Sick 10wk old pullets?Possible Mareks?

[BeccaSmith]

No they were not in the sun to long, they were not in the sun at all, we moved them from the brooder in my husbands shop (no direct sunlight) to the temp pen in the coop, again no direct sunlight, just the coop was at 80 degrees today....not to hot, but we had the new chicks adapted to say 55 at night and whatever the temps go to during the day in my husbands uninsulated shop, so maybe in the upper 70's. They did seem pretty stressed over the move. The pullet continues to keep her tail tucked but seems fine otherwise, and the roo is pretty wobbly on his feet, can't walk very well do to the wobbliness.

 

[leadwolf1]

I would get some electrolytes and vitamins into them and see if this helps. They may have just been stressed by the move.

 

[BeccaSmith]

Stress....I think it has been stressful for both them and my husband and I! At bed time for the chickens, the rooster decided he was going to freak out over the new additions and not shut up. He scared the chicks so bad that they were all piled up in a corner. Husband found one chick on its back, legs up and dead on the bottom of the pile, he said he did a little mouth to mouth and carried it outside to show me a dead chick and it started moving and peeping and it came back around. They still haven't really settled down even though the lights are off. They still continue to pile on each other. The little roo is in his own container back in my husbands shop. He is up and moving around, but he seems to stand with one foot on top of the other and his little toes twitch. I'm still not convinced his problem is just heat and stress...would it really cause week legs and droopy wings in a chicken? He seems to be holding his wings better, not as droopy. But we just don't want to risk exposing the adult chicks. Such a hard time...I guess it isn't always all fun.

 

[leadwolf1]

If he was in with the other chicks and they are still in the coop with the older ones, they are already being exposed

I think stress can do alot of things to a chicken. Does he look poofed up at all? Could they have coccidiosis? A vitamin deficiency will cause the symptoms you are describing. I have lost 32 chickens in the past 7 months to Marek's. Although I'm not a professional expert, at this point I do consider myself an expert on the symptoms of Marek's. You chick just doesn't fit any of them and trust me, I have seen them all.

Get some vitamins in him and let him rest. He might feel better if you gave him a buddy.

As far as the other chicks, were they used to having a night light? If so, the darkness in the coop plus the strange noises could be causing them to 'freak out'. Can you give them a small night light?

Good luck with your babies...you seem to be having a time of it right now.

 

[BeccaSmith]

If he was in with the other chicks and they are still in the coop with the older ones, they are already being exposed

I think stress can do alot of things to a chicken. Does he look poofed up at all? Could they have coccidiosis? A vitamin deficiency will cause the symptoms you are describing. I have lost 32 chickens in the past 7 months to Marek's. Although I'm not a professional expert, at this point I do consider myself an expert on the symptoms of Marek's. You chick just doesn't fit any of them and trust me, I have seen them all.

Get some vitamins in him and let him rest. He might feel better if you gave him a buddy.

As far as the other chicks, were they used to having a night light? If so, the darkness in the coop plus the strange noises could be causing them to 'freak out'. Can you give them a small night light?

Good luck with your babies...you seem to be having a time of it right now.

Hi leadwolf1! So you are saying that wobbly weak legs, barely able to walk on them, and droopy wings, does not sound like Marek's to you? If so that would make us very happy, but to my husband and I that description sounds like leg and wing paralysis that is caused by Marek's from what I have been reading. If these are not the symptoms, would you mind describing them to me so I can know what to look for in the future?

As far as lighting, the new batch was used to natural daylight in my husbands shop, they just were not in the direct sunlight from the window, and in the coop, there is a window, but no direct sunlight shines through it do to the direction it faces. I think they were freaking out over the older roosters constant crowing when he went in to the coop for bed time.

I'll go check on the little roo here shortly this morning, but late last night he still wasn't really putting any of his weight on his toes and he was stepping on one foot with the other and having a hard time turning around. It doesn't look like his legs are as weak and wobbly but the tote he is in isn't super huge to observe him walking around a bunch.

Edit: Almost forgot to respond to another question, no he does not looked poofed up at all, and how would he contract cocci in the brooder and not exposed to the outdoor world? Also his stools do not show any signs of cocci that I can tell, not that I am a pro, but I see no blood in the stools. However I do have Corid on hand if needed. If it is a vitamin deficiency, what would I do to correct it? Would a vitamin/electrolyte solution in the water be enough and how would I keep it from occurring again?? He unfortunately eats the same feed the girls do. We just finished up chick starter with them and yesterday made the change to pullet developer for the girls, but he hadn't had a chance to eat any of it yet.
Thanks so much for your help!

