merek's i think (update)

[kayla104]

hello. I bought 20 silkies 2 weeks ago. 6 have died 1 i had put to sleep by the vet. 5 of the ones that died on their own seemed fine. 1 of them was real weak. The 1 we had put to sleep could barely walk and always flopped on it's side and couldn't get upright on it's own. It also needed help to eat and drink(finally wouldn't or couldn't eat so took her to vet). my question is if they make it will it affect my other 32 chickens i have outside? the silkies won't be free ranging. I will grow fodder for in their run. thanks everyone you guys are just great here.

 

[Eggcessive]

How old were the silkies when you brought them home? Are you feeding them SaveAChick or other brand of electrolytes and vitamins? What kind of feed are they getting? Have any had diarrhea or blood in their droppings? Also, have you contacted the seller?

 

[kayla104]

i am giving them both save a chicks and organic vinegar in their water. they are on starter crumbles. i also scramble them an egg daily. they had severe pasty butt on a few when i bought them. they were born on Jan. 27th. no i have not called where i bought them. i am so disgusted by what i seen there i am calling the department of agriculture tomorrow. i bought all their silkies just because i couldn't stand to leave them there. if i had the money i would have bought every chicken there. some had pasty butt so bad their vents were swelled and bleeding. i haven't seen any blood in stool.(using puppy pads). stool seems to pretty consistent in all but the one i had put to sleep. hers was always real soft or runny(she couldn't stand so i had to clean her)

 

[Eggcessive]

It's good that you rescued them from the previous owner, but make sure they are not carrying any serious diseases before putting them near your other chickens. Quarantine them for at least a month. With 2 1/2 week old chicks, they could be suffering from problems from hatching or incubation, such as infections or vitamin deficiency. From now on coccidiosis can be a culprit, causing diarrhea or blood in the droppings, hunched or puffed up posture, weakness, not eating, and ruffled feathers. Corid (amprollium) is the usual treatment for cocci. When you run out of SaveAChick, I would look for Rooster Booster Vitamins With Probiotics, or just add some probiotics or plain yogurt along with your chick vitamins. Probiotics will help their immunity. If you lose another chick or two, I would recommend sending them to your state vet for a necropsy. That way, if there is any infectious disease such as Mareks or whatever, you will know the cause. Mareks symptoms usually don't show up until chicks are past the 3 week mark, all the way up to 25 weeks normally. Cocci and other problems can make them too weak to walk and have balance issues. Please let us know how they are doing. Here is a bit to read about cocci and a link for the state vet:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

Also a good long link about Mareks: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[kayla104]

necropsy came back says pericarditsis, e coli suspected. e coli test came back as heavy. no more have died and are active.

 

[Eggcessive]

I'm glad that no more have died. E coli can be a problem in a weakened chicken, usually as a secondary infection that gets out of control.