Sudden loss of ability to stand???????

[bambamsdad]

Last night while doing chicken duty my new additions 2roos/2hens(marans) were locked up for the night per usual only had them a few days so they get their own pen and box as they are only 7wks old and cant be with the others all were up moving around singing and whatnot. This morning i went to work and got a call from the wife saying 1 of the roos wasnt able to walk after returning home to investigate what i thought may be a leg injury it dosent seem to be so both legs seem to be intact hes able to move them both dsnt squabble when i move them or anything like that but dsnt seem to have the ability to stand.His comb and wattles are pale when he tries to stand his head and whole body seem to go lame like hes exhausted as of right now hes sitting inside a box in the house not attemting to get up but chirping/singing as he sits as im at a loss as what to do or what the cause may be was hopeing with all the combined wisdom someone may know whats going on have only been raising chickens a short while and am at a total loss!!! Thanks in advance Pete

 

[Wynette]

Hi, Pete - I don't know what part of the country you're in, but I will say that in the Midwest, I understand Mareks has been extremely prominent this year. It's a disease carried in the wild bird population, and it's spread via dander (feather dust), so it spreads easily. You might want to look into that if you're in the midwest. It presents with lameness as you're describing.

 

[bambamsdad]

Yes in the midwest n. illinois havent heard this good to know birds came from south illinois what do i do now??Have a flock of close to 100 birds whith newlyhatched chicks in the house bird is in basement now do i remove?Obviously need to vaccs chicks unsure of how to go about this as like i said im pretty new at all this thanks for the quick reply will the other birds this one was housed with show signs soon? and how contagiuos is this??Oh and this is the part where i go DAMMIT!!! Thanks Pete

 

[Eggsoteric]

Are they fully feathered? Could be they still need a heat source or at 7 weeks old, I'd suspect cocci over Marek's.

 

[bambamsdad]

Yes fully featherd i just received these birds 10-30-12 after arrival they were housed in my basement for a couple days till i finished their sleeping box which is in akennel with concrete slab never been used till now they were moved outside with a heat lamp as the temp was in the 20s the first night and didnt want to shock them the box is not air tight as to avoid overheating and provide good air flow but prevent freezing as they are young. Everything seemed fine for the last few days first day they didnt venture out but soon after they were exploring just baffles me with such a quick onset hes quarrentined right now hopeing for the best but preparing for the worst just hopeing the 3 others he was housed with will be alright as well as all my others most of my flock was vaccinated as chicks but i have somenew hatchlings in the house that im most cocerned about right now as i am the primary caregiver and travel between my birds quite often so im sure ive carried it around if its mareks all i can try is waiting for signs i guess in case its something else(i hope simple) will keep an eye out for cocci symptoms also try to see if he will eat and drink right now have some vita supplements in the water. Last night when i checked them before lock down they were eating so ill have to see if thats changed. Thanks pete

 

[bambamsdad]

UPDATE started treating for botulism with epsom salt flush no improvement yet but none the worse. If mareks how does it progress? If botulism what other signs should i look for?And how does it progress this was so sudden that i would consider that he may have gotten something rotten as there was some falldebris in the run that i halfa##ed cleaned up may have been something in it but unsure other birds had access and show no signs(yet)and hopeing they dont!! In the health handbook says botulism mimics mareks so thought id try also says very fast to show(matter of hours vs 2wk incubation of mareks) also contacted breeder says theyve not encoutered any issues. Seeing ive only had them about 10 days now this seems strange to me but im relative newbie so could be wrong wouldnt be the first!!