

I don't know how i can help her and I don't know how i can make her happier without great risk of spreading disease to rest of flock but I do not want to lose her too.

Does anyone have any guidance please? Thanks

my understanding of mareks disease is the chicks catch it when they are only a day or two old. The symptoms only come out when they are from 6-12 months old.
I hope for you it is not mareks. We lost our gorgeous silkie roo to what we think was mareks 7 months ago (only time I've seen hubby cry

), other girls we had mixed with him but from a separate breeder, are all fine.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

So sorry to hear your pullet lost her battle to live. I had to cull my lad a couple of days ago so I understand how bad you are feeling.

I believe chickens can catch Marek's at any age but are particularly susceptible up to a year old. Vaccines need to be administered in vitro or within 24hrs of hatch and the chicks kept free of exposure to it for several weeks until they have developed some immunity to it.

My approach with my flock is that the other chickens have already been exposed to the virus so I don't separate as such. I have a brooder/infirmary inside the hen house so that the sick ones can be cared for in a safe environment but remain in contact with the flock.

Keeping them warm and comfortable and well fed... if they will eat ...and as happy as possible, is my goal My personal view is that force feeding them when they have Mareks, particularly if they have respiratory problems, just stresses them and makes the Marek's worse. For the record, I think tube feeding can be very beneficial but not in this circumstance.

Unfortunately with Marek's, some will not make it. In those cases I find it helpful to do a post mortem (necropsy) examination This sometimes helps me to understand what they were suffering from and perhaps enable me to care for the others better. I believe it is possible to send the bird away to have this done professionally in many areas but it needs to be done promptly after death.

Good luck with your other sick bird. I hope this one makes it.

Regards

Barbara

 

[slordaz]

Chickens can become depressed and there isn't much you can do to help other than ensure they are getting enough water and food even if they don't want it, I had to put a hen down and her nest mate did that. she would at least eat her favorite treats and drink though. She stopped laying as they always layed together, was almost a month after the other one was culled for her to start acting normal again, she did do better being held while feeding her though. Hope this helps give you some ideas

 

[Wild--Star]

Thanks all I certainly hope she makes it. Sorry to here about the losses of your chickens.

I had assumed with the bucketing rain last night Tha she would go to the back of the cage where she sleeps but I went in this morning and she was standing at the from where the wire part is, just staring into the little cage I had Heidi in..... and all her back feathers were wet! I don't think she ever moved out of the rain all night and still wont eat or drink. Don't know if she slept at all?

Also we had Heidi in with the other hens at least a couple of months with the symptoms that this little chicken Sky has now right up until she got really sick. They seem fine bit do u think they would have already been introduced to the disease if it is Mareks? Is it wise to have Sky separated by her self all depressed?

 

[slordaz]

I would think they've already been exposed,but not an expert yet so please take it with a grain of salt and hopefully someone with more experience will chime in.

If they've already been exposed no sense in keeping her away from them with her actions. I would think she needs to be with the flock

 

[izziebean]

Keep her warm. If she still thinks that the silkie is in the other pen and isn't able to see that pen, then perhaps move her to into it. I would sterilize it first. Put a buddy in the pen with her... or maybe one that isn't so friendly with her. It's hard to be sad when you are having to peck the hen next to you to eat your food. If she isn't eating, get her to EAT ANYTHING. I know that a huge amount of treats is bad for your chickens, but if they aren't eating anything, feed them worms or anything that they will stick in their mouths and swallow. You need to make sure she isn't losing weight. Feel to see if she has any food in her crop. Make sure she drinks. When mine got sick, I was using a huge syringe and would push fluids every two hours (please ask or watch videos on how to do this properly). If she is sad, they will feel it for a while. I had a baby chick die last spring after staying up all night crying when her friend died. They do feel emotions for their friends. Sometimes a distraction might help such as a new chicken although if you think she might be sick, that wouldn't be a good thing. Hold her. Make sure she is warm. Can you have a necropsy on the one that just died?

So sorry for your loss.

 

[izziebean]

Also, different diseases are more contagious than other diseases. Mine recently had bronchitis. It is highly contagious and has an incubation period of 2-5 days. My whole flock was showing signs so fast. It is carried through the air. I think other diseases require direct contact with contaminated food or water, etc.. so some might not have been exposed. I would not assume at this point that all have fallen sick especially since this one just showed signs. I would move the sick bird to another cage.. maybe with a friend since she is sad. I would scrub out the water and food bowls with bleach and water.. sanitize everything. That's just me though. Mine were sick so fast that I didn't have time to stop it spreading through the flock.

 

[WalnutHill]

You've had great advice so far on how to meet her physical needs...warmth, food, water...and a few suggestions for psychological needs...a cagemate. While it's often unpleasant to actually do, if you have a small pet kennel that you can line with an old rag and are willing to bring her into a warm room in your home, the change in scenery may lead to more interest in life and more interaction with you.

This may not be possible if you have incompatible pets, infants in the house, or many other factors, but I've brought in birds that I was sure wouldn't survive the night isolated in the barn just to find them up and exploring their new surroundings.

If it is Marek's, progression will still be swift and fatal, but at least she will have a better experience.

I second doing a necropsy to help you understand what is happening in your flock. Exploring the swollen area of the neck, the heart, the liver, and the ceca will help root out the cause.

 

[Wild--Star]

Thanks guys. I can't do a necropsy as my family had already buried her before I found out but hopefully she pulls through. Thanks for the advice, I'll see what I can do.