Possible Mareks disease?

[ErinandKennedy]

I have a rooster who we hatched in April. We noticed he was losing weight and very pale. We had mites so assumed he was anemic. We started giving him poultry cell and iron supplements plus iron rich foods. He still had an appetite/full crop but very thin. Never saw mites on him or any of the flock, just the coop. Used electro psp and treated the flock, cleaned the coop completely and have not seen anymore mites. Still super pale, cold feet and very thin but mostly acting normal. Just keeps getting more and more emaciated. No worms, no diarrhea. Normal looking poop.

Came home the other night to him laying in front of the run door, we thought he was dead by the way he was laying but he wasn’t. He was a little woobly on his feet. We took him to the food and water, he ate and drank like normal but still so emaciated. Yesterday we came home to him barely able to stand, wings hunched and zero appetite. I have been syringe feeding him pedilyte, poultry cell, and a little wet cat food. Cannot stand at all, falls over a lot when just laying.

I have read a lot about Mareks and it seems like he has all the symptoms but opposite. Everything I have read has said they are paralyzed and the starve to death. Does this sound like Marek’s? Could it be something else? We have one avian vet in the area and they are closed this week. If he makes it through the weekend, we will be going next week if they can work him in.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

What are you feeding your birds, including treats?

 

[ErinandKennedy]

Welcome To BYC

What are you feeding your birds, including treats?

They eat natures best organic all flock feed. Treats are meal worms, watermelon, sardines, black sunflower seeds, cluck & company scratch grain.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have other roosters or cockerels? Has it been very hot where you are located? Dehydration, being kept from food and water by other chickens, or illness could cause his symptoms. Mareks might also be possible. Hopefully it’s not. Get him drinking some electrolytes, and feed him some wet chicken feed and egg.

 

[ErinandKennedy]

Do you have other roosters or cockerels? Has it been very hot where you are located? Dehydration, being kept from food and water by other chickens, or illness could cause his symptoms. Mareks might also be possible. Hopefully it’s not. Get him drinking some electrolytes, and feed him some wet chicken feed and egg.

We do have another rooster but they get along really well. He is still young so he hasn’t started crowing. We honestly just recently discovered he was a rooster and not a hen. He has been allowed to hang out with the top hens and the other rooster so it’s not that he is being bullied or kept away from food/water. It has been very hot but not unusually hot. My backyard is very shaded

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They eat natures best organic all flock feed. Treats are meal worms, watermelon, sardines, black sunflower seeds, cluck & company scratch grain.

Can you get photos of his poop and of all of him without him being held?

I'd cut out all the treats and focus on him eating the all flock feed. Work on hydration and get some B-Complex into him (1/4 tablet daily).

 

[ErinandKennedy]

Can you get photos of his poop and of all of him without him being held?

I'd cut out all the treats and focus on him eating the all flock feed. Work on hydration and get some B-Complex into him (1/4 tablet daily).

Yes I can get you photos tomorrow. Thank you! We isn’t getting any treats right now since he won’t eat anything at all. Those were what he had previously been eating.

 

[ErinandKennedy]

Update: he sadly didn’t make it through the night

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Update: he sadly didn’t make it through the night

I'm sorry to hear that.