Idaho?

[Mr Peeps Mama]

That sounds like she might have had an egg burst inside. I've had two hens do that. Also, Really keep an eye out, I dont know if you saw my posts about the Mereks Disease, but I think one of my roosters has it...it comes in on wild birds and where my feed is right out in the open the chickens eat side by side with the wild birds. It's heartbreaking watching Stuey...I'm having to work harder on him than I did when Gracie was sick.
IF I get anymore chicks I'm going to spend the extra $2 for them to be vaccinated. One of my black sexlinks has 6 babies and they dont go out with the other chickens but I'm thinking of getting the vaccine for them...I'm going to call Dunlaps and ask them if I bring them over will they stick them. I dont have a clue where you give a chicken a shot.

 

[annewandering]

Don't take the chickens over to Dunlaps. That would put every person that came into Dunlaps at risk of getting the same disease. You should call them and tell them you believe the chick has Mereks though. At worst their whole supply of chicks is contaminated.
Have you read the precautions about Mereks in your flock? It is very daunting to say the least.

 

[Mr Peeps Mama]

Yes, I'm just sick at the prospect of what's going to happen with my flock. They are all pets. You're right about not taking him to Dunlaps...he's not a chick, he's 4 years old. But I do have 6 baby chicks that were hatched here...

 

[annewandering]

Yes, I'm just sick at the prospect of what's going to happen with my flock. They are all pets. You're right about not taking him to Dunlaps...he's not a chick, he's 4 years old. But I do have 6 baby chicks that were hatched here...

I would be devastated. Were the chicks vaccinated? So far its not definite that he has mereks is it? I wonder how you find out for sure. Do you have any idea how to do that? It would be something good for us to know.
Wishing you luck on your chicken.
Oh I misread that about who you wanted to get vaccinated. Maybe they have been already.

 

[Mr Peeps Mama]

Well, I havent had a vet look at him but by the symptoms he sounds like the classic case. I have lost a few chickens mysteriously over the last few months. I would just walk out there find them dead for no apparent reason. Now I'm wondering if I've always had it in my coup. I started out with 11 chickens 4 years ago and then I bought 16 from a nasty, filthy place out in Star and dumb me, I thought I was helping the chickens, I didnt realize that they night not be healthy...we went through the gapeworm something terrible..those are the nastiest things and hard to get rid of. I keep a clean clean coop so I dont know how this has happend but I've read alot on the mareks and it sounds fairly common. No, I didnt vaccinate the chicks....I'm going to call the humane society tomorrow and talk to them about the rooster and ask if they would recommend vaccination and just how to administer the injection. I give my horses their yearly vaccines but they have a bigger area to aim at! I've never seen a chicken vaccinated. I do know that if I ever get baby chicks from the hatchery again I will pay the extra to have them vaccinated. That's who I'll call about the vaccine! I bet they have it there that I can buy and they would be able to tell me how to administer iit.
I feel so bad for Stuey...he was the alpha rooster and his hens miss him. When it was nice the other day I took his crate out on the deck and his hens gathered around and some even got on the top of his crate....really he was inside the crate where they couldnt mingle wit hhim....it comes from skin particles sloughing off and if ones got it all the others have been exposed. It was sad to watch them. Plus now that he's not protecting them the big aracona rooster that nobody likes is trying to mate with them.

 

[Mr Peeps Mama]

Where did you find your information on precautions for mareks. I want to read everything I can on it.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

If you go to Seminolewind's page, she has a link in her siggie to all the info you could ever want on marek's. It is bad. Paralysis on one side is the primary symptom, falling over, things like that. Definitely check it out. (Learning Center tab, then "member pages", then put her username in on the left at the bottom search box)

Here is some:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mareks-disease-fact-site

EDIT: Here is Seminolewind's member page, scroll down to the siggie info and there are a few (very good) links on marek's diagnosis and symptoms, and what it entails.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/u/3891/seminolewind

 

[annewandering]

I have just picked up bits and pieces here and there on this site. I imagine if you follow the links just posted above this post you will find all you need to know. Of not type in mereks in search and see what pops up.

 

[Mr Peeps Mama]

Thank You, I will go check out her page. Those things you just mentioned are all things that Stuey does. I'm getting ready to post a couple of photos of him...I took a video but somehow (leave it to me! haha) I had the camera turned so the video is 'on it's side'...haha I know how to fix that with photos but not with video. haha

 

[pawtraitart]

I'm sad to hear that you think you have Mereks in your flock, Mr Peeps Mama. If that is indeed what is going on, it's too late to give your remaining birds the vaccine. The vaccine needs to be given within 3 days of hatch and for a period of time, the babies have to be kept away from exposure while they develop immunity. Your boy's flock mates have already been exposed if he has Mereks. If you get any new chicks, you will have to get only ones that have received the vaccine from this point on. If your birds are now carriers, then it's usually recommended that they be humanely euthanized. Mereks is one of those things you just don't want to risk spreading. However, if it's something other than Mereks you have other options for treatment and prevention of more bird loss.