Sick hen, possibly Marek's...help!

[keaf13]

I have a one and half year old barred rock hen who is showing possible signs of Marek. I have 6 backyard hens in my flock and all were vaccinated as chicks. This past Wednesday night, Agnes (the barred rock) was found sleeping under the coop instead of inside. I went out to check on her and she seemed out of it and disoriented. I put her in the coop where she just stayed on the coop floor. I went out to check on her in the morning and noticed that both eyes were closed and she was still in the coop. I put her in the run and decides to try terramycin ointment on her eyes thinking it might be an eye infection. Later that afternoon she was opening her eyes a bit and was more alert, but I noticed her eyes were cloudy. The last few nights I've had to go out, put her in the coop, and then put her in the run in the mornings. She will eat if I put food in front of her and she will drink if I put a thing of water in front of her. She is aware of sounds (such as food going into their feeder or filling up their water), but she can't seem to find the feeder or water. I have continued putting the terramycin on her, hoping it would help. She keeps her eyes open more often now, but they are still cloudy. She moves around, but she is slow and still seems disoriented. We noticed a massive lice/mite infestation on her last night (the other hens had very few to none so it seems isolated to her since she is sleeping on the ground and not moving overly much). We gave all 6 a permethrin bath today, and cleaned and washed their coop with the permethrin. She hasn't moved much since the bath and just kind of falls over. If she tries to move she falls or loses balance (she is still wet so it could be the weight if the wet feathers). I believe she is blind due to the fact that she is unresponsive to me moving my hands in front of her eyes. Her pupils have not changed shape or anything like that, but they are large and are unresponsive to light. Any thoughts about whether this could be Marek's or something else (and possible treatments if it is something else), would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[SCOUT123]

I have a one and half year old barred rock hen who is showing possible signs of Marek. I have 6 backyard hens in my flock and all were vaccinated as chicks. This past Wednesday night, Agnes (the barred rock) was found sleeping under the coop instead of inside. I went out to check on her and she seemed out of it and disoriented. I put her in the coop where she just stayed on the coop floor. I went out to check on her in the morning and noticed that both eyes were closed and she was still in the coop. I put her in the run and decides to try terramycin ointment on her eyes thinking it might be an eye infection. Later that afternoon she was opening her eyes a bit and was more alert, but I noticed her eyes were cloudy. The last few nights I've had to go out, put her in the coop, and then put her in the run in the mornings. She will eat if I put food in front of her and she will drink if I put a thing of water in front of her. She is aware of sounds (such as food going into their feeder or filling up their water), but she can't seem to find the feeder or water. I have continued putting the terramycin on her, hoping it would help. She keeps her eyes open more often now, but they are still cloudy. She moves around, but she is slow and still seems disoriented. We noticed a massive lice/mite infestation on her last night (the other hens had very few to none so it seems isolated to her since she is sleeping on the ground and not moving overly much). We gave all 6 a permethrin bath today, and cleaned and washed their coop with the permethrin. She hasn't moved much since the bath and just kind of falls over. If she tries to move she falls or loses balance (she is still wet so it could be the weight if the wet feathers). I believe she is blind due to the fact that she is unresponsive to me moving my hands in front of her eyes. Her pupils have not changed shape or anything like that, but they are large and are unresponsive to light. Any thoughts about whether this could be Marek's or something else (and possible treatments if it is something else), would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Is she holding her wings out to her side?

 

[keaf13]

Her wings were normal until the lice baths today. They are now droopy, and she will put one on the ground as she falls one way or the other.

 

[mustang56]

I don't know about mereks disease...
but the lice are killing her....
sucking the blood out of her...
make sure to kill all the lice on her and your other chickens...
we use poultry and garden (probably the same as your using)
those lice should die within minutes of application...
I'd get some nutri drench.... or poly vi sol...without iron.. or even maple syrup..
give it by dropper if you have to....
cook up some eggs....see if she will eat it....
make her comfortable as possible...

Like I said I don't know much about mereks disease... im sorry...

