Marek's or Vitamin Deficiency: 10 day chick can't walk, falling over, sitting on haunches!

[MVie]

this is my first time with chicks. On 7/13 I brought home 4, 2 day old chicks from a local farm store-don't know where chicks came from. I set up a brooder in an oversized clear plastic storage container, with pine shaving, water, and food (just chick starter they gave me in unmarked bag at farm store) changed every day. Has a vented screened top and heat lamp. We are keeping them inside and give them about 20 minutes outside to explore everyday as their brooder is being cleaned. I have been very pleased with their progress and have enjoyed watching them grow. However, I noticed on Thursday morning, exactly a week after bringing them home, our Plymouth Rock chick Max, kept getting toppled over by the 3 other girls. She looked alert and awake but she wasn't walking around. I took her out and quickly noticed she was trembling, and her feet kept retracting in a curled ball. I tried to get her to walk but she kept falling over. I felt her over gently and she didn't seem to be bothered by my touch so she didn't seem injured-it seems more like a nerve problem. Almost like she was having a seizure. I separated her from the other girls. I googled and at first thought she had Mareks, then thought maybe a vitamin deficiency. It's now almost 3 days later and she is still alert, eating when I practically hand feed her, drinking when I do the same, but isn't getting any better! When outside to explore, she try's to keep up with the others but can't when walking. She has to fly a little to catch up. She will fall over on her side and have to kick and flap around to right herself. She barely stands up on her feet but sits back on her haunches.
I live in the middle of nowhere in Hawaii and have two small children under 3 so I have limited time and budget to just go out and buy random things to treat her. I want her to thrive but I also don't want to waste my limited time. I have been crushing the b complex vitamins we have on hand and rolling a little shred of cheese in it, with sand, and giving it to her once a day but it doesn't seem to be helping. If I put it in her water, she won't drink it. Is she too young for Mareks? My other 3 girls are growing like weeds and seem healthy. If it is Mareks, do they always have to be separated, max is so Isolated!
Please advise! Thank you!

 

[rebrascora]

Hi. At 10 days she is too young for Marek's.....thank goodness!!
What is her poop like?
Vitamin deficiency can take a week or two to overcome.
Do you have any idea if the chick crumb is medicated or not? The medication in chick feed is usually a coccidiostat which prevents the absorption of Thiamine (Vitamin B1) that coccidia need to survive.....essentially starving the coccidia .... but it may be that the chick is also having problems due to lack of thiamine. I would be inclined to feed the chick scrambled eggs with the vitamin B complex sprinkled over it for another few days and no chick crumb (unless poop is bloody or runny and mucous like). Cheese on a regular basis is not good because it has a lot of fat and salt so I would skip that or keep it for a very special occasion. You could also add a little natural yoghurt and maybe some porridge (cooked oatmeal). Have chick grit available for the chick to peck at, but I would not be actively feeding it sand.
Keep it within sight of the others as much as possible, but you could also give it a little mirror and a small cuddly toy if it has to be on it's own for any length of time. Chicks can tolerate short periods of time of quite cool temps.... broody reared chicks happily run around in temperatures below 10C for 15-20 mins before needing a warm from their mother, so I'm pretty sure the temp. in a Hawaian summer will be adequate for them to be out in for the time scale you are talking about and I would be extending that each day. Obviously sick chicks and hens need to be kept warm but for that short spell once a day, even your poorly chick will be fine. It will also help the chick to develop coordination and improve muscle control to have that play time out with the others, as long as it isn't being picked on, so I would continue with that. I know it is not nice to watch one struggling but it is better that it tries to keep up than to be sitting on it's own isolated. As long as you ensure that it is getting plenty of egg to eat, so perhaps keeping it in a sectioned off part of the brooder with it's own food and water, but make sure it doesn't get too hot and change the water for cool water regularly. A bit of sugar in the water might help boost it's energy too.
Good luck with it.

Barbara

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for you loss

You did everything you could, unfortunately some chicks may have
developmental/genetic disorders that are difficult to overcome and just fail to thrive.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you post some photos of her?

 

[centrarchid]

I was correcting freshness / quality of feed used. My grammar is the real problem.

