Mareks or calcium deficiency? Help?

[Cookiejen]

Hi guys! I'm praying it's not marek's but it's possible.
I Have a two year old lavender orpington. He's lazy and always has been (moves slow, doesn't fight unless necessary, doesn't breed too much, etc. ). My hubby noticed he was walking like he was drunk about 6 weeks ago. He has been eating and drinking regularly. His eyes are clear but dilate quickly when looking into them (like they're trying to focus? ). I honestly thought for weeks that he was just growing too big too fast and his body couldn't handle it. Like a Cornish cross. Is that possible? Is it a thing in orpingtons at all?

Today I found my roo laying on his side next to the feeder. We picked him up and put him on his feet and he could walk, but lost his balance easily. He is still a good weight (massive bird) with large good looking poops (as far as chicken poop goes) . He crows and follows his girls around, just takes him a while. Rest of my flock is happy and healthy thank God but want them to stay that way.
side note: Had a hen who got a feather, yes FEATHER, stuck in her eye that gave me a scare a while back . Yay chicken raising lol


I had a broody hatch chicks about 4 weeks ago so flock is on chick starter with calcium pulled (didn't want chicks to get to it) as my flock is free range with feed as a supplement.

I've seen a few postings of people saying their birds had calcium deficiency but they originally thought it was Marek's. Are the symptoms that similar? Any ideas on how to get him and the hens calcium while protecting the chicks?

I had the family in a sectioned off part of the coop but she broke out day 3 and they are part of the flock now so hard to separate or confine.

Any thoughts or wisdom on how to help him, protect the others and prevent spread if it is worst case scenario would be appreciated!! Is there hope or cull and cry?

 

[Tiana's chickens]

Firstly, what do you feed your chickens?
Is it possible your rooster might just be getting poor vision and stumbling around because of that?
Roosters dont need much calcium so if there is a deficiency you're going to see it in the hens and the hens eggs first.
Probably best to try and reseparate the others until we figure out what's going on.
Oh and by the way I love the gold laced Wyandotte in your profile picture. I own some Wyandottes too

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Marek's disease is normally a disease of teenage or young adult chickens. A staggering chicken that is 2 years old likely has some other thing going on with them.

 

[ChickNanny13]

You could feed your whole flock Flock Raiser, All Purpose, All Flock, etc... with Oyster Shells on the side for the hens. Have read that Layer shouldn't be fed to chicks/Roos, too much calcium for them is "toxic". Have you been feeding him calcium, if so that could be the issue. What are you feeding/treating him?

@Ravynscroft @WVduckchick @dawg53 @Eggcessive

 

[WVduckchick]

Have you inspected him for wounds/bite marks? Mites, ticks, lice, etc? If they are free ranging some, could he have gotten into anything toxic? Chemicals?
Has your flock been dewormed?

I think it's great to have the chicks integrated with the rest, will make it easier now than later, so I wouldn't worry much about that. As long as they have room to get out from under big ole feet!

I had LOs for a few years, so I know what you mean by the roos being massive birds. I called them 'turkey sized' lol.

Hope you can figure out what's going on with him.

 

[dawg53]

Inspect your roo for lice and mites especially around the vent. Then worm him with valbazen or safeguard.

 

[Cookiejen]

Firstly, what do you feed your chickens?
Is it possible your rooster might just be getting poor vision and stumbling around because of that?
Roosters dont need much calcium so if there is a deficiency you're going to see it in the hens and the hens eggs first.
Probably best to try and reseparate the others until we figure out what's going on.
Oh and by the way I love the gold laced Wyandotte in your profile picture. I own some Wyandottes too

I usually alternate the layer pellets from TSC. They were on the purina ones until about a month ago when they were switched to chick starter due to chicks. I added oyster shell last week separately in their run, hopefully too high for chicks to access. Hens are laying normally

Yes, I'll try to wrangle them all tonight and try to momma proof so they can't escape.

Thanks! I love my Wyandottes too . I finally got my BLRWs . They're growing out in the brooder in my house so safe (for now)

 

[Cookiejen]

Inspect your roo for lice and mites especially around the vent. Then worm him with valbazen or safeguard.

Thanks for your response! Didn't think about mites.I will definitely check that. Thank you! I dewormed at the end of February. should i do it again? I'm in southern California not too far from beach so it gets a little moist but is usually very dry. Dirt gets to be like concrete and thought most worm problems are in wetter areas, is that accurate or did I read too much and have bad Intel one that? The bugs are coming out now so mites or ticks is definitely possible. Is there anything they could give him that would cause that reaction? Like chicken lyme disease?

 

[ChickNanny13]

Thank you WVduckchick & dawg53 for chirping in

 

[dawg53]

Thanks for your response! Didn't think about mites.I will definitely check that. Thank you! I dewormed at the end of February. should i do it again? I'm in southern California not too far from beach so it gets a little moist but is usually very dry. Dirt gets to be like concrete and thought most worm problems are in wetter areas, is that accurate or did I read too much and have bad Intel one that? The bugs are coming out now so mites or ticks is definitely possible. Is there anything they could give him that would cause that reaction? Like chicken lyme disease?

Chickens can get spirochetes from tick bites IF the tick is infected with Lyme disease. Bloodwork would be needed from the chicken(s) to verify if they're infected.
If there is a mild to moderate infection of spirochetes, an antibiotic such as penicillin or one of its derivatives will treat the spirochetes. However if there's a heavy amount of spirochetes in the blood, treatment is not recommended because a large load of dead spirochetes releases toxins in the blood which can kill the chicken.
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/avian-spirochetosis/overview-of-avian-spirochetosis