rochestersilkies
In the Brooder
- Mar 1, 2022
- 8
- 5
- 19
This post is very long, so I would suggest only reading this if you have experience with Avian Leukosis symptoms, or read the TLDR at the end. Thank you in advance for any help!
Hello all, this is my first post here and I am stumped by my situation. Back in March 2024, I hatched 15 eggs in my incubator for the first time. I got the eggs from various sources, but mostly from people that I found through my local chicken facebook group. I wasn’t intending on keeping the majority of them, so around 2 months old, I began rehoming them. They all appeared to be healthy until the last 5 chicks I had left got to be about 3 months old. I had 3 speckled sussex pullets, an Americana/jersey giant pullet, and a showgirl silkie rooster and during this time I kept them in a dog crate in my garage. One of the sussex pullets began growing huge tumors throughout her body. Most notably, on the backside of her neck and right above her tail. Once I noticed them, they grew exponentially each day until one day, I found her listless and she passed a day or so later. Although I did not see tumors on the other two sussex, they also began exhibiting listlessness just days later and quickly passed away within a week of the first one. At that time, the Americana and silkie showed no symptoms. I assumed it was some sort of genetic malfunction since the sussex were all from the same place, but now I’m kicking myself for not getting a necropsy done (I’m still fairly new to chicken keeping). [Today, I just reached out to the lady I rehomed 2 speckled sussex chicks to and asked how they are doing. To my surprise, she responded that they are healthy and beautiful. They are 6 months old now.] Two weeks after the passing of the 3 sussex, the Americana came down with some sort of respiratory issue. She was coughing and stretching her neck to breathe. The only thing I could get her to eat was watermelon, so I began tube feeding her. I took her to the vet a week or two after onset of symptoms and she was no help. She suggested testing for AI, but that didn’t make sense to me since none of my other chickens were having respiratory symptoms, and surely AI would spread quick to other birds. (Side note: at this time, the current living situation is the Americana and silkie in a dog crate in the garage, and my 2 older silkies (3yrs) in a crate next to them. The silkies are healthy, that’s just a whole other story). The vet recommended that I put her down since she appeared to be suffering. I wanted to wait it out a bit longer since she still seemed to have some energy and life left in her. The vet prescribed antibiotics “just to say we did something” and I continued to try to nurse her back to life. I tube fed her for a total of 2 weeks with no improvements, then I decided to stop because I felt selfish for keeping her alive if she was suffering. A couple days after stopping the tube feeding, she began eating on her own again. A week later, she seemed perfectly fine and the respiratory issue was gone. Like some sort of miracle?! Fast forward to a month later: still no respiratory distress, but now I noticed a wound on her back right by her preen gland. It’s scabbed over at this point, so I clean it off and decide to keep an eye on it, thinking that it’s already in the healing process. The next week or so, I notice the scabbed area spreading and start getting worried. Then I get home from work one day, and it SMELLS like a dumpster. I took her inside to inspect it and I found fly eggs on it. Now I’m panicked! I was able to get her into the vet the next day and turns out the entire area is infected, rotting flesh, and the vet had to dig and cut it all out. The vet was hopeful, saying that chickens heal surprisingly well, and she prescribed antibiotics. This was on Friday, and today is now Wednesday. The wound looks stable and no longer smells. She is eating a lot and acting normal. However, yesterday I noticed her straining to poop. She pushed really hard, makes a straining noise, and barely anything comes out. When I look inside her vent, it almost looks like there is round, red, inflamed flesh inside that is blocking the vent opening. I have seen this in one of my young chickens (a white silkie named Betty) a year ago, except by the time I noticed it, it was infected and blocked up with chunks of puss. Betty had seen the vet and was prescribed antibiotics, but ultimately had to be put down because she wasn’t getting any better. The vet assumed it was a tumor. Fast forward to now, I can’t help but think this is related. When I’ve read about Avian Leukosis, I’ve heard about the involvement of the cloacal bursa. Is this what is happening?? Or can infection cause inflammation that is not Leukosis related? Is the would she has just a tumor that got infected? Since inspecting her yesterday, I have found other small bumps around her body that have tiny scabs on them.
So…. If you think this is leukosis, is it common for my older birds (1yr+) to not be affected by it? They appear to be healthy, but I suspect that they would be the ones that have passed this virus on to my younger ones. I’m not sure where else it would have come from. [I tried to integrate the 5 younger ones into the flock ~2.5-3 months old, but decided not to after a few days and I can’t remember why. I almost think that the first Sussex was already developing the tumors…]
I can try to attach photos if you think it would be helpful. It would be really difficult for me to get a pic of that I am seeing inside the vent, but I could try.
The main reason for this post is for me to determine if I should put my Americana girl down. I don’t want her to suffer any longer if we believe she has leukosis and won’t recover, but I also don’t want to give up on her too soon, especially since she suffered through and recovered from the respiratory distress that even my vet thought was hopeless. I will definitely send her in for a necropsy when she does pass.
