Took bantam hen to vet. Turned out not to be a cold but much worse

[Pampered chicken girl]

So recently I made a few posts. The first was saying how I thought Gwen (my mini hen) had seasonal allergies and thought it was odd cause she always gurgled during this time of year. Then I posted here asking if anyone thought it sounded worse. Well Saturday it got bad. I cried worrying if she would make it through the night. I got the money together to take her to the vet Monday. Yesterday we went. I was hoping it was just a bad respiratory infection. It wasn’t. It’s avian luekosis I’m devastated. I’ve been crying night. She is estimated to maven have a few months left to live. She has babies. They are all less than a year old. Apparently it’s contagious but none of my others are showing signs. But the vet believes they may also have it and just aren’t showing symptoms. I’ve been desperately trying to look up anything I can. I don’t want to give up on her or them. They mean everything to me. I managed to bring her back from death twice. She loves me and my mom. I don’t want to lose her this soon. I don’t know what else to do.

I'm so sorry to here about this

 

[Featheryyards]

Let's slow way down here. How did your vet arrive at the diagnosis of avian leucosis? Did they take a blood sample from her and send it off to Texas for a DNA test, which would have required shipping and waiting for the lab to run the test and then for the lab to return the results? If the vet arrived at the diagnosis by just looking at the hen, then it's not a diagnosis.

Usually, the diagnosis of an avian virus is made from taking a dead chicken apart and carefully dissecting and examining each organ. The primary diagnosis of Marek's is arrived at by taking the thigh apart and examining under a microscope the sciatic nerve. The primary diagnosis of leucosis is arrived at by examining the liver. But all the organs tell the story. This is all impossible by just looking at a live chicken.

It does sound like your hen has a chronic respiratory disease, and all the chickens will carry it, but all the chickens will not become symptomatic. Stress and general health determines who will get sick. Your hen has every chance of recovering from this with the proper medication. What has your vet prescribed? What med is she being given?

(For reference this is the only avian vet around me and I’ve brought almost half my birds to them at this point in time) they did similar to what you said. Originally it started with an exam and he listened to her lungs and said yeah it sounds like a really bad lower respiratory infection and they said they needed to do a blood sample to see rule out other options. When they did that the doctor himself called me back a few hours later and told me that “under close examination of her blood cell count. Her white blood cells are literally doubled in amount, abnormally shaped, and abnormally colored.” He then told us that she has avian leukosis and kinda explained what it is to us. At this point I was crying in the car and trying to listen. But he did say something about sending the sample off to Georgia for further testing but said “it is $200 to do so and usually by then the bird has already passed on so I don’t know if you would like to do that”. He told us that he put her on a steroid to slow the progression of it, and give her some relief from the constant gurgling and wheezing and such. But he said it won’t cure it and she has anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months left. Is it possible he lied? I did my best to relay all the info they told me. I am going to have to get up and get her bottle of medicine in a bit and reply with what it exactly is

 

[RoyalChick]

(For reference this is the only avian vet around me and I’ve brought almost half my birds to them at this point in time) they did similar to what you said. Originally it started with an exam and he listened to her lungs and said yeah it sounds like a really bad lower respiratory infection and they said they needed to do a blood sample to see rule out other options. When they did that the doctor himself called me back a few hours later and told me that “under close examination of her blood cell count. Her white blood cells are literally doubled in amount, abnormally shaped, and abnormally colored.” He then told us that she has avian leukosis and kinda explained what it is to us. At this point I was crying in the car and trying to listen. But he did say something about sending the sample off to Georgia for further testing but said “it is $200 to do so and usually by then the bird has already passed on so I don’t know if you would like to do that”. He told us that he put her on a steroid to slow the progression of it, and give her some relief from the constant gurgling and wheezing and such. But he said it won’t cure it and she has anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months left. Is it possible he lied? I did my best to relay all the info they told me. I am going to have to get up and get her bottle of medicine in a bit and reply with what it exactly is

I am so sorry this is happening. I know how stressful it is.
You can get a lab in Texas to do a PCR test on a swab (just like a Covid test).
It costs $20 a test - you should test for more than avian leukosis and they can do that on one swab.
You do have to buy the swabs - another $20 for 10 I think - but then you have them available if you need them in future.
The lab I have used is linked below.

https://www.vetdna.com/

I have been very impressed by their customer service who are knowledgeable about chickens and can advise you on what tests to do based on your chicken’s symptoms.

Now of course there is not much you can do about these viral respiratory diseases apart from supportive care, so you might not bother to do the swab. But if it matters to you to know what is going on I would go this route.

 

[azygous]

No, your vet is not lying to you, but you may have misunderstood that they were giving you a "best guess" by interpreting the blood count. But such a blood test is inconclusive as to a specific diagnosis. The vet did say that a further test would clarify their tentative diagnosis.

The blood is sent to a lab and they look at that sample for DNA from a certain virus. Each and every virus has their own DNA just as each human does. We identify a particular human whom we do not know their name by looking at their DNA. The DNA tells us who they are. Same with a virus.

A necropsy is the very best way to identify a virus because the lab can take the chicken apart and look at every organ for the specific signs the virus has left in them. That is probably the best way to find out if your flock carries the leucosis virus or not. If this hen dies, refrigerate her body at once to slow down the degradation of the blood and organs. Then you send or take her to a lab for the necropsy. That would be getting the most from the money you would be spending on tests to find out what this hen has that's responsible for making her sick and if it has any implications for the health of your other chickens.