 

[leadwolf1]

I will try and answer your questions as best I can. I'm sort of on a tight schedule this morning but I don't want you to have to wait.

First, I am going to address the vitamins....for some reason, some chicks seem to need more vitamins than others. So, even though everyone is eating the same thing, one will show symptoms that the others don't. Vitamins/electrolytes in his water will help but it would be better if you got poly vi sol without iron and gave him .25mls per day plus a vitamin E capsul, 200 ius, twice per day. You just snip off the end and squeeze it into his beak. It can't hurt to try this and it just might make a huge difference. Plus, it will tell you if it is something else that is going on. If he was on medicated chick starter, change his diet to nonmedicated....medicated contains a vitamin B blocker to help ward off coccidia...

On to the coccidia question....yes, they can get coccidia in the brooder. All it takes is for one of them to have carried it from the hatchery, feed store, etc. I've had several groups of chicks come directly from the feed store with it. Again, it doesn't hurt to treat him if you even suspect it. You do not have to see any signs of it in the feces...by that time, usually, it is too late to treat. So much damage has been done to the intestinal wall that treatment often isn't enough to save them.

Now, for the toughest question....

With Marek's, they start limping like they have injured a leg. This can last for several days. Finally, the bird can not get up. His legs are useless. Although, contrary to popular belief, they still move, kick and wiggle. They just can't stand. They will try and use wings to balance. It's just so hard to explain. I have not had any that stumbled and stepped on themselves as you describe. I'm not saying it isn't Marek's, I'm just saying that the symptoms don't match up and there are other things to consider first and try and correct. And, they came on so suddenly and severly, it just doesn't match up with Marek's.

Please try the vitamin therapy and if it doesn't make a difference...can take up to 2 weeks to see results. If he gets worse and he dies, try and have a necropsy done so that you will know what you are dealing with. It really is the only way to know for sure. If it is Marek's, all your other birds have already been exposed. For your sake, and the sakes of your birds, I truly hope that it isn't Marek's. It is a heartbreakingly devastating disease

 

[BeccaSmith]

Thank you for your time! I will track down the poly vi sol w/o iron and some vitamin E capsules. I do not use medicated feed for my chicks. Would it be ok to treat for cocci with Corid while giving the poly vi sol?

 

[leadwolf1]

Absolutely!!!

 

[Davlyn]

WOW!!! I am reading thru all the treads & there seems to be many that have sick birds & it might be marecks. wonder whats going on ? 2 yrs ago I lost a couple , but it was an upper resp thing.Had a few new birds from NIP tested flocks. last yr May, I got 10 new chicks from NIP tested flocks. & not trouble. Sept I got 4 almost yr old Amarucanas , NIP tested flock, but theses birds were bought by those peeps from someone else, she told me she had them QT for 30 days. she had them in with others when I bought them, but those are the ones that have died , the 1 that is sick now is 1 of those hens. If I had all healthy chicks & Hens all theses yrs & IF the sept girls were clean, how would this decease get my birds.

 

[seminolewind]

WOW!!! I am reading thru all the treads & there seems to be many that have sick birds & it might be marecks. wonder whats going on ? 2 yrs ago I lost a couple , but it was an upper resp thing.Had a few new birds from NIP tested flocks. last yr May, I got 10 new chicks from NIP tested flocks. & not trouble. Sept I got 4 almost yr old Amarucanas , NIP tested flock, but theses birds were bought by those peeps from someone else, she told me she had them QT for 30 days. she had them in with others when I bought them, but those are the ones that have died , the 1 that is sick now is 1 of those hens. If I had all healthy chicks & Hens all theses yrs & IF the sept girls were clean, how would this decease get my birds.

Hi. It's increasing, and also more people are becoming aware of the various symptoms-not just paralysis.
The other thing is that while hatcheries (food birds) got their Marek's problem under control over the past years, backyarders have been doing the opposite. Hatcheries have been vaccinating, disinfecting between hatches, and not mixing new birds into old flocks, or young into old. Backyarders have not been vaccinating,have been mixing birds, and have not been disinfecting between hatches, because there is no in between.

You can't quarantine for Marek's. You will never know if a chicken carries it until you get a necropsy. It may not get sick during quarantine. NIP doesn't cover Marek's.

Hope that answers some of it.