Lost my first chicken :( Could I have saved her? (2nd try)

[Fluffy_Butt]

Were your birds vaccinated for Marek's?

I've lost my entire flock in the last 6 months. 75% showed sudden lameness that progressed to curled toes, to paralysis. Most also were accompanied by a sort of crop stasis. Two more so than the rest. I tube fed, bought all kinds of meds to treat all the other things that went wrong, etc.

@casportpony can tell you the time and effort I've put into my birds over the last year.

I sent my closest girl to the state lab. Came back "likely Marek's".

I know you don't want to hear Marek's, but that is immediately what it sounds like. The lameness and the crop issue. I sent my girl off in September. Virus (Covid) was still prevalent. I wore a mask to drop her off. Keep an eye on the rest of your flock. If you experience any more symptoms similar to your first girl - get a state necropsy done.

Thank you. We found the nearest lab and will send any other birds there (hopefully I don't have the opportunity though). The crop stasis you experienced is interesting. What about the time frame? How long between sudden lameness and death?

 

[Painted Calls]

Thank you. We found the nearest lab and will send any other birds there (hopefully I don't have the opportunity though). The crop stasis you experienced is interesting. What about the time frame? How long between sudden lameness and death?

Weeks. Only because I tube fed though. They went off of feed within a couple days of the lameness.

My last girl lasted a few months.

Like @azygous mentioned, heavy metal/unknown toxicity could also be a possibility.

 

[Fluffy_Butt]

Good luck to you on this. I learned the hard way that you can't cover up bad things and think chickens won't bother to dig very deep.

Years ago, I disposed of moldy, rotting squash in my compost pile, digging all the way down to the bottom, dumping it, then pulling about eighteen inches of good compost over it. In spring, as everything was thawing, my new Cream Legbar pullets, being master excavators, managed to uncover the rancid compost and ate it. One dead pullet in under 24 hours and a week later, another very sick pullet that I managed to save by noticing the symptoms early. Now, I no longer put anything rotten or moldy in the compost.

You would not believe how many chickens I've lost due to ridiculous ignorance. And that chickens seem to always be on a quest to find things that will kill them doesn't help matters.

Lol, they sound like kids doing their best to kill themselves. I felt more like a suicide watch than a parent at times!

I've got my work cut out for me I guess. Thanks again!

 

[Fluffy_Butt]

Sorry for your loss. With Mareks disease, there will sometimes be tiny tumors along the surface of the intestines, liver, or other organs. The liver may have a speckled appearance. Tumors can be found in the gizzard or crop, but those mayy be less obvious. Hopefully, your pullet died of something else, not Mareks, but it would be hard to know without testing. RAL lab in Texas can test for Mareks by sending in some blood serum according to their instructions for around $20. So if any others show symptoms in the future, this might be something that you might want to do by contacting them. Here is contact info:
http://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf

Thank you! I'm not very experienced, but my husband and I didn't notice anything resembling tumors anywhere on her organs (we were on the lookout after reading about Mareks). I'm thinking toxicity at this point. Thank you again for your help

 

[Painted Calls]

Thank you! I'm not very experienced, but my husband and I didn't notice anything resembling tumors anywhere on her organs (we were on the lookout after reading about Mareks). I'm thinking toxicity at this point. Thank you again for your help

A lot of Marek's tumors are only visible under a microscope. With how chickens try to eat literally everything, toxicity is a good possibility though.

 

[LaFleche]

• What did her liver look like? Did you see any whitish spots on it or was it yellowish?

It looked pink and healthy (my novice self thought they were the lungs at first), no spots

A healthy chicken liver would not look pink but rather dark red like in this picture: https://cdn.thehealthybutcher.com/images/P.cache.large/The-Healthy-Butcher-Organic-Chicken-Liver.jpg

Did you by chance take any pictures from your necropsy?

 

[LaFleche]

The yellowish liquid found in her body cavity and the rather pink aspect of her liver could hint at acute hepatitis = liver infection, cause unknown.

 

[Fluffy_Butt]

A lot of Marek's tumors are only visible under a microscope. With how chickens try to eat literally everything, toxicity is a good possibility though.

Sorry, I forgot to answer your previous question. I don't know if they were vaccinated. They were a gift, but were purchased from the Tractor Supply Co. My originally hatchery-hatched flock is vaccinated, but that doesn't help my silkies. Thank you for the info!

 

[Fluffy_Butt]

Thank you. After I told him the likely cause of death was toxicity, my husband reminded me of a tiny green thing in Willows crop, and after looking back through the pictures, he thought it might have been one of the chemical pellets that were scattered around the pole building. (I don't know what kind, but hubby is a PhD chemist turned wanna-be farmer and he was fairly certain it was some kind of chemical). We spent days cleaning, but obviously missed at least that one. Not a certain cause, but it seems to make sense. I'll continue to comb through the building and area to try to prevent it from happening again. It's been a really crappy few days, but I can at least learn from it. One last question for anyone still reading: had I somehow known what was going on when I first saw the limp (or see it in another), is there anything I could do/have done at that point?

 

[Painted Calls]

Thank you. After I told him the likely cause of death was toxicity, my husband reminded me of a tiny green thing in Willows crop, and after looking back through the pictures, he thought it might have been one of the chemical pellets that were scattered around the pole building. (I don't know what kind, but hubby is a PhD chemist turned wanna-be farmer and he was fairly certain it was some kind of chemical). We spent days cleaning, but obviously missed at least that one. Not a certain cause, but it seems to make sense. I'll continue to comb through the building and area to try to prevent it from happening again. It's been a really crappy few days, but I can at least learn from it. One last question for anyone still reading: had I somehow known what was going on when I first saw the limp (or see it in another), is there anything I could do/have done at that point?

When they swallow things that lead to toxicity, there is often nothing that can be done.

Sorry you lost her.