Oh no what happened? splayed leg? VIDEO!!!

[STEPHANIELAUREN]

oh gosh i just went over to the new house to check on my chicks and feed them and found her like this just sitting in a corner alone shes been fine up until now!!


1) What type of bird , age and weight.
--- shes a little mix breed chick im not sure who the parents are, about 3 weeks old, idk the weight.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
---well she was off alone in a corner and her legs were out behind her shes really limp and everytime i pick her up she struggles but her legs are limp and when i put her down she face plants into the ground. shes also stretching her neck out and opening and closing her mouth as if gasping for air.

3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
--- none that i can see

4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
--- i have no idea we moved all the chicks over to the other house 2 days ago and she was fine we put them in the garage though and the heat lamp attracted moths so they were going crazy running around trying to catch them, could she have gotten trampled?

5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
---- she hasnt drank anything on her own i gave her some water in an eye dropper and she got that down also her crop is empty so idk if shes eaten any food

6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
---- she hasnt pooped at all in the last 2 hours since i noticed her

7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
--- got her away from the other chicks and brought her to work with me, i taped her legs together with a band aid because they were going 2 different ways and i have her sniggled in a little hampster carry cage so she cant move around alot, also i gave her some polyvisol no iron baby vitamins

8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
--- i have to treat her myself

9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
---- will attatch video

10) Describe the housing/bedding in use
--- when we transfered them to the new house we put them in the galvanised horse water trough with towels on the bottom



she has been absolutely fine up until now and shes one of my favorites if anyone can help me please let me know what else to do




heres the link to the video

 

[M@M@2four]

That doesn't look like splayed leg. Do a search on Marek's. I believe one of the legs become paralyzed....

 

[Wynette]

Oh, goodness...there seems to be many leg issues cropping up with chicks lately!

I had one that acted much like yours did; I took her to my avian vet, and was told she had slipped tendons in BOTH her legs, and there was really nothing that could be done (the vet had done surgeries in the past to correct this by deepening the groove that the tendon rests in at the back of the hock to keep it in place, but she said most times, it just keeps popping back out). So, I euthanized her. This can be caused by the hen that laid the egg being deficient in Magnesium, but is not always the cause.

It could also possibly be Mareks. I'm very sorry!

 

[STEPHANIELAUREN]

oh great just more to add to my horrible week which consists of : our house is probably getting forclosed on, i lost 2 of my 4 1/2 month old chicks outside they just dissapeared, my dad is having heart problems my moms about to have a nervous breakdown, my grandma just passed away yesterday, and now my favorite chick probably has something i wont be able to cure oh and did i mention I have a fulltime job from 9:45 to 8:00 every week day at my parents business aghh sorry i just needed to let it all ou....

but if it is merecks what can i do to try to save her?

 

[M@M@2four]

Quote:
First off, I'm so sorry to hear all that you are going through!

I'm not trying to freak you out and by no means am a professional. I just know one of the symptoms of Mareks is a paralyzed leg. This could be many other things--maybe an injury or something else. I will be praying for you today, honey!!!

 

[STEPHANIELAUREN]

M@M@2four :

Quote:
First off, I'm so sorry to hear all that you are going through!

I'm not trying to freak you out and by no means am a professional. I just know one of the symptoms of Mareks is a paralyzed leg. This could be many other things--maybe an injury or something else. I will be praying for you today, honey!!!

thank you=/ i googled mereks and the syptoms look exactly like whats wrong with her, i didnt know that i should vaccinate them when they hatched

now im worried that all my chicks will get it i would be so heartbroken and the website says that theres no cure now i think im going to go lay down somewhere and cry this is just so much all at one time :'(​

 

[Wynette]

Do some research on Markes - many folks on BYC have dealt with it. You won't lose all your chicks, and although it's not necessary to vaccinate, IMO, it's a good idea. Maybe you should take a quick walk, get some fresh air, and try to de-stress a bit...sounds like you've got a LOT to deal with right now!

 

[STEPHANIELAUREN]

okay thanks i just searched on here and found a bunch of stuff about mereks that sounds just like whats wrong with her i found on one post that said this

The neural type of Marek's is typified by progressive paralysis of the wings, legs and neck.
Loss of body weight, anemia,labored respiration and diarrhea are common symptom. If
lesions are present, they are confined to the nerve trunks and plexes enervating the
paralyzed extremities. Frequently no gross lesions can be observed.


i hope its not mereks =/ i dont see any signs of this in any of the other chicks so fingers crossed they are going to be okay, i love them all so much

ill keep this little one with me for awhile to see if she gets better and if not i guess ill have to do the right thing and put her out of her misery

and thank you guys for all of your concern just knowing that theres people here to listen and that really care just helps =/

 

[Wynette]

Hang in there!

Mareks is very common, and it's found everywhere, unfortunately. But, it could be that something else is going on. Make sure you prop her up where she can eat and drink. I had a sick girl that could not walk, and I propped her between two bricks, right in front of food/water, while she was recovering. BEST of luck to you!

 

[JestersEye]

I am about to hatch our first chicks, and was wondering if any backyard breeders vaccinate for Marek's (or anything else) themselves? If so, where can someone buy the vaccine, in order to vaccinate their own flock? I have given injections before and feel confident that I could do it, if I can locate a supplier for the vaccine.