sick Isa Browns Help please

[Davideau]

Hi guys
I have an Isa brown that has all of a sudden got really lethargic; one eye is closed and is flicking her head.
This is on top of another of my Isa browns with similar symptoms eventually died. Lost loads of weight just ended up sitting on the ground. Both birds used to be really energetic.
I have no idea what could be causing this and want to get to the bottom of it, before I lose more birds.
The only thing I have noticed is that in the water feeder there was some algae in it? Wild birds in the area spreading something?
Any help thanks guys?
Cheers
Dave

 

[chooks4life]

My experience with Isabrowns is that regardless of lifestyle, diet, etc, they all eventually die of a degenerative neurological disease which must be genetic as it is unique to older Isabrowns, and 'older' here means anytime from what should be the prime of their lives onwards, like from 2 years on...

Having said that, it would pay to have a look into Marek's symptoms and see if you think that's what it is.

Personally I'll never bother with Isabrowns again. A few people have posted on this forum recently asking why their Isabrown hens are showing such symptoms and dying... Seems to be endemic to their genetics. The same thing is happening to people nowhere near here, so it's not just one breeder passing on these faulty lines, and the birds are raised entirely differently by different owners but still falling to the same problem after a certain age. Premature use-by date it seems.

If the breeders cull all hens after 2 years when egg production drops, as they usually do, then they'll never know what genes they are passing on with their breeding stock when the disorder only shows symptoms after the standard cull date/age.

Best wishes. Definitely should check if it's Marek's though.