Mareks? I'm completely at a loss...

[Mattmckee]

Well, to start off I have a young chicken 7-8 weeks
We have had her since she was a tiny little thing... Basically my mother found her 3 days ago laying on her back eyes closed with a pasty butt.. We have been having an issue with stick tight fleas... I noticed she had quite a lot on her head. 1st day we cleaned off her pasty butt then used a horse feeding syringe to get her to drink water and she sorta snapped awake she was eating but couldn't stand at all.. Day two we just fed and watered her, hoping she would get better she could walk a little but clearly was still tired and would just fall on her side her legs could barely support her... Day three she was eating and drinking we put Vaseline on her fleas, pretty much have that licked she is currently in a dog kennel and I've been feeding and watering her.. My issue is my step father had been feeding all the baby's layer crumbles.. It's not until today did I realize this her droppings are normal no blood.. Everyday she gets better she can walk but she has no sense of balance... It's really bizarre she has no resistance in her toes? Is this from a vitamin deficiantcy?? I've been giving her poly-visol without iron going on day two of that. So today being day 4 I can take her outside she can sort of walk around... She runs to where she wants to go and can balance on concrete fairly well but still no strenght in her toes. My parents are going to the feed store to get baby crumbles.. Is there anything else I can do? Also in her cage she has a tendency to fall on her side and if I walk away she managed to claw her way to standing she seems pretty attached to people I can't get her to sit still at night unless she is held for like 2 hours...

 

[Suzierd]

They should get some sevins dust and dust her for what sounds like mites. And her dusting area and coop. Duzt again inten days. Mites can weaken and kill them. Good job with the vitamins.

 

[Mattmckee]

Thank you, she seems to be doing a little better but Im not sure yet she is still being quarantined. Her water carrier when we found her was fully of pine shavings and dirt. We have her on medicated crumbles and water we give her small amounts of electrolytes each day now. She doesn't have the classic 1 foot forward mareks symptoms, when she falls she falls on her face and can get back up but her toes are like perfectly flat on each foot she can't curl them? Sometimes she falls on her side then ends up rolling on her back feet tucked in.. She can run and walk but her neck also seems to be weak as she can't preen herself, although she does try. Last night when I put her in the cage she was jumping to get out and have me hold her, and stretching really tall lol. It's really cute I'd just be sad to see her end up having mareks and me just prolonging things for her... She is really strong.. Can stick fleas really make a chicken that weak and emaciated though? I just think there are to many coincidences for it to be mareks... And what do you think would be a rough estimate for her to regain strength in her neck and toes??

 

[Mattmckee]

They should get some sevins dust and dust her for what sounds like mites. And her dusting area and coop. Duzt again inten days. Mites can weaken and kill them. Good job with the vitamins.

I was unable to get sevin dust? I used diatomaceous earth though I heard that will prevent the stick fleas from returning.. Should I be looking for mites tho or stick fleas? Can I see mites of she has them??

 

[Suzierd]

I am really hoping its not Mareks too. People on BYC have lost chickens to mites their nasty. Did they look like this (red or gray)
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/2/2-5/Laura_E_John.html
I would get sevins it does the job.

 

[Suzierd]

If you don't want to use sevins you can get a poultry dust (permethrin) at your feed store. Good luck.

 

[Mattmckee]

I am really hoping its not Mareks too. People on BYC have lost chickens to mites their nasty. Did they look like this (red or gray)
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/2/2-5/Laura_E_John.html
I would get sevins it does the job.

No, they were actual stick tight fleas. They look like a normal flea only burry there head in the skin much like a tick and are a pain to pull out so I just smothered them with petroleum jelly killed em all in a few minutes I also dusted her with DE. She had a ton maybe 100? I'dk it was gross all under her eyes on her forehead under her chin. I went through her feathers early to see if there were more, But from what I can tell they only attach to her head? The feed store that I buy my feed from said that the fleas can cause them to get weak and with her eating layer food she might have become emaciated and dehydrated.. That it could take a week for her to regain movement in her toes. I just don't understand... :/ every video I lookup online of mareks is like the chicken can't stand or walks with a total limp... My bird just has no balance or strength in her toes? And her neck isn't very flexible? Like if I put my finger under her foot she doesn't grip it cause it's like an open hand flexing to stay open?? I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow and possibly a video. She seems to be getting more lively everyday it's just bugging me she can't balance? Could it be from an infection? and all the videos I lookup show the chicken with a somewhat clenched foot? And I thought vitamen deficientcys gave them curly toes... It just make me worried. Thanks again for the replys I'm going look her over when I get home for mites. I might have missed them!

 

[leadwolf1]

I am 99.995% sure that your bird does not have Marek's. Instead, I think she is weakened from anemia. She has suffered a tremendous loss of blood from the parasites. I would continue with vitamins and electrolytes. I would also feed her scrambled egg, mealworms or something with a lot of protein in it to build up her strength. Since you can't give chickens vitamins with iron, I don't really know how to rebuild her blood supply. Maybe some chopped up spinach?

As for the bugs, get yourself some Adams flea and tick spray and spray her with it. I think that would do in any of them that you might have missed. Spray her bedding, also.

 

[Mattmckee]

Update! i have included a video of her from today, she still cant grasp with her claws however she is very energetic. she cant balance well either. i noticed her poop has some orangish red in it looks like intestinal shedding? i think at least not sure if i should ignore it? she constantly trys to stand and ends up on her back like a turtle lol. or her side she can get up but its clearly very difficult for her.




http-youtube-XClMuqEsjco

 

[Mattmckee]

I ended up having to take my little chicken to the vet today. Her condition worsened. He said she had some developmental issues and it was possibly something with her connective tissue. Her feet were cold and she was just sleeping constantly lost her appetite she couldn't even run around anymore. :/. He said since we shoot lead pellets she could have swallowed a bb.. :/ I guess he has seen chickens like that get heavy metal poisoning and they get symptoms much the same. We ended up putting her to sleep i just couldnt watch her suffer anymore... Thank you all for your time. -Matt :'(