Need Help! Does my paralyzed orpington have Marek's or something else?

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Well... she's still alive, but I'm losing hope for her recovery.

This evening, I went to pick her up for another feeding and she felt very stiff - almost like rigamortis, but she is still alive (much stiffer than she was this afternoon). She still has a bit of movement in both wings, but not like earlier. Her tail will still wag also. She has no desire to eat - hasn't for two days - but can still swallow the dropperfuls I put in her mouth. This evening is the first time I've fed her by dropper and she didn't fight me. She will open her eyes temporarily, but then shuts them again. I fed her the mash & electrolytes and put her into my laundry room for a warm, peaceful rest, but I don't have much hope. I won't be surprised at all, if I find her dead in the morning.

 

[noriko]

Hi. First, I wanted to say "I'm sorry for your beautiful splash orpington girl" & how is she doing today?

I've lost some birds with the same symptoms in this summer. It was really heart-breaking! I'm still kinda in shock because I've just lost another bird(She was my beautiful blue silkie pullet) couple days ago....and, I'm thinking they might got into something moldy(botulism) during they are having fun with their free-ranging OR something bad thing is going on with my flock like Marek's. We called the Department of Agriculture & they gave us the Vet phone# who will take care of the chickens. (The vet is about an hour from us but, I couldn't find any Vet who will take care of the chickens around here, so I'm kinda happy now.) We are going to call them & ask for the blood test. The person from the Department of Agriculture said that's the only way you can tell what's really going on with your flock. I could send her body to the laboratry but, I didn't put her body in the fridge...so.... My other birds are all healthy & active so far but if it's Marek's, they are all going to be carrier. I just really want to know what's going on with them and save everybody. I hope you can find out what's going on with your beautiful girl too. Noriko.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Noriko - Thanks for the encouragement. I'm sorry you lost some of your chickens and I hope the vet finds you don't have Marek's.


She is still alive - still paralyzed, but actually more alert today than yesterday and is back to fighting the dropper method. Yesterday, I was able to feed her myself - today, I had to have my daughter hold her wings down and hold her still.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

It's now been 15 days since I've first posted - she is still alive, but she looks worse today than yesterday and doesn't look like she is going to make it.

I still need to know whether or not she has Marek's, so that I know what do to with the rest of my flock. I'm hoping an expert will recognize her symptoms as Marek's or not (hopefully, not).

Her legs do not stick out backwards or forwards like the typical marek's stance - the legs lay either backwards together or under her belly - sometimes she will flop up off her side and the legs will be under her. The legs are not stiff (not sure whether they should be with marek's). She even twitches them every time I wash her bottom and sometimes curls the toes in. Both legs are not working (other than the twitching or toe curling), but even now, 15 days later, both wings are still flapping normally. She hasn't wanted to eat or drink for the last several days (she only eats what I put down her throat with a dropper and she fights me on that).

 

[NewHobbyForMe]

Hello, I've been reading your info and would like to tell you about my 3 month old RIR. She was not able to get up and walk for the last four days. Her feet seemed paralized. She would wobble forward and backward until she finally would just sit down. She would not try and get to eat or drink. I keep food close by along with her water. She is too young and does not have waddles yet but what little she has and her comb was starting to turn red compared to her sisters. We put her down this morning and my husband said she had staples in her. We just got chickens for the first time and just built our coop and I used staples in a staple gun to fasten the chicken wire to the wooden poles. Also, last week I stapled plastic on their coop door. He said they were not loose staples, but staples that were still together just how you would insert them into a staple gun. It made me sick to think I was the one that must have dropped some. She was my special girl. She always greeted me in the morning with her little sad sounding chick talk. She would let me hold her and when I would sit down on a chair she would jump up in my lap and on my shoulder, and stay there until I made her get down. I sure will miss her, just had to put down her sister two days before due to crop impaction. Being new at this I did not make the kids next door stop giving the chickens grass. I did notice in was very long pieces and that's what was in her. She was another favorite pet. I went out yesterday and bought fourteen more chicks, 4 barred rocks, 4 buffs, 4 brahmas, and two Australorps. Still have 4 of my orginal 6 Rhode Island Reds!!! Love them all.
Best of luck with your chickens and please post soon. I will be watching for your reply.

 

[Mahonri]

Wish I knew what to tell you Mary Ann. Sounds to me like she won't be around long.

Now what we need to find out is if there is an extension office here in Phoenix that can do a Necropsy.

I'd love to know what the problem is.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
I'm so sorry you lost her. What an odd and unusual thing to find - were the staples in her crop?. I guess chickens will eat anything. I don't think you should feel bad - that was an accident that anyone of us could have done. At least, finding staples was better than finding a disease. I noticed some baby toads again last night (hadn't seen any in a while). I'm wondering if eating something like a toad could have poisoned her (although - it's lasting quite awhile).

 

[kassy68]

I'm so sorry you lost her. What an odd and unusual thing to find - were the staples in her crop?. I guess chickens will eat anything. I don't think you should feel bad - that was an accident that anyone of us could have done. At least, finding staples was better than finding a disease. I noticed some baby toads again last night (hadn't seen any in a while). I'm wondering if eating something like a toad could have poisoned her (although - it's lasting quite awhile).

You know, you may be onto something.. when a dog licks a toad it will make them stoned, and foam at the mouth.. I had my standard poodle years ago standing in the back yard acting like she was literally tied to the fence.. I thought maybe she was hooked on something.. I walked out there and she could not walk.. her front feet would move, but her back legs looked like they had been glued in place, she was shaking and such.. but never fell over. I picked her up and stopped ans was talking to the neighbor.. in the 25 minutes she stopped shaking and regained her legs.. I put that ONE and only ONE time experience off to toads and frogs in the swamp behind ours... My girls got a toad once.. they all seemed fine, but maybe they shared it amoung the 26 of them.​

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
Thanks for your support. I left a message with the AZ Dept. of Agriculture (about needing a necropsy) yesterday, but haven't heard back from them. I've tried googling and can't find a source either. My next course is to call some vets, but I don't want to spend a fortune.

I thought about cutting her open myself when she dies. I think I can rule out or identify Marek's (there would be tumors if she has Marek's), but I wouldn't be identify any other cause to find any other cause (unless she has something strange in her like the above poster (staples). I'll keep you posted and will definitely post the answer (if I can find it).

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
Mahonri,
I'm not sure if you remember, but this is the first chick I ever hatched. I had to bring her (the egg) into the house because over the course of the 3 weeks, my broody hen had accidently broken all the other eggs till there was only one left. There were two intact eggs left on the morning of day 21, but the other egg was cracked or broken before the chick had a chance to come out on its own. The dead chick was fully formed and fluffy when I found it that afternoon, but was still attached to the yolk.

I brought this last, remaining egg into the house on day 21 and put it into a little basket that I placed in the bathroom, with a room humidifier going (I don't have an incubator). I had also hung a lightbulb above the egg and used a meat thermometer to monitor the temperature - I had no way of monitoring humidity. After 6 hours in this set-up, this little chick hatched without any help. I was so excited when she turned out to be a pullet (we don't have any other splash orpingtons), so this whole ordeal is quite dissappointing - she is a very special chicken to me & my daughters.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=189266

Shiny thing is the meat thermometer

3 1/2 year old granddaughter was thrilled to be a witness - that's the basket that held the egg for 6 hours before the chick hatched;

Splash with the buddies I bought from the feed store to keep her company. Her two buddies, now 21 weeks old, & all of our other adult chickens still seem perfectly healthy: