Sick chickens

[jllracer55]

how many do you have acting strange? just the 2?

 

[RodNTN]

how many do you have acting strange? just the 2?

No, just one. "Pumpkin" died yesterday. "Cookie" is still living but is having a hard time walking.

 

[jllracer55]

I just lost #7 for the week :/

 

[jllracer55]

How is cookie doing?

 

[rebrascora]

How old are these birds Rod?
It sounds very much like Marek's to me. Particularly the lameness and yet eating and drinking normally and looking well with bright combs. This I find is quite typical of Marek's in the early stages. If it was toxic poisoning/botulism etc, they would act sick as well as the paralysis. Am I also understanding that one of them had a previous incident of lameness that you put down to a strain, that they recovered from? If so, that was likely their first outbreak of the disease. I have had a few that go lame for a few days....sometimes weeks.... and then come sound for another few weeks before having a second and more debilitating or fatal outbreak.
I would recommend you get a necropsy on Cookie if she doesn't make it. In the meantime, I find a vitamin supplement and probiotic or fermented feed help to support their immune and digestive systems and putting them out in a cage on grass at least for part of the day where they can see the other chickens but not be picked on.

The bleeding legs are interesting but without seeing a photo of them it would be difficult to comment. Sometimes with Marek's they will peck themselves... I don't know if it is irritation/itching or pain or frustration, or it may have been that the other hens were pecking them. Unfortunately the flock will often set upon a bird that is sick. Was the blood definitely from the legs or could it have been wiped there by a bloody beak or comb? The scales on the shanks and feet make them pretty tough to injure, so my thoughts would be that the blood cam from another part of the body but you will have a better idea if that is feasible since you saw it and we didn't.

 

[azygous]

Very nice wrap-up of all the symptoms!

 

[RodNTN]

Cookie died this afternoon. So do you really think it is Mareks? Because if so, I have 15 4 month old chickens that haven't been vaccinated.

 

[RodNTN]

How old are these birds Rod?
It sounds very much like Marek's to me. Particularly the lameness and yet eating and drinking normally and looking well with bright combs. This I find is quite typical of Marek's in the early stages. If it was toxic poisoning/botulism etc, they would act sick as well as the paralysis. Am I also understanding that one of them had a previous incident of lameness that you put down to a strain, that they recovered from? If so, that was likely their first outbreak of the disease. I have had a few that go lame for a few days....sometimes weeks.... and then come sound for another few weeks before having a second and more debilitating or fatal outbreak.
I would recommend you get a necropsy on Cookie if she doesn't make it. In the meantime, I find a vitamin supplement and probiotic or fermented feed help to support their immune and digestive systems and putting them out in a cage on grass at least for part of the day where they can see the other chickens but not be picked on.

The bleeding legs are interesting but without seeing a photo of them it would be difficult to comment. Sometimes with Marek's they will peck themselves... I don't know if it is irritation/itching or pain or frustration, or it may have been that the other hens were pecking them. Unfortunately the flock will often set upon a bird that is sick. Was the blood definitely from the legs or could it have been wiped there by a bloody beak or comb? The scales on the shanks and feet make them pretty tough to injure, so my thoughts would be that the blood cam from another part of the body but you will have a better idea if that is feasible since you saw it and we didn't.

They were both only a year old. No, none of my chickens have had this type of lameness.
The bleeding was actually from her head, so I am thinking she was pecked at?

 

[RodNTN]

None of my older birds (whom were vaccinated against Mareks) are showing any signs or symptoms of illness. But then again Cookie caught this illness so quickly. I am just worried because I have more hens that came from the same feed store

If it is Mareks, how do I vaccinate?

 

[RodNTN]

I just did a bit of research on Rural King, and I am pretty sure they don't vaccinate (I may be wrong, just going by what I read.)