Sudden illness

[Silly Indie]

Of course it’s one of the favorites who gets sick… One of the hens, Pesto, started acting off yesterday afternoon. She didn’t want to peck at her scratch but was otherwise acting like her normal self. This afternoon, my sister found her laying on the coops floor. She brought her in and got her set up in a crate. She wouldn’t eat or drink, when my sister tried to syringe some electrolytes into her mouth she was unable to open her beak. It’s like her beak was stuck shut. She’s very weak and weighs next to nothing. She’ll perk up if we talk to her but can’t really stand. When she tries to stand, she wobbles and falls back down. I hate to see her like this.. She’s usually such a character, definitely has one of the strangest and sweetest personalities in the flock. She even raised 4 chicks that she didn’t brood even through she herself was just barely laying eggs. She’s not even a year old yet and she was acting just fine a few days ago. I don’t think she’s going to make it through the night but I’d still like to have a few ideas of what it could be. Her sister died a few months ago very suddenly as well. 12 pm she was fine, 6 pm she was dead. I’m not sure if there’s just a genetic factor to this or not.

Here she is just a month ago being her normal weird self.

 

[nuthatched]

I'm sorry you lost him, he was a handsome boy. It could be genetic or an illness, it's hard to say from a description

 

[Silly Indie]

I'm sorry you lost him, he was a handsome boy. It could be genetic or an illness, it's hard to say from a description

Haven’t lost her yet, she’s resting in a cozy crate in the living room all cozy warm. She’s a very strange looking bird, most people think she’s a rooster.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your chicken. Was she and the chicken who died vaccinated for Mareks disease? I would try to get her drinking some water with vitamins and electrolytes. Make sure that she is eating some moistened chicken feed, plus a little scrambled egg. She does look like she could be a rooster.

 

[Silly Indie]

Sorry about your chicken. Was she and the chicken who died vaccinated for Mareks disease? I would try to get her drinking some water with vitamins and electrolytes. Make sure that she is eating some moistened chicken feed, plus a little scrambled egg. She does look like she could be a rooster.

No, neither she nor her sister were vaccinated for Mareks. I’m beginning to think she may have Mareks with all her seemingly neurological symptoms. We’ve tried to get her to eat and drink but like I said, her beak could not open.

 

[nuthatched]

Haven’t lost her yet, she’s resting in a cozy crate in the living room all cozy warm. She’s a very strange looking bird, most people think she’s a rooster.

he has long and pointy saddle and hackle feathers, and red patches on the wings, both are male specific traits. A hen with hormone issues could grow male looking feathers but not the red patches. It's a cockerel. He could be a chimera, a chicken that has both male and female reproduce organs, I'm not sure if this illness could be connected if that's true, chances are microscopic that that's the issue. Roosters sometimes raise chicks, it's not unheard of.
Anyway, what is your feed? How does the crop feel? Any chance he could have gotten into something that's sealing the beak shut? Like a glue trap?

 

[Eggcessive]

Mareks can be diagnosed with a blood test or better, by having your state vet perform a necropsy. Here is a list of state vet labs to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[Silly Indie]

he has long and pointy saddle and hackle feathers, and red patches on the wings, both are male specific traits. A hen with hormone issues could grow male looking feathers but not the red patches. It's a cockerel. He could be a chimera, a chicken that has both male and female reproduce organs, I'm not sure if this illness could be connected if that's true, chances are microscopic that that's the issue. Roosters sometimes raise chicks, it's not unheard of.
Anyway, what is your feed? How does the crop feel? Any chance he could have gotten into something that's sealing the beak shut? Like a glue trap?

She lays eggs though and she doesn’t crow either. We feed Layena crumbles in the bantam coop which is where Pesto lives. No glue traps in the coops, however after the coop cat passed away in August there has been a mouse problem in the coop.

 

[Silly Indie]

Mareks can be diagnosed with a blood test or better, by having your state vet perform a necropsy. Here is a list of state vet labs to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Good to know I’ll be checking this out.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Even in the "healthy" pic from a month ago her wings look a little droopy. That plus being very skinny suggests your flock has been sick with something like Marek's for awhile. That being said I've never heard of Marek's causing lockjaw. If you do get a necropsy done please let us know what you find out.