She's going to die..

[airmom1c05]

I'm wishing every neighborhood had a chicken vet. I'm wishing you had one with you right there right now. These things often occur at inconvenient times like an abcessed tooth on the dentist's day off or a bladder infection at 2 AM Sunday morning. Oh for joyful and happy times to return quickly for everyone suffering tonight. Comfort prayers for you, Storm. Your tears are all the way to Mississippi now and streaming down my own face. I want to help you, but I know this is in the Lord's hands. He knows how much we love our babies. Should be a great comfort, but it's often hard for me to wrap my mind around it when I'm sad. Again, God bless you,

 

[MNKris]

Quote:
Mine where too, maybe it's a reaction to the vaccinations? I hope MMH didn't screw up and charge us and then never gave it to the chicks..

-sophia

Hmmm...I am guessing they are vaccinated. MM is a really good company. To me, this seem like nervous system issues. Our chicks weren't shipped. They were fine for 12 days. Everything was constant, no changes. They are in a great place in a heated barn. It just doesn't add up. I am giving mine honey by a syringe. My Buff Rocks are acting the weirdest. They sleep a lot, act drunk but eat and drink if I balance them at the waterer. One of the 4 has a bobble head. The cochins look like they are toast. The necks are limp but they will swollow honey. The cuckoos vary from too many martinis to near coma. Maybe the vaccines were too much for their nervous system or maybe there is a vitamin deficiency. Sometimes breeder flocks have vitamin problems that result in chicks that become weak very quickly after hatch.

I just wish I knew so I can avoid the problem ever happening again. It really sucks. The funny thing about this group was I was so looking forward to them that I bought all new waterers and feeders. Everything was perfect. They are in a new brooder. Eating the same food as the marans I hatched myself that were all born on the same day. The marans are monsters. I am afraid they may eat me, they are such little piggies.

 

[kstaven]

One thing did come to mind while reading this. I once had a neighbor that vaccinated his own birds. He messed up on the dilutions and OD'd his chicks on the vaccine. Similar symptoms.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Did you post in emergencies?
vaccinations can go wrong... if vaccinated for cocci you should not give med starter... (otherwise please do)
If you are having your chicks vaccinated for Mareks please be aware that they will continue to sporadically shed the virus and this is why they should not be mixed with birds which have nOT been vaccinated (or if you do expect the occasional losses from it)... also this means that if you have vaccinated birds you should always have your chicks vaccinated. Please inform those buying chicks from you (or ask if you buy chicks) if they have been vaccinated or come from a vaccinated flock.

 

[Scrambled Egg]

So sorry......

 

[perfectly_polish]

Another 5 of my chicks are dead as of this morning. 5

I can't believe it. They were fine last night, running around, eating, drinking, acting like normal healthy little chicks, and then there just dead...something just isn't making sense to me here

-Sophia

 

[verthandi]

It would be interesting to find out if there was a mutual vaccine used on the chicks that are having problems.(same manufacturer) Sometimes it is the carrying agent that is used that can cause a reaction.

I had 5 out of 6 horses have reaction problems last year to a type of injection that I have used for years, but the drug company changed the carrying agent in the formula and many horses were having a problem with it.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
Actually Marek's vaccine is recommended for small flocks. At least, that is what I have been told by vets specializing in poultry. The few sources I have found that don't recommend it give the reasoning that it is cost prohibitive because it can only be bought in doses of 1000 or more. They assume that spending $13 for 1000 doses is stupid for 10 chicks because $12.87 worth of it will be thrown away. Yes, a bird can become a carrier for life, but virtually all birds carry Mareks latently in their system. Mareks is worldwide. If your birds have ever free ranged or been exposed to an area that ever had a free range bird in it, it has been exposed. If your bird has ever been anyplace that a wild bird has been, it has probably been exposed. If you have been in an area with wild birds you have probably brought the virus in on your clothes. Last year I had a bird come down with Mareks. A poultry vet informed me that it is everywhere in the environment. Virtually all birds are exposed. The reason it is recommended that day old chicks be vaccinated is because at that point they probably have not been exposed to it. If you never experience Mareks, you are lucky. I personally will never not have a bird vaccinated for it.

Since my Mildred came down with it last year (and lived) I have studied up on it quite a bit. Be wary of internet sights written by people that are not in the Veterinary or science field. There is a lot of bogus information out there. My sources have been vets in poultry departments of universities, Fort Dodge (they make the vaccine), etc. Vaccinating is so cheap, why not have it?

 

[silkiechicken]

Ah, yeah, my information comes from the hatchery websites the last time I went and actually look at them which was a few years ago. If you know the disease is prevalent in your area, or there is a past history of the disease, then yes, by all means, do get that vaccine. Times do change though and if it is now recommended, people can get it. I personally still will go for chicks that are vaccinated as I haven't had history of the disease here and... pretty land locked in the city. If I was near a broiler facility or larger flocks, I would consider it.

 

[MNKris]

Quote:
McMurray recommends the vaccinations and I have actually read several places that you should vaccinate in small flocks because that is where the disease commonly shows up, not in the large poultry barns that have been free of Marek's for so many years due to the birds being vaccinated historically.

I also asked MM about the vaccine they use for Marek's. There are several types available. The one they use is Live Modified. From what I have read and been told, that means the molecular structure has been changed slightly so it will not spread to non-vaccinated, but will prevent the vaccinated bird from developing the more harmful strain.