TLDR: My 6 month old Americana hen has an infected wound on her back/tail, and now it appears that her vent is being blocked on the inside by smooth, red, inflamed flesh. Could this be Leukosis and an inflamed cloacal bursa?
Hello all, this is my first post here and I am stumped by my situation. Back in March 2024, I hatched 15 eggs in my incubator for the first time. I got the eggs from various sources, but mostly from people that I found through my local chicken facebook group. I wasn’t intending on keeping the majority of them, so around 2 months old, I began rehoming them. They all appeared to be healthy until the last 5 chicks I had left got to be about 3 months old. I had 3 speckled sussex pullets, an Americana/jersey giant pullet, and a showgirl silkie rooster and during this time I kept them in a dog crate in my garage. One of the sussex pullets began growing huge tumors throughout her body. Most notably, on the backside of her neck and right above her tail. Once I noticed them, they grew exponentially each day until one day, I found her listless and she passed a day or so later. Although I did not see tumors on the other two sussex, they also began exhibiting listlessness just days later and quickly passed away within a week of the first one. At that time, the Americana and silkie showed no symptoms. I assumed it was some sort of genetic malfunction since the sussex were all from the same place, but now I’m kicking myself for not getting a necropsy done (I’m still fairly new to chicken keeping). [Today, I just reached out to the lady I rehomed 2 speckled sussex chicks to and asked how they are doing. To my surprise, she responded that they are healthy and beautiful. They are 6 months old now.] Two weeks after the passing of the 3 sussex, the Americana came down with some sort of respiratory issue. She was coughing and stretching her neck to breathe. The only thing I could get her to eat was watermelon, so I began tube feeding her. I took her to the vet a week or two after onset of symptoms and she was no help. She suggested testing for AI, but that didn’t make sense to me since none of my other chickens were having respiratory symptoms, and surely AI would spread quick to other birds. (Side note: at this time, the current living situation is the Americana and silkie in a dog crate in the garage, and my 2 older silkies (3yrs) in a crate next to them. The silkies are healthy, that’s just a whole other story). The vet recommended that I put her down since she appeared to be suffering. I wanted to wait it out a bit longer since she still seemed to have some energy and life left in her. The vet prescribed antibiotics “just to say we did something” and I continued to try to nurse her back to life. I tube fed her for a total of 2 weeks with no improvements, then I decided to stop because I felt selfish for keeping her alive if she was suffering. A couple days after stopping the tube feeding, she began eating on her own again. A week later, she seemed perfectly fine and the respiratory issue was gone. Like some sort of miracle?! Fast forward to a month later: still no respiratory distress, but now I noticed a wound on her back right by her preen gland. It’s scabbed over at this point, so I clean it off and decide to keep an eye on it, thinking that it’s already in the healing process. The next week or so, I notice the scabbed area spreading and start getting worried. Then I get home from work one day, and it SMELLS like a dumpster. I took her inside to inspect it and I found fly eggs on it. Now I’m panicked! I was able to get her into the vet the next day and turns out the entire area is infected, rotting flesh, and the vet had to dig and cut it all out. The vet was hopeful, saying that chickens heal surprisingly well, and she prescribed antibiotics. This was on Friday, and today is now Wednesday. The wound looks stable and no longer smells. She is eating a lot and acting normal. However, yesterday I noticed her straining to poop. She pushed really hard, makes a straining noise, and barely anything comes out. When I look inside her vent, it almost looks like there is round, red, inflamed flesh inside that is blocking the vent opening. I have seen this in one of my young chickens (a white silkie named Betty) a year ago, except by the time I noticed it, it was infected and blocked up with chunks of puss. Betty had seen the vet and was prescribed antibiotics, but ultimately had to be put down because she wasn’t getting any better. The vet assumed it was a tumor. Fast forward to now, I can’t help but think this is related. When I’ve read about Avian Leukosis, I’ve heard about the involvement of the cloacal bursa. Is this what is happening?? Or can infection cause inflammation that is not Leukosis related? Is the would she has just a tumor that got infected? Since inspecting her yesterday, I have found other small bumps around her body that have tiny scabs on them.
So…. If you think this is leukosis, is it common for my older birds (1yr+) to not be affected by it? They appear to be healthy, but I suspect that they would be the ones that have passed this virus on to my younger ones. I’m not sure where else it would have come from. [I tried to integrate the 5 younger ones into the flock ~2.5-3 months old, but decided not to after a few days and I can’t remember why. I almost think that the first Sussex was already developing the tumors…]
I can try to attach photos if you think it would be helpful. It would be really difficult for me to get a pic of that I am seeing inside the vent, but I could try.
The main reason for this post is for me to determine if I should put my Americana girl down. I don’t want her to suffer any longer if we believe she has leukosis and won’t recover, but I also don’t want to give up on her too soon, especially since she suffered through and recovered from the respiratory distress that even my vet thought was hopeless. I will definitely send her in for a necropsy when she does pass.
TLDR: My 6 month old Americana hen has an infected wound on her back/tail, and now it appears that her vent is being blocked on the inside by smooth, red, inflamed flesh. Could this be Leukosis and an inflamed cloacal bursa?
