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

[Haunted55]

I hope this isn't mareks, but it won't hurt to post it... I have a pulley ( 21 wks ) that has been acting " off " for the last week. She's been wandering off, and lethargic, I gave her an exam, and she has a golf ball sized lump in her crop, not major, and am treating it. She is still absorbing the food every day though, so it's isn't really impacted. Well, she's lost a ton of weight, isn't eating much, is really lethargic, and untidy. Checked for mites/lice, and she doesn't have any... should I worm? If she dies, an autopsy is being done, I'm tired of losing birds for mystery reasons... Any ideas?

I haven't had any problems with crop problems like this with the Marek's. That's not to say there aren't and can't be, just that I've never seen them....yet, lol. Shouldn't laugh but sometimes it's all you've got left. S&P, I can only make a couple of suggestions and if you are already treating for impaction, even if it isn't, then not sure except maybe a probiotic? If you can do so, get some of the Floragen3 from your drugstore and open a capsule and sprinkle it on a small amount of dampened feed or something that will make the probiotic stick to it and get as much into her as possible. If you can do this you will be sure to have it start working in the crop before it passes further and it truly may help.

Sorry i'm not much help, between the brain melt from the heat and never seeing it.....

 

[salt and pepper]

I haven't had any problems with crop problems like this with the Marek's. That's not to say there aren't and can't be, just that I've never seen them....yet, lol. Shouldn't laugh but sometimes it's all you've got left. S&P, I can only make a couple of suggestions and if you are already treating for impaction, even if it isn't, then not sure except maybe a probiotic? If you can do so, get some of the Floragen3 from your drugstore and open a capsule and sprinkle it on a small amount of dampened feed or something that will make the probiotic stick to it and get as much into her as possible. If you can do this you will be sure to have it start working in the crop before it passes further and it truly may help.

Sorry i'm not much help, between the brain melt from the heat and never seeing it.....

Thanks for the advice, I've been giving her olive oil, and raw, greek yogurt, and only a small amount of wet feed. I'll try to ger some floragen3.

 

[Haunted55]

Thanks for the advice, I've been giving her olive oil, and raw, greek yogurt, and only a small amount of wet feed. I'll try to ger some floragen3.

The price I pay is around $15 for a bottle and it has to be kept in the fridge so you'd need to ask for it. personally, I think it works better and faster as there are a lot more active buggies per capsule than a container of yogurt. Hopefully someone with more smarts than I have will chime in and give you a better answer.

 

[Nambroth]

Some important information regarding "crop" problems in possible Marek's birds:

In the reports I've read, and my experience, the thymus is often one of the first parts of the body to be hit with the tumors with Serotype I Marek's (RB1B strain). (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23494227) The thymus is located in the neck, near the clavicle, in the general area of the crop. When the chicken is relaxed and it's neck is in an S-curve, this can feel like a lump in the crop. In the case of my rooster, even my avian veterinarian was unsure if the mass was in the crop wall or if it was external (it was a tumor on the thymus, thus external to the crop) when palpating. It was only upon surgically inspecting the area that it was discovered that the lump was on the thymus and not the crop.
Image (warning: graphic imagery of chicken anatomy): http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/a...las/files/avian_atlas_assets/Thymus1 x750.jpg
Bear in mind that the above image has the neck stretched out, which is not the normal resting posture for chickens.


The tumors, when palpated, tend to feel smooth-ish. Slippery, as if a small lump of flesh. Crop impaction can feel rough and like a wad of undigested grains or very fiberous, depending on what the bird has been ingesting.


I hope this is of help.

 

[Haunted55]

Some important information regarding "crop" problems in possible Marek's birds:

In the reports I've read, and my experience, the thymus is often one of the first parts of the body to be hit with the tumors with Serotype I Marek's (RB1B strain). (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23494227) The thymus is located in the neck, near the clavicle, in the general area of the crop. When the chicken is relaxed and it's neck is in an S-curve, this can feel like a lump in the crop. In the case of my rooster, even my avian veterinarian was unsure if the mass was in the crop wall or if it was external (it was a tumor on the thymus, thus external to the crop) when palpating. It was only upon surgically inspecting the area that it was discovered that the lump was on the thymus and not the crop.
Image (warning: graphic imagery of chicken anatomy): http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/a...las/files/avian_atlas_assets/Thymus1 x750.jpg
Bear in mind that the above image has the neck stretched out, which is not the normal resting posture for chickens.


The tumors, when palpated, tend to feel smooth-ish. Slippery, as if a small lump of flesh. Crop impaction can feel rough and like a wad of undigested grains or very fiberous, depending on what the bird has been ingesting.


I hope this is of help.

Thanks nambroth, I never saw this before so had no idea. It's a rotten trick. Once it hits the thymus....

 

[salt and pepper]

Yikes... Well, I hope it's not that! I'll do surgery if she doesn't get better... Hopefully it's just a crop problem.

 

[casportpony]

If you think her crop is impacted, tubing water into her will help it pass if there isn't an obstruction further in, like in her gizzard or intestines.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/722041/how-to-t-feed-a-sick-chicken-and-give-subcutaneous-fluid

-Kathy

 

[Nambroth]

Thanks nambroth, I never saw this before so had no idea. It's a rotten trick. Once it hits the thymus....

Yes, once it hits the Thymus it is pretty much a full blown lymphoma and is usually terribly systemic. My poor roo had a necropsy less than a week after we found the initial thymus tumor, and he was riddled with cancer in most major organs. It took less than a week from the time he was acting like a normal, healthy, dancing rooster.

I am not trying to scare anyone that has crop problems in their birds. One should always treat it as if it is a crop impaction, first!! This has the highest chances of treating and saving the chicken's life if it is a crop impaction. Because if it is the thymus/tumors, the chances of survival are already very low, so you may as well treat for the possibly curable option. I just wanted to share this information in case it helps someone in the future.

 

[casportpony]

Curiously (too lazy to search, lol), does the thymus cause them to yawn? I had a rooster with obvious neuro MD, but he also did this weird yawing and neck thing, so you posts made me think that might have been the cause of it. Again, just curious, I know nothing about the thymus.

-Kathy

 

[Nambroth]

Curiously (too lazy to search, lol), does the thymus cause them to yawn? I had a rooster with obvious neuro MD, but he also did this weird yawing and neck thing, so you posts made me think that might have been the cause of it. Again, just curious, I know nothing about the thymus.

-Kathy

I am honestly not sure. Excessive yawning can be a crop adjustment measure in many species of birds... not sure about the thymus.