Possibly Dealing With Marek's...slowly losing flock :(

[Sbowling]

We have 15 chickens right now. We have never had any problems with disease until this past Summer. I bought a dozen chicks from a local breeder in May. Within two days two of the chicks had died from cocci. She replaced them and we treated all the chicks and fora little while they seemed ok. But, the chicks grew really slow and just never seemed to really thrive. They have just been dying off one at a time. THey would be ok (small and sickly) but one day it was like they couldn't stand up or could only stand on one leg. We would do all we could but they would eventually just die. Today we lost our last one. He seemed the healthiest out of all of that batch. But, last night I noticed he didn't get on the roost. This morning...he just stood outside the hen house wobbling around. We did all we could but he died a few hours ago. The rest of our chickens...all at least 10 months old...seem fine.

My question is...is it possible that they contracted it from that breeder? Or would they have shown signs sooner? They were all so sickly. Could it be something to do with the breeder? I had gotten other chicks just a couple months before them and they were all fine and are healthy now.

I feel horrible and I'm wondering if this is somehow our fault and if we need to do something different.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. I would send your chicken off to the state vet for a necropsy today to confirm the cause of death. Sorry for your loss. I would recommend any future chicks come from a hatchery and be vaccinated for Mareks disease, then shielded from any dust or dander from the other chickens for 2-3 weeks until they are fully immune to the disease. Mareks can cause wasting, paralysis of legs, wings, or the neck, and decreased immunity to cocci and other illnesses. Many things can look like Mareks, so a necropsy would be worth the minimal cost. Here is a link for finding your state vet: http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

 

[Sonya9]

Being chronically lethargic with retarded growth their whole lives doesn't sound like Marek's to me. It could trigger Marek's and cause the bird to die but I would suspect there is another underlying problem.

 

[seminolewind]

I would send one for a necropsy. Instructions by Casportpony are linked in my signature. I would also get only vaccinated chicks from now on and they would have to be strictly quarantined for at least 3 weeks or more.

 

[Sbowling]

Thanks for your input! We sent the chicken for a necropsy and they have not gotten certain tests back yet, but, so far this is what we have:


" A reportedly 10 month old Lavender Orpington rooster presented for complete necropsy. The rooster had a prominent keel with scant adipose and was in poor post mortem condition. There was abundant brown foul-smelling fluid in the crop and scant grit in the ventriculus and 10-20 4-5cm round worms. There were large numbers of approximately 1cm round worms in the cecum. The right kidney was twice the size of the left and had multifocal pinpoint white foci throughout. There ureters were white."



Is that amount of worms normal? I have not wormed them because we eat their eggs and I've always worried about that. I've never seen any worms. I'm hoping that it was just this batch of chickens. The lady we got them from said she had no problems, but, I think she had way too many chicks in her operation. I just really have no idea what is going on. We have 15 remaining birds and they all seem healthy.

Thanks again for any help!!

 

[seminolewind]

Okay. I lost a hen last year because I was supposed to worm twice 10 days apart to kill capillaria. She staggered like Marek's because my flock is exposed, that's what I thought. But her necropsy came back with death by worms and cocci and e. coli. So I think you should worm them , best with Valbazen with 2 doses 10 days apart, or Safeguard for goats for 5 days in a row. I eat the eggs anyway. But don't give them away. However you're supposed to throw them out for 2 weeks.

I would also think that, like mine, worms cause damage and damage lets bacteria in to make a chicken sick. Cocci is most likely the first one to attack. Also, c. perfergins (sp) .

I know I've had a few chicks in the past who got coccidiosis, and recovered, but were stunted. Believe it or not, they turned into giant chickens within the next 6 months. Hopefully yours will catch up.

So treat for worms with the doses, and we'll go from there.

 

[seminolewind]

Being chronically lethargic with retarded growth their whole lives doesn't sound like Marek's to me. It could trigger Marek's and cause the bird to die but I would suspect there is another underlying problem.

I agree with Sonya. It really doesn't sound like Marek's.