 

[MVie]

Well just to update anyone that reads this thread: max didn't make it.
I'm not sure what happened. It was 8 days of her being separated from the others and although she wasn't getting worse, she wasn't really getting better. We move them all every night into the bathroom so our house cat doesn't get them. She was put to bed per usual, with fresh water and food, at around 11pm. Her eyes were clear, she made her normal bedtime contented sounds. I had no reason to be alarmed. But at 3 am I went in and she was stretched out on her side and she was dead. I have no idea what happened but I'm sorry I couldn't do more for her. My other 3 are growing like weeds and don't appear to have any problems thus far. Thanks to everyone who responded.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Sorry for your loss.

I'm in Hilo, had a 3wk chick (out of 38) come down with the same symptoms. I still kept it under light, in the house with a stuffed animal & feather duster for comfort. I used PolyViSol without iron, 3 drops daily which was messy cause he didn't like it. Fed boiled egg yolk mixed with its feed & wet with a bit of water. There were days I didn't think he'd make it but after a LONG 2wk he turned out to be the cockiest Cock ever.

 

[Pots]

this is my first time with chicks. On 7/13 I brought home 4, 2 day old chicks from a local farm store-don't know where chicks came from. I set up a brooder in an oversized clear plastic storage container, with pine shaving, water, and food (just chick starter they gave me in unmarked bag at farm store) changed every day. Has a vented screened top and heat lamp. We are keeping them inside and give them about 20 minutes outside to explore everyday as their brooder is being cleaned. I have been very pleased with their progress and have enjoyed watching them grow. However, I noticed on Thursday morning, exactly a week after bringing them home, our Plymouth Rock chick Max, kept getting toppled over by the 3 other girls. She looked alert and awake but she wasn't walking around. I took her out and quickly noticed she was trembling, and her feet kept retracting in a curled ball. I tried to get her to walk but she kept falling over. I felt her over gently and she didn't seem to be bothered by my touch so she didn't seem injured-it seems more like a nerve problem. Almost like she was having a seizure. I separated her from the other girls. I googled and at first thought she had Mareks, then thought maybe a vitamin deficiency. It's now almost 3 days later and she is still alert, eating when I practically hand feed her, drinking when I do the same, but isn't getting any better! When outside to explore, she try's to keep up with the others but can't when walking. She has to fly a little to catch up. She will fall over on her side and have to kick and flap around to right herself. She barely stands up on her feet but sits back on her haunches.
I live in the middle of nowhere in Hawaii and have two small children under 3 so I have limited time and budget to just go out and buy random things to treat her. I want her to thrive but I also don't want to waste my limited time. I have been crushing the b complex vitamins we have on hand and rolling a little shred of cheese in it, with sand, and giving it to her once a day but it doesn't seem to be helping. If I put it in her water, she won't drink it. Is she too young for Mareks? My other 3 girls are growing like weeds and seem healthy. If it is Mareks, do they always have to be separated, max is so Isolated!
Please advise! Thank you!

LOL He is a bit cryptic at times - that scientific mind of his.....

He can probably explain his response better, but I think he was questioning the freshness and/or quality of the feed you received from the feed store. You mentioned in your first post "just chick starter they gave me in unmarked bag at farm store" It is best, if possible, to get feed that has a date, a label with the ingredients and if possible a nutritional analysis on the bag, this way you know what you are getting. There's no harm in getting feed from a mill or farm store, but they should be able to give you an idea of the ingredients.

I had a young chicken that had a problem walking, seemed to be having seizures, couldn't eat, drink etc. I had several quotes from this forum that she may have a vitamin deficiency and all kind of different diseases. Nothing worked but someone quoted that I try giving the chick real maple syrup. So I gave her about one half teaspoon once at her bedtime and then again in the morning. The chicken went from seizure like symptoms to a normal chick. She is about ready to lay eggs now. Sounds foolish but the syrup must have something that worked for her problem! Her problem I believe was stress related.

 

[Spiderduck]

hmm I am not sure what it is. But she sounds cold to me.
Personally I wouldnt let my young chicks walk alorund outside. It is much colder here though!

She might have a illness but I cant really tell. Keep her warm all the time, even if its sitting in your palm, placing a hand over her.
Feed her, if she eats out of your hand, do it that way. Give her fresh water, maybe dip her beak in it.

That is all I can say at the moment, hope it helps.

 

[centrarchid]

Much of what you describe is consistent with fresh feed. Do not loiter on that.

Get fresh feed, since going in and out, medicated feed and likely Corid for water to control cocci infection. You are right in window chicks most susceptible to coccidiodosis and taking them outside, then bringing them back in is the worst thing you can do.