Not an Emergency...Marek's in the Flock

[Nambroth]

Have any of you tried a mixture of Braggs ACV, poultry vitamens and colliodal silver? I have been using it for 4 months with great success. Over the 4 months I have aquired 20 additional hens from two separate owners and all is well. They are all fattening up and getting ready for winter!

Do your birds have Marek's?

 

[ranchokelly]

I bought some collodial silver a while back, but haven't tried it lately. It seemed crazy to think it would help, but who knows?? I'm trying everything else.
I ordered the vaccine last night, but today she seems much worse.
Has anyone heard of seemingly paralyzed legs coming back to life??
If she can't stand up, I fear she doesn't have a chance. and now I'm faced with how to put her down.... any tips on that? I'm sure it's a different forum, but if anyone could point me in the right direction.
I made a gas chamber for one (read it on the internet) out of a storage container, and used vinegar and baking soda and it worked quickly with a rooster that was in bad shape. The next time I tried in on another rooster, it didn't work and went terribly wrong. I just don't have the guts or heart to break a neck or chop off a head.

 

[Bawkbawk137]

No, they don't have Marek's..or any other disease. I live at the base of a mountain with lots of other birds and wildlife..Preventative measures work the best and it keeps them REALLY healthy and thriving!

 

[BigECarter]

If she can't stand up, I fear she doesn't have a chance. and now I'm faced with how to put her down.... any tips on that? I'm sure it's a different forum, but if anyone could point me in the right direction. 
I made a gas chamber for one (read it on the internet) out of a storage container, and used vinegar and baking soda and it worked quickly with a rooster that was in bad shape. The next time I tried in on another rooster, it didn't work and went terribly wrong. I just don't have the guts or heart to break a neck or chop off a head.

Try calling a local vet - they might be willing to euthanize her.

 

[ChicknsRock]

I also have a chicken with Marek's. I bought St. John's Wort,which comes in capsules,and I pour out a tiny pinch of it in hemp oil,put it in a syringe, and give to my chicken at night.It's only been a few weeks since I started giving it to her and she can almost WALK!

 

[schnebbles]

where do you get hemp oil? another person posted regarding the st. john wort but the admins don't want this thread to turn into st. johns wort. I might pm you

 

[seminolewind]

I guess I'm going to give in and order the vaccine as well, even though I don't have high hopes it will work for my already affected/exposed hens. I read somewhere you can split up the two items you mix together - cut a tablet, to save some of it for later. Does anyone know about that?
Meanwhile I'm still giving them bread soaked in st. johns wort (forgive me for mentioning it! doubt it works, either, but doesn't seem to hurt and I have it) and vitamins. This weekend the feed store was closed, so I bought some baby electrolyte solution and liquid vitamins instead of "sav-a-chick".
The one I thought was improving has gotten worse, now the 2nd leg is starting to go bad so she's having a really hard time getting around. I end up holding her up over the food dish,so she can focus on eating instead of balancing.
Is this all just crazy??! Wondering if I should just put them down.

I'm sorry

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:

Thanks for sharing. But it got me real choked up. It seems that she was growing tumors everywhere. I guess she hung on for a long time.

 

[seminolewind]

I bought from a small, local hatchery. My first loss was the runt - about two weeks after I got them. They were ~2 months old. Then steadily lost one every two weeks, chasing symptoms before I finally sent one to the lab. The breeder says they were vaccinated for Marek's. He sold me some from a hatch he did to build his breeding stock, and says he has had no losses in his flocks. I am not convinced, but not much point arguing. It is what it is.

Not having raised the chicks from babies helped. We aren't as attached to them as we could be, but it sure hasn't been fun. It's been a month since we lost any - that was our original cockerel.

I have chicks coming from MacMurray next week. Vaccinated for Marek's and cocci. Fingers crossed.

I am crossing my fingers! Marek's and Cocci vaccines. The best.

 

[seminolewind]

I bought some collodial silver a while back, but haven't tried it lately. It seemed crazy to think it would help, but who knows?? I'm trying everything else.
I ordered the vaccine last night, but today she seems much worse.
Has anyone heard of seemingly paralyzed legs coming back to life??
If she can't stand up, I fear she doesn't have a chance. and now I'm faced with how to put her down.... any tips on that? I'm sure it's a different forum, but if anyone could point me in the right direction.
I made a gas chamber for one (read it on the internet) out of a storage container, and used vinegar and baking soda and it worked quickly with a rooster that was in bad shape. The next time I tried in on another rooster, it didn't work and went terribly wrong. I just don't have the guts or heart to break a neck or chop off a head.

I had one vaccinated pullet last year who had paralysis but continued to eat, so she lived in my bedroom for 6 weeks and got better. I think it must have been due to the vaccine.

The easiest thing in the world for your hen is to chop her head off. Cover her face and do it. Make sure the ax is sharp and you have the hen on a block of some kind. I think all those freezers, chambers, gassing, whatever, is cruel to the bird. It's a slow death. It may seem harder to use an ax but it's over quick, and she will never know what happened. I couldn't possibly do those suffocating things.

Maybe a friend or relative can help. Years ago I would have sworn on my grave that I would never kill a chicken. But I realized that that was not realistic. If I can't do it, sometimes I can't, they go to the vet. Usually one that I've had a long time.

I have a hard time with knowing when to put them down when they are wasting, put still look happy. I know they are starving to death, but I just keep hoping they'll start gaining weight and it never happens.

Right now I have a wasting Polish hen who was vaccinated, and an unvaccinated roo who was sent thru the mail over a year and a half ago from someone who had Marek's in their flock. I figured I had it already and took him. Poor thing , when he was young and got put in with 10 Polish girls, he hid all day, he was so scared of them. He is a real good roo to the girls. I think he's been eating more. I make the two of them oatmeal every day. Maybe they'll pull thru. I never thought it would happen to one of my vaccinated girls.