 

[azygous]

In addition to what I said above, avian leucosis does not directly cause respiratory symptoms. It does affect the immune system that normally would fight off respiratory bacteria, so a chicken can become chronically susceptible to bacteria of all kinds.

Normally, a chicken who is becoming symptomatic of the leucosis virus will go lame, usually one leg will stop working. It presents in a slightly different way than Marek's lameness which is the "splits" where one leg is thrust out in front and the other leg stuck out behind. Lameness in leucosis often is sitting on the hocks with both legs thrust out in front. It most often is manifested in health issues that don't resolve with medical care such as your hen right now.

 

[Fwoof]

So recently I made a few posts. The first was saying how I thought Gwen (my mini hen) had seasonal allergies and thought it was odd cause she always gurgled during this time of year. Then I posted here asking if anyone thought it sounded worse. Well Saturday it got bad. I cried worrying if she would make it through the night. I got the money together to take her to the vet Monday. Yesterday we went. I was hoping it was just a bad respiratory infection. It wasn’t. It’s avian luekosis I’m devastated. I’ve been crying night. She is estimated to maven have a few months left to live. She has babies. They are all less than a year old. Apparently it’s contagious but none of my others are showing signs. But the vet believes they may also have it and just aren’t showing symptoms. I’ve been desperately trying to look up anything I can. I don’t want to give up on her or them. They mean everything to me. I managed to bring her back from death twice. She loves me and my mom. I don’t want to lose her this soon. I don’t know what else to do.

I'm so sorry about your little Gwen. I don't know what to do either, and I really wish I did. But tagging as many educators as I can is the best I can do.

@TwoCrows @Tony K T @Stellar @speckledhen @seminolewind @ronott1 @Ridgerunner @RAREROO @Miss Lydia @Bo Garrett

I hope with all my heart that your hen will be okay.

 

[Featheryyards]

I am so sorry this is happening. I know how stressful it is.
You can get a lab in Texas to do a PCR test on a swab (just like a Covid test).
It costs $20 a test - you should test for more than avian leukosis and they can do that on one swab.
You do have to buy the swabs - another $20 for 10 I think - but then you have them available if you need them in future.
The lab I have used is linked below.

https://www.vetdna.com/

I have been very impressed by their customer service who are knowledgeable about chickens and can advise you on what tests to do based on your chicken’s symptoms.

Now of course there is not much you can do about these viral respiratory diseases apart from supportive care, so you might not bother to do the swab. But if it matters to you to know what is going on I would go this route.

I will absolutely look into that. Thank you so much. It would definitely help at least let me know if any of my others may have it.

 

[Featheryyards]

In addition to what I said above, avian leucosis does not directly cause respiratory symptoms. It does affect the immune system that normally would fight off respiratory bacteria, so a chicken can become chronically susceptible to bacteria of all kinds.

Normally, a chicken who is becoming symptomatic of the leucosis virus will go lame, usually one leg will stop working. It presents in a slightly different way than Marek's lameness which is the "splits" where one leg is thrust out in front and the other leg stuck out behind. Lameness in leucosis often is sitting on the hocks with both legs thrust out in front. It most often is manifested in health issues that don't resolve with medical care such as your hen right now.

Ok that’s good to know. You said earlier that you think she has a fighting chance tho correct? Also I found the name of the medicine it’s prednisolone.

 

[speckledhen]

I wish I had better news, but there is no treatment and no cure for this virus, if that is what it is. Eradication of avian leukosis viruses from breeding flocks is the most effective control method, says a vet manual, which means euthanasia of all infected birds. This is a reality of chicken disease. Most of those leave them carriers and able to spread even when not symptomatic. Infectious Coryza and Mycoplasmosis are two very common ones. Think of herpes and HIV and that is similar in nature to what these are like. They stay in the bird. Chickens do not get colds, just for your own knowledge. If you have a hen that is gurgling, you have a serious issue. I have never had contagious respiratory illness here, but have encountered other non-contagious issues, though they were extremely rare in 17 years (gosh, almost 18) of keeping chickens. All someone can do is not purchase started birds from anyone, especially flea markets/auctions and practice good biosecurity, not allow wild birds to set up housekeeping in your barn/coops. But stuff happens because we cannot see germs. I'm so sorry about Gwen. At least your vet seems to know more than most do about chickens.

 

[azygous]

I'm in total agreement with @speckledhen. You are fortunate to have found such a knowledgeable vet. Trust them. Do follow up on this with them. It's critically important to know if your flock carries an avian virus and which one it it as it has implications for your flock going forward from here.

But it is not the end of the world. Depending on what virus is an underlying issue here, your flock may be able to lead normal healthy lives with few ever becoming symptomatic. My flock has carried the leucosis virus for the entire fifteen or sixteen years I've had chickens. Some have become symptomatic and died, but most have lived full life spans, the oldest chicken dying at just short of fourteen years of age.

Culling your entire flock is not necessary, though one option available. Good flock management to maximize health and strong immune systems is another option. I've chosen the latter. I have a healthy flock in spite of the virus they carry.