Need help please! Marek's? Something else??

[amcroe]

Hello - First, let me apologize that this is so long. We have a sick D'uccle rooster...he has been sick for more than a week and I want to be sure we aren't missing something.

His symptoms have basically just been extreme lethargy/sleepiness and will NOT eat. Poops are runny white with green mixed in although he had some semi-normals ones the other day after tube feeding. We have seen the vet several times this week. She did a test for cocci that came back normal but he is on Alban anyway as she said they don't always show up in every stool. He is also on an antibiotic (I think baytril - not sure of spelling). The vet did 3 gavage feedings for us along with b12 shots. She was very concerned that it might be Marek's but she said it isn't presenting the way she usually sees it. He has no trouble standing, walking, etc. If you stimulate him enough he will walk a bit and we had two episodes over the last week where he suddenly had bursts of energy and ate on his own for an hour or two before bed. But then in the morning he is back to being extremely listless. Sometimes he will fall asleep in the middle of trying to pick up a sunflower seed. Almost seems neurological?

My husband and I started tube feeding him on our own yesterday. We did 2 feedings but then in the evening he ate an entire egg and some sunflower seed meats and a little feed on his own. We are also giving him b12 poultry drops and I have some Poly vi sol that we've been doing too.

Does anyone think this could be marek's but is just not looking like the classic symptoms? The vet was perplexed and suggested blood work but we wanted to get through the weekend and then see how he is. He is definitely not worse but he's not a whole lot better either...except for the bursts of energy he's had a couple of times.

Oh, and also, I did buy some Corrid b/c I've heard it can work better than alban if it is cocci. Would anyone recommend switching to it? He's been on Alban 5 or 6 days already.

Can anyone help? Are we doing everything we can? We love this little guy so we are really doing all we know to do and feel he's worth it.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[amcroe]

Anyone?

 

[Eggcessive]

I probably wouldn't switch to Corid if you have had a course of Albon, especially since the vet found no coccidia evidence, and you are not seeing bloody or yellow mucus stools. Baytril is about as good as it gets with antibiotics, so I would make sure that he gets probiotics in his water. I prefer poultry vitamins in water to giving PolyVisol continuously, since you don't want to overdo the fat soluble vitamins. There are some brands where poultry vitamins contain probiotics too. Did the vet see any worms in his stool sample? I think I would be tempted to worm him any way to see if it made a difference, since everything else has been done. SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer or Valbazen are excellent, and 1/4 ml orally is the dose, then repeat in 10 days.

 

[amcroe]

Thanks so much for the response. I did give him Valbazen last Sunday. Some of my hens had tapeworm segments in their poop so I had it on hand. I can give him another dose in a couple of days. The vet didn't see anything in his stool...did two tests of her own and then sent it off to a poultry lab that the U. of GA has not very far from here. Good to know about the polyvisol. I will order some poultry vitamins with probiotics. The B12 is specially for poultry so I'll keep giving him that. I feel so sorry for him. Its like he just can't keep his eyes open very long.

It may or may not be worth mentioning that he is a cross beak. Not too severe and we keep it trimmed but we had been gone on vacation and came back to him being sick. I thought maybe he wasn't able to get enough food and that he was just malnourished. I know that isn't the case at this point but just thought I'd mention it.

Thanks again for the advise!