 

[keaf13]

Thanks Mustang56. The lice were dead by the time we finished cleaning everything. Unfortunately, I think the bath may have stressed her too much. She was laying on her side and not moving her left side very well (hoping it's not, but wondering if it is the paralysis that Mareks causes...) She would not drink this evening either. She is in a crate away from the others with Sav-a-chick and food. I will try the egg in the morning if she makes it until then. I don't know if the lice causes the issue or if the lice just took advantage of the issue. It seems weird that she would be the only one with them though.

 

[mustang56]

she could just be exhausted....and have no energy to move.
try using a dropper to give her water....and some kind of vitamins for energy...

sometimes its to late....

I'm so sorry...

I still give it a try...

we prop our birds up with towels...and set them in the center...
fix it like a dough nut ...

 

[SCOUT123]

Her wings were normal until the lice baths today. They are now droopy, and she will put one on the ground as she falls one way or the other.

Is it still like that?
If so, sorry... it's marek's. Now what you want to do is go and get her some St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) from a store that sells health supplements (walmart, target, etc.) and follow this dosing chart:
- 1 tablespoon of DISTILLED water per tablet Hypericum (must be distilled water, tap water is ionized and will deactivate the Hypericum)
- MUST be mixed in a GLASS or PLASTIC bowl (metal with react with the water and herb)
- drip 5-10 drops (bantam) or 10-15 drops (large fowl) on the afflicted bird's tongue. Be sure the bird rubs its beak together because the Hypericum MUST touch the sinuses (located on the roof of the mouth) in order to work
- treat every 12 hours (morning and night) with a fresh batch
- recovery may be as quick as 1 day or as slow as several months

St. John's Wort will be marketed for mood health, but dw; it works. I tried it on my quail last year and she was back up and walking in a few days!
St johns is a homeopathic medicine. Tell us how it turns out

 

[SCOUT123]

Thanks Mustang56. The lice were dead by the time we finished cleaning everything. Unfortunately, I think the bath may have stressed her too much. She was laying on her side and not moving her left side very well (hoping it's not, but wondering if it is the paralysis that Mareks causes...) She would not drink this evening either. She is in a crate away from the others with Sav-a-chick and food. I will try the egg in the morning if she makes it until then. I don't know if the lice causes the issue or if the lice just took advantage of the issue. It seems weird that she would be the only one with them though.

I think it's one of the symptoms of marek's that appears later... try SJW and it'll fix your hen. Even if it isn't marek's, it wont hurt the hen and will actually act as a pain reliever, if she's in pain. I'd try the SJW just to be on the safe side. Good luck!

 

[keaf13]

Thanks for the information on SJW. She was still alive this morning, but only bearly. She is completely unresponsive. I tried giving her some poly-sol and some water with a dropper and she acted like she took it, but she pulled her head away and let it drop at which point in time the little bit of fluids I had gotten in her came out. I don't think she is going to make it unfortunately. I guess I am too late to try to help her. I will get some SJW and see if can get her to take it, but I have my doubts.

A bit more info on the bird might help for those of you who have seen Mareks. Agnes has been a loner the last month or so. I would find her wandering on the opposite side of the yard from the flock on a regular basis (it's a bit less than an acre so it's not that far, really). She also layes shellless eggs and has since she started laying. They have oyster shells in their food and are free range so they should have plenty of calcium. I was wondering if it could just be a birth defects or the like?

If this is Mareks (which I'm not sure it is or isn't, but I am leaning towards that idea that it is), what do I do about new birds for the flock. I have four hens in my basement that I got as chicks in April that I was hoping to add to the flock soon now that they are big enough. Do I go ahead and add them and hope for the best?

Thanks again, for any insight or ideas!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry you are having trouble.

I don't really have much to add, except give you some information.

Unfortunately without a necropsy there is no way to know for sure what you are dealing with, if she doesn't make it, you may want to send her to have tested, that way you know what you are dealing with.

I do recommend that you read the article about Marek's - long but thorough on keeping a flock with Marek's as well.

MAREKS INFO
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

State Labs
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

How to send for necropsy
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/799747/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures

Shell Problems
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems