Possibly Marek’s

[ttravelute]

This morning one of my Rhode Island Reds passed away. I’m very concerned that it was Marek’s. Here are all the symptoms and things I’ve noticed:
• For about a month, she’s been very lethargic and sitting still during the day.
• She chose to lay on the floor at night rather than roosting
• She continued to eat and drink normally
• There seemed to be some weight loss, but nothing drastic
• She had a scab on her toe that I picked open because I assumed it was bumblefoot. It was not bumblefoot and her toe bled a lot that night. After picking the scab open, the tip of her toe turned black and shriveled.
• Yesterday afternoon, she was laying on her side on the ground. She did not do the “hurdlers pose” where one foot was forward and the other one was back.
• Her wings appeared to drop slightly
• Her poop was a little runny, but I did not noticed a strange color or odor
• She would stand when I put her up, but she appeared to have balance issues.
• I noticed slightly labored breathing
• When I found her dead, her neck appeared to be twisted.

Any advice you could give would be a great help! Thank you!

 

[igorsMistress]

I'm so sorry for your loss. The only way to know for sure is to have a necropsy done. You can put the body in the fridge but not the freezer if you want to get that done