Not sure what happened...

[CharmedChickens]

I really hope someone can help me. I have a beautiful Americana and went out in the coop tonight and found her laying on her side, breathing open beaked and her legs were stiff. I picked her up and brought her inside (which seemed to stress her out) and finally got her to calm down. She still can't walk, wont eat or drink. She is not egg bound, her vent looks clean and healthy.I saw her eat this morning when I brought them their treats. She was active all day. It was warm (90ish) but not overly hot today. Now shes just sitting in the kennel with her beak partially open and her eyes closed. Could she have heat exhaustion? heat stroke? All my birds are healthy. She is the lowest of the bunch (had a bout of them picking her for a while- that has since resolved). I dont know what to do!! Help please!! I am so afraid I am going to wake up to a dead chicken. I really do not want to lose her.

 

[aoxa]

Sounds to me like Maerks - which is not a good prognosis.

I'm sorry to hear about this. Try to keep her hydrated.

 

[CharmedChickens]

Could it still be [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Maerks if she was vaccinated? Will the rest of my flock be affected? [/FONT]

 

[aoxa]

Could it still be [COLOR=333333]Maerks if she was vaccinated? Will the rest of my flock be affected? [/COLOR]

I'm going to send leadwolf to your thread. She is dealing with Maereks at a personal level and can help you more than I can.

 

[leadwolf1]

How old is your chicken? How long have you had her? Any new birds brought in recently?

I'm not convinced that this is Marek's. I have had one or two birds that showed such quick and drastic symptoms but, the majority do not. It is a slow moving disease for the most part. My first thought would be a stroke of some kind but, I need more information to be able to really help you.

I hope your chicken is still with you this morning. Please try and get her to eat some mash; a mixture of water, yogurt and crumbles. That will give her protein, probiotics and the moisture she needs. If she won't eat, hand feed her. Put a small amount into the front of her beak, from the side. You can stimulate swallowing by rubbing her neck in a downward motion. Poly vi sol, without iron, would be a good thing to give also. The following vitamin therapy may help:

.5 mls poly vi sol, without iron daily
400 ius of vitamin E twice daily.

Please let us know how things are going!

 

[CharmedChickens]

Hi there. She is 1 1/2 years old. I have 4 and got them all at the same time (@2 days old) and they were all vaccinated at the same time. I have not had any new birds and their coop is enclosed (16x8 feet with their house attached). Her eyes appear normal, no discharge from her nose, she is not egg bound and I cannot find any wounds or injuries. Her vent is clean and does not appear inflammed.
She is still with us. Looks really weak. Still refusing food and water but I am going to try again.
What is Poly vi sol? Where can I get it?

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Is it possible that something scared her really bad. My neighbor has had a couple hens do exactly what you have described, usually right after a fox or coon attack. And it seems like it takes a few days for the shock to work out if it didn't kill them right away. But follow leadwolf's advice with the feeding. Maybe try a large medicine dropper full of the mash and feed her that way.

 

[CharmedChickens]

we did have 4 new dogs that moved in behind us and were really noisy yesterday...Just got her to drink some pedilite (about 1/2 ml) going to get yogurt now. Thank you all. I hope she pulls through this.

 

[Godsgrl]

Polyvisol is liquid vitamins for small children. You could find it at any pharmacy. Be sure and get the kind WITHOUT iron. Good luck.

 

[leadwolf1]

With that information, I would say that the odds of you having a problem with Marek's would be very slim. Just to answer your other question though. The Marek's vaccine is only 90% effective and doesn't stop the bird from getting Marek's, it just stops them from developing the tumors associated with the disease.

I've never had a bird 'scared stiff' but, the phrase has to come from somewhere...

I think I would put her is a darkened, quiet area and allow her time to just chill. Provide her with plenty of tasty morsels to eat and fresh water. Allow her to remain calm and unbothered for at least 24 hours. You can quietly check on her but, don't disturb her. See how she does in that time. Something could have put her into shock and she needs time to recover.

Good luck!