Oh no, I think it's Mareks

[nonsuch]

First of all I would not put a bird down unless it was suffering. If the Vet agrees she is not ready to go then WAIT. If it is or might be Mareks you could try some strong herbal treatments. They may not work, but them again they could help. I currently have a Lav Orpington with suspected Mareks. Per Dr Peter Brown, I am giving her Cucumin potentiated with bioperine and Vitamin C- he recommends 1000 mg X 4 times per day. Administer by pushing the capsule down the throat like a dog or cat. It seems strange, but the caplets go right down. If it is Mareks you have nothing to lose. Give her some time and keep her separate from the other birds. Cucumin is a turmeric derivative, which is a very strong anti-viral.

Regarding putting down a Chicken, I personally would only take to a Vet and have them humanely euthanized. My Vet does this by injection in the leg.

Good luck... As long as she is still bright and eating/drinking I would give her time...some beat the Mareks.

 

[nonsuch]

Sorry, it is spelled "Curcumin".

 

[happima]

I just wanted to give you all an update.

It was a hard day. From the early morning, Oz was not doing well. She was not able to get in a comfortable position and her legs were sticking straight behind her. Whereas, before I was able to help adjust her to get her in a comfortable position, this morning it seemed to cause her pain for me to move her. Also, she stopped eating and was no longer chirping. Once suffering set in, the whole scenario changed for me.

I took her to the vet and they put her down and mailed her body to UC Davis for free analysis. So hopefully, I will find out what was wrong with her. Hopefully (please please please) it isn't something that my other chicks can/will get.

Thanks everyone for your advice and insight. I respect all of your opinions. I personally felt I wanted to give her a chance, especially since she seemed generally to have good spirits and a will to live. Though I realized that chances were slim, I thought it was worth a try, especially since she seemed to be in decent spirits. Today, it was not so and I couldn't bear to see her struggle. I was not able to euthanize her myself and just didn't want that image in my head. So I gave myself the gift of not killing her, not because I thought it was wrong for me to put her down, just because I wasn't up for it. Certainly, she was like a pet to me and it was extremely difficult to give her up. But there was no other good answer today.

My kids are taking it very hard, although I didn't tell them that I put her down. Just hard enough for them to swallow that she isn't here anymore. She was a very sweet bird and we miss her.

 

[heatherkh]

I'm so sorry you and your family had to go through this. You did everything you could and then some. I recommend surviving chick immersion therapy - that's what really helped me!!

 

[Melissa Rose]

I am very new to chickens so I could be mistaken but from what I have been reading about the Marek's vaccine it has a very tiny chance of actually giving the chick that is vaccinated the disease. Kind of like some of the child hood diseases we are vaccinated for. I am so very sorry

Quote:
Strange thing is these chicks were vaccinated against Marek's and supposedly had no exposure. I picked these chicks up myself, went to the home they were raised, and they were raised in hygenic conditions.

My husband is out until Thursday. I'm hoping maybe he could do this. Though he is not big into chicken raising, so I doubt I'll be able to rope him in. I know I should be able to do this myself, but would really like to outsource this task. Will vets do it? I don't want to spread this horrid disease anywhere it doesn't need to be.

 

[happima]

Preliminary results came back positive for Mareks. I've been instructed to close my flock. Take care of three chickens I have until their life end and then not to introduce any new chickens for 2 years after the last if this flock dies.

Heartbroken.

Guess chicken raising and me not meant to be.

 

[Ksane]

Quote:
I feel very bad for you. But it doesn't have to be as bad as you were told. Vaccinate yearly (they do think it helps), vaccinate any new chicks AND give boosters, then raise them away from the adults for 6 months. Not the 'easy' way but nothing is ever easy. You could still have chicks, and you don't have to cull the birds you have.

 

[kevs-chickadees]

Wow so sorry for your loss. 2 years before any more chicks? Really? Thats rough, the vaccine wouldn't change that would it?

 

[heatherkh]

Oh wow, that's so heartbreaking! I'm so very sorry.

 

[misslady]

So sorry to hear.