We are new to chickens and even newer to this list. Located in Northeast Ohio, so it's been as cold as 34 and as hot as 73 lately - mostly cold and rainy lately... We are in search of some information related to a problem one of our Buckeye chicks displayed today - weak legs.
We are raising 5 Bantam Buckeye chicks we hatched from an incubator early August. In the same barn we have 2 two year old Bantam Buckeye hens that we got in June or July, 8 seven week old Rock-Cornish cross that will be butchered in a couple weeks for our freezer, and 25 rabbits.
My son went out last night to the barn to feed and water when he found 2 of the buckeye chicks under a rabbit cage. Alpha (biggest & hatched 1st) and the sick chick were together. Alpha seems fine and might have just been staying with the sick one. Son isolated the sick chick in a rabbit cage this morning and it seem a bit worse than it did last night. Symptoms last night were right leg week, not able to stand on it. As I held it, I tipped it sideways to see it's legs and when I turn it back up right, it held it's head/neck funny like it was dizzy or something. While I held the bird with it's feet dangling in mid air, the bad leg's foot was curled in a ball like it was holding on to something. I tried to get it to stand up on the ground and when that foot touched the ground, the bird did try to open it's foot, but could quite get the toes to straighten out. This afternoon, my son put the bird in a rabbit cage with a carpet square on the bottom to cover the wire. Food and water were sat next to the bird. I picked up the bird and it squawked loudly like I was hurting it or something. I tried to see if it would stand and it tried very hard to stand on the good leg while the other leg was pulled up underneath it. It's wings flapped around I think in an effort to gain it's balance, but I'm not sure. After several seconds like this I put my hands around it's wings/body, set it down and settled it with a gentle release of my hands and it stayed put. I tried to offer a crock of water and it had no interest. I even tipped the crock enough so the water touched it's beak and it still did not even open it's beak. A rabbit would have licked and swallowed, but again we have years of experience with rabbits and only months with chickens...
We read some posts here regarding Merak's and other possible causes. These birds were not vaccinated, as we did not know we should. They are on dirt with pine shavings. All chickens can share same floor space, food and water but the meat chickens usually stay in the front third of the barn where the heat lamps are and the bantams go all over although they don't like being around the meat birds. 2 different feed containers - 1 container (plastic) is 24% is up front for the meat birds (but the bantams could eat from it), the other (plastic) is half 16% and half scratch is in the middle part for the buckeyes (meat birds could eat from it). Fresh water daily in 3 different plastic containers - a 3 gal is up front, and a 1 gal in middle and a 1 gal in the back area. The barn foundation is cement in most places but floor has been damaged in several places and dirt covers it all anyway. Walls are wood - this is an old surrey shed converted into a rabbit barn, so I have no idea what the wood is, but it's old. Yes the rabbits are in the barn but in individual cages so they do not intermingle with each other or chickens in any manner other than the air they share. There are mice in the barn. We use traps not poison, but it's hard now that the chickens are on the floor. Actually, now that I've said that, I'm not sure where my son has the traps set... Both feeds are stored in Rubbermaid containers, water is from our yard hose - the rabbits drink the same water. In the last two days, my son built a fenced area outside the barn door to give all the chickens more room to move around, so this chick might have picked up something from outside the bard. As of today that will not be continued, the floor and containers will be throughly cleaned. Not sure what other information to tell you...
We are searching for a cause/cure for the sick chicken and to prevent spread to the flock if applicable.
If this is Merak's disease I was wondering if you can give Merak's vaccines now that they are 2+months old or can you only vaccinate at birth and found at http://www.organic-vet.reading.ac.uk/Poultryweb/disease/marek/marek1.htm the following... "Although chicks are best vaccinated at one day, at the hatchery, chickens up to 3 weeks old can be vaccinated. ". Does anyone know for a fact that this is true? Loosing one bird is one thing but loosing all 7 would be devastating to my son.
Thanks you for any help you can provide!!
Jodi
We are raising 5 Bantam Buckeye chicks we hatched from an incubator early August. In the same barn we have 2 two year old Bantam Buckeye hens that we got in June or July, 8 seven week old Rock-Cornish cross that will be butchered in a couple weeks for our freezer, and 25 rabbits.
My son went out last night to the barn to feed and water when he found 2 of the buckeye chicks under a rabbit cage. Alpha (biggest & hatched 1st) and the sick chick were together. Alpha seems fine and might have just been staying with the sick one. Son isolated the sick chick in a rabbit cage this morning and it seem a bit worse than it did last night. Symptoms last night were right leg week, not able to stand on it. As I held it, I tipped it sideways to see it's legs and when I turn it back up right, it held it's head/neck funny like it was dizzy or something. While I held the bird with it's feet dangling in mid air, the bad leg's foot was curled in a ball like it was holding on to something. I tried to get it to stand up on the ground and when that foot touched the ground, the bird did try to open it's foot, but could quite get the toes to straighten out. This afternoon, my son put the bird in a rabbit cage with a carpet square on the bottom to cover the wire. Food and water were sat next to the bird. I picked up the bird and it squawked loudly like I was hurting it or something. I tried to see if it would stand and it tried very hard to stand on the good leg while the other leg was pulled up underneath it. It's wings flapped around I think in an effort to gain it's balance, but I'm not sure. After several seconds like this I put my hands around it's wings/body, set it down and settled it with a gentle release of my hands and it stayed put. I tried to offer a crock of water and it had no interest. I even tipped the crock enough so the water touched it's beak and it still did not even open it's beak. A rabbit would have licked and swallowed, but again we have years of experience with rabbits and only months with chickens...
We read some posts here regarding Merak's and other possible causes. These birds were not vaccinated, as we did not know we should. They are on dirt with pine shavings. All chickens can share same floor space, food and water but the meat chickens usually stay in the front third of the barn where the heat lamps are and the bantams go all over although they don't like being around the meat birds. 2 different feed containers - 1 container (plastic) is 24% is up front for the meat birds (but the bantams could eat from it), the other (plastic) is half 16% and half scratch is in the middle part for the buckeyes (meat birds could eat from it). Fresh water daily in 3 different plastic containers - a 3 gal is up front, and a 1 gal in middle and a 1 gal in the back area. The barn foundation is cement in most places but floor has been damaged in several places and dirt covers it all anyway. Walls are wood - this is an old surrey shed converted into a rabbit barn, so I have no idea what the wood is, but it's old. Yes the rabbits are in the barn but in individual cages so they do not intermingle with each other or chickens in any manner other than the air they share. There are mice in the barn. We use traps not poison, but it's hard now that the chickens are on the floor. Actually, now that I've said that, I'm not sure where my son has the traps set... Both feeds are stored in Rubbermaid containers, water is from our yard hose - the rabbits drink the same water. In the last two days, my son built a fenced area outside the barn door to give all the chickens more room to move around, so this chick might have picked up something from outside the bard. As of today that will not be continued, the floor and containers will be throughly cleaned. Not sure what other information to tell you...
We are searching for a cause/cure for the sick chicken and to prevent spread to the flock if applicable.
If this is Merak's disease I was wondering if you can give Merak's vaccines now that they are 2+months old or can you only vaccinate at birth and found at http://www.organic-vet.reading.ac.uk/Poultryweb/disease/marek/marek1.htm the following... "Although chicks are best vaccinated at one day, at the hatchery, chickens up to 3 weeks old can be vaccinated. ". Does anyone know for a fact that this is true? Loosing one bird is one thing but loosing all 7 would be devastating to my son.
Thanks you for any help you can provide!!
Jodi
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