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

[rebrascora]

Sad to report that my little CCLxRIR pullet, Hope, is going down hill again. Not Marek's per se but secondary problems. She has yellow discharge from her vent which looks like it might be egg yolk peritonitis and she is sneezing all the time and wheezing a little, so maybe MG as well.
I always knew it was only a matter of time and her quality of life has been really good these past few months.
I dusted her for mites 2 days ago and this seems to have come on since then, which could be a coincidence or the dust could have triggered the breathing problem. She needed treating though and I was as careful as I could be but they were in the back of her neck as well as her vent area, and she wouldn't lie still whilst I powdered her.. I'm hoping she can make another come back but I think it is a vain hope this time. Her eggs have always been deformed and I think she probably has an infection in her reproductive tract. I cleaned her up as best I could this afternoon and couldn't feel an egg stuck. Is there anything else I can do for her. I don't have access to antibiotics and I can't afford to fork out on a vets bill for a bird that realistically isn't going to have a long life anyway. That may sound harsh, but I don't have limitless funds and there are no vets locally that I would be confident had more knowledge of chickens than some of the people on this thread.
She is my little sweetheart and I'm going to miss her when she goes!. Making some scrambled egg for her tonight. Hopefully not a last supper but she has suddenly lost weight which I know is a bad sign. I pick her up often and a couple of weeks ago she felt positively heavy. Today, she is just skin and bones.

 

[seminolewind]

Egg yolk peritonitis would be when the yolks are deposited inside the abdomen. It's a shame she does sound like it's some infection, my layman guess would be e. coli, which has a small chance of being treated at this point. That's a guess, not a diagnosis. But I know how you feel.

 

[seminolewind]

I inquired on Marek's vaccination status when purchasing from a breeder.. and they responded in summary:


We are this and that certified and the other tested, and we don't have diseases like that"

Please forgive my gallows humor.

I could say the same if I hadn't sent for necropsy.

I would think a breeder would either be knowledgeable on stuff like that.

 

[ochochicas]

One of my Marek's hens started laying deformed eggs for a couple of weeks. They were flat on one side instead of being roundish. She died from respiratory distress - not a respiratory disease, but more tumors that caused breathing and circulatory problems. Thinking back on it, she probably had tumors in her abdomen that affected her egg shape. She stopped laying about two weeks before I culled her. Her quality of life had declined and it wasn't fair to keep her going.

 

[saltandpepper2]

One of my Marek's hens started laying deformed eggs for a couple of weeks.  They were flat on one side instead of being roundish.  She died from respiratory distress - not a respiratory disease, but more tumors that caused breathing and circulatory problems.  Thinking back on it, she probably had tumors in her abdomen that affected her egg shape.  She stopped laying about two weeks before I culled her.  Her quality of life had declined and it wasn't fair to keep her going.  

I'm so sorry!

 

[ochochicas]

The dose for Tylan is 10 - 40 mg/kg, which is huge range.
If you have a 4 pound hen, that would be 1.8 kg.
1.8 pounds x 40 mg = 72 mg per day.
72 mg / 50 mg = 1.4 cc or .7 cc twice a day

I dosed my 5 pound rooster at 15 mg per pound (approximately 30 mg/kg). He got .8 cc twice a day, which is 1.6 ml total for the day. If you are injecting it, .8cc is a lot to give IM at one time to a chicken. I have since switched over to Tylan 200 since it is more concentrated.

 

[saltandpepper2]

The dose for Tylan is 10 - 40 mg/kg, which is huge range.  
If you have a 4 pound hen, that would be 1.8 kg.
 1.8 pounds x 40 mg = 72 mg per day.  
72 mg / 50 mg = 1.4 cc or .7 cc twice a day

 I dosed my 5 pound rooster at 15 mg per pound (approximately 30 mg/kg).  He got .8 cc twice a day, which is 1.6 ml total for the day.  If you are injecting it, .8cc is a lot to give IM at one time to a chicken. I have since switched over to Tylan 200 since it is more concentrated.

Alright thank you. I start dosage tomorrow.

 

[ochochicas]

Quote: She died a few months ago, but I think the weird egg shapes might be related to internal tumors. Knock on wood, I don't have any more sick chickens!

 

[saltandpepper2]

She died  a few months ago, but I think the weird egg shapes might be related to internal tumors.  Knock on wood, I don't have any more sick chickens!  

I haven't had any sick directly because of mareks.. Yet

 

[rebrascora]

Hope's eggs are very pointy at one end and very round at the other but there is a thick seam of shell which is around the middle joining the two ends together. The shell is pretty thick in general but this middle section has a slightly less dense, more porous texture. I thought initially that perhaps she was egg bound and it had cracked inside her but I couldn't feel anything inside. Will have to check when I got my last egg from her. Poor soul she is not good though.