Mysterious illness throughout flock

[De Wet]

can you explain to me something, many told if you have MG in your flock the sickness transfer thru to the eggs and the chick s will born with MG and advisable it must not sold to control the sickness and the flock must been culled , but why does vets gave than treatment if there is no hope for MG that is so confusing if MG is so bad why did goverments not treat it like new castle desease or bird flu or is there hope for a bird for MG thats so confusing...

 

[GoodwinMaine]

We have a hen showing weird signs of trouble. No coughing or anything but she seems to be falling down... leaning etc. all of a sudden too, no signs of any issues before that. Any thoughts?

 

[Warrprincess688]

I believe they already did the necropsy. There just doing a few more tests from what she said. I will post when I get more news!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I'm thrilled for you, Warrprincess. That's great news.

GoodwinMaine--the last time I saw a bird do that (not one of mine, thank goodness) it was Marek's Disease. And that's some big badness, because even if they recover, they are carriers forever. Is your flock vaccinated?

Here is a good resource for you. Besides a description of common poultry diseases, there are charts which list common symptoms and what diseases cause them. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Singlemaple]

I have something similar to whats going on with your flock with mine...

i have coughing / sneezing, rials in the sickest ones and some with discharge from the nose/mouth... also almost no eggs( i have 90 hens, 60 at laying age now ) I'm getting 15 eggs a day if lucky...

i culled 3 hens and a rooster 3 days ago cause they sounded the worst then the next day i had even more showing signs so i took the next sickest and brought her to NHVDL at the UNH in Durham for testing and a necropsy and they said if it is something really serious i would have heard from them yesterday but other wise Monday is when i will hear and i really hope it is nothing that will make me have to cull the flock I've put tons of money into them this year.

i haven't noticed any swelling around the face for anyone although some of them are losing color in they're wattles and combs they are getting a little bit pink.

all the birds that are having symptoms are either from my march and July hatch last year or my February and march hatch this year... the April and may hatch are 100% healthy i don't see any symptoms with them.

i have the sickest ones separated although i think i may have to add more to there section cause i heard one cough.. if i hear them cough they go straight to the separation coop if they have a little sneeze then i just keep an eye on them,....


I will also let you guys know the result of the test I'm having on my hen.


- Hanaah

 

[Warrprincess688]

We have a hen showing weird signs of trouble. No coughing or anything but she seems to be falling down... leaning etc. all of a sudden too, no signs of any issues before that. Any thoughts?

I also had the same problem
My bantam Cochins Were the only ones affected. The bird would lift itself up and then fall to one side, eventually becoming paralyzed. My last one i culled since she just got worst. The face color was gone and she had an old appearance to her.They said I didn't have mareks. So I'm not sure with yours but if she gets worse I would put her down if it gets really bad.

 

[Warrprincess688]

I have something similar to whats going on with your flock with mine...

i have coughing / sneezing, rials in the sickest ones and some with discharge from the nose/mouth... also almost no eggs( i have 90 hens, 60 at laying age now ) I'm getting 15 eggs a day if lucky...

i culled 3 hens and a rooster 3 days ago cause they sounded the worst then the next day i had even more showing signs so i took the next sickest and brought her to NHVDL at the UNH in Durham for testing and a necropsy and they said if it is something really serious i would have heard from them yesterday but other wise Monday is when i will hear and i really hope it is nothing that will make me have to cull the flock I've put tons of money into them this year.

i haven't noticed any swelling around the face for anyone although some of them are losing color in they're wattles and combs they are getting a little bit pink.

all the birds that are having symptoms are either from my march and July hatch last year or my February and march hatch this year... the April and may hatch are 100% healthy i don't see any symptoms with them.

i have the sickest ones separated although i think i may have to add more to there section cause i heard one cough.. if i hear them cough they go straight to the separation coop if they have a little sneeze then i just keep an eye on them,....


I will also let you guys know the result of the test I'm having on my hen.


- Hanaah

Hi Hannah , you And me are in the same boat. I hope you get good results. I have the same number of chickens as you. Did you add any new chickens?

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

It's SO important to get a real diagnosis if there's a possibility that it's a flock-culling thing.

Because there are certain diseases that are Big Baddies, and we all know about them, there's a temptation (on this discussion board and others) to label any possible fit symptoms-wise as one of those Big Baddies. Coryza, Mareks, etc. I've read hundreds of these threads. Most (I would say the overwhelming majority) of the chickens that everybody said MUST have one of the bad diseases, when they are taken for necropsy and diagnosis, don't test positive.

Chickens like to die. They like to die of a ton of stuff. And because they're animals with very little brain, they don't show subtle symptoms very well. The difference between a chicken dying of MG and a chicken dying of worms and a chicken dying of heat and a chicken dying of just plain cussedness is honestly not that huge. They lose color, they lose weight, they breathe badly, they start falling over, they drink too much water and so vomit when you pick them up, they end up not being able to move, and then they die. For ALL those things, and many more. That's why if you look at the Merck manual there's no diagnosis advice except necropsy, and why the big diagnostic departments at the universities are so important and so busy.

I've only ever been certain of coccidia when the bird is alive. That's because bloody poop is not part of that above list. Everything else, I have only known in hindsight, depending on what drug or change in conditions the flock responded to, or after testing.

 

[Singlemaple]

warrprincess688

i found this book on line called the

Differential Diagnosis Of Respiratory Diseases In Poultry by W. B. Durrell

I found it at this site http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1791362/ i read through it and it has a Diagnosis table in it and i think i found what my hens have...

it's called Chronic Respiratory Disease and it is pretty word for word with what is happening with my birds.... the only ones showing any signs of sickness are my march and July hatch last year and my February and march hatch this year and it day's it affect semi-mature and mature birds very rare in chicks.


i hear back in 2 days.... hope its not bad.

- Hanaah

 

[GoodwinMaine]

The sick chicken was one we hatched, given to us by the feed store because we had a broody and no roo at the time. She's still not doing well. We've given her some vitamins. Still no signs of any respiratory distress, just the lack of "balance"...