Two chickens acting funny

[Fordchickenmama11]

U I bought new teen chickens about a week ago and the Brahma roo has had his mouth opened a lot almost looks like he is panting or looks thirsty but he is drinking and has water. I have a polish looking pullet that is acting weak at times and perfectly fine at times she was in the corner just kinda slumped there and I picked her up and she just tried pecking me which she’s usually friendly and then I sat her down and she just laid there with her wings out I also had a new small egg in the coop right after so not sure if she was just trying to laY or not. I also had a pullet I’ve had from the beginning about 2 1/2 yrs and she started limping and hoping around and the next day dead. I have had A few of my first group show no signs and I walk out one day and they would be dead. They were only like 2-4 yrs old makes me very sad.

 

[Eggcessive]

The new teen chickens sound like they may be to hot. If they breathe through an open beak, and hold wings out from their bodies, they might be too warm. Make sure they have plenty of air circulation in there coop. Do you have a thermometer to monitor temps? If we know a few details about your setup where you keep your chickens it can help.

The ones you have lost could have any number of things wrong. Coccidiosis, reproductive problems, injuries, crop impaction or sour crop, and other diseases are common. The pullet who could not walk may have possibly had Mareks disease, but really hard to know without more information. Mareks is a virus and contagious disease, and symptoms can be varied in every chicken. A weak leg or wing, poor immunity to diseases, and many other symptoms can be Mareks.

If a chicken seems weak, look at their droppings, and consider getting it tested by a vet for coccidiosis or worms.

Anytime you lose a chicken, you may contact your state vet or poultry college to get a necropsy. Mareks testing can be performed with a necropsy. Here is an arricle with info on Mareks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[rebrascora]

It sounds to me like you may have Marek's Disease. It can cause all of the symptoms you have described. It often causes neurological symptoms like a numb leg or wing or loss or balance but can also cause secondary infections like respiratory disease, aspergillosis, coccidiosis etc as well as visceral tumours which can kill birds quite suddenly. If you have brought in new adolescent birds they are particularly at risk from it.
Of course, it may be as Eggcessive has suggested and the cockerel is just overheating.... only you will know if that is likely from your climate and set up. Stress tends to trigger Marek's, so moving to a new home or the surge of hormones at adolescence/point of lay are key triggers.

 

[Fordchickenmama11]

The new teen chickens sound like they may be to hot. If they breathe through an open beak, and hold wings out from their bodies, they might be too warm. Make sure they have plenty of air circulation in there coop. Do you have a thermometer to monitor temps? If we know a few details about your setup where you keep your chickens it can help.

The ones you have lost could have any number of things wrong. Coccidiosis, reproductive problems, injuries, crop impaction or sour crop, and other diseases are common. The pullet who could not walk may have possibly had Mareks disease, but really hard to know without more information. Mareks is a virus and contagious disease, and symptoms can be varied in every chicken. A weak leg or wing, poor immunity to diseases, and many other symptoms can be Mareks.

If a chicken seems weak, look at their droppings, and consider getting it tested by a vet for coccidiosis or worms.

Anytime you lose a chicken, you may contact your state vet or poultry college to get a necropsy. Mareks testing can be performed with a necropsy. Here is an arricle with info on Mareks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

The roo opening his mouth doesn’t have any other symptoms.
The pullet that acted weak I saw her do it yesterday, I went out she was in corner slumped over and didn’t even try to run when I picked her up, she was pecking me and acting mad, I sat her down and she laid there with wings out and didn’t move a minute. After that she’s been fine and like I said I found a new egg shortly after but don’t know who it came from, but could of been her.
My coop only has one tin wall and a tin roof, chicken wire on all other sides, it has chicken boxes, working on a new roost or now they get on top of boxes, they have a chicken swing but don’t use it, a small dust bath I’m fixing to redo and we are fixing to make the coop much bigger.
The chicken that was hoping and limping only did it for one day and had no other symptoms and was dead the next. The other chickens I lost in the past had no symptoms at all before they died. I put apple cider vinegar in water on occasion, give treats like oatmeal and fruits and veggies. I feed them cracked corn and laying pellets.

 

[Fordchickenmama11]

It sounds to me like you may have Marek's Disease. It can cause all of the symptoms you have described. It often causes neurological symptoms like a numb leg or wing or loss or balance but can also cause secondary infections like respiratory disease, aspergillosis, coccidiosis etc as well as visceral tumours which can kill birds quite suddenly. If you have brought in new adolescent birds they are particularly at risk from it.
Of course, it may be as Eggcessive has suggested and the cockerel is just overheating.... only you will know if that is likely from your climate and set up. Stress tends to trigger Marek's, so moving to a new home or the surge of hormones at adolescence/point of lay are key triggers.

What can you do for Mareks and there coop is mostly all shade and we have had cool weather for
The most part but some hot days

 

[rebrascora]

There is no recognised treatment for Mark's Disease, despite the fact that it is very common. Commercial poultry houses vaccinate and operate an all in, all out approach, so there are no birds of different generations or from different places mixing. The biggest risk of getting Marek's is by bringing grown birds into your flock from local auctions/sales or breeders. Getting day old chicks direct from a hatchery is the safest in respect of Marek's. Even the NPIP certification for breeders does not cover Marek's because it is so widespread and difficult to test for and the vaccine can give a falsely positive reading from what I have read, so if birds have been vaccinated they may test positive for the disease.
I got it by buying birds from an auction. Even if you quarantine birds you buy, they can still appear healthy for the quarantine period and then the stress of integrating into your flock can trigger it.
Because the disease attacks the neurological system and compromises the immune system a good poultry broad spectrum vitamin supplement may help and perhaps a probiotic or fermented feed to support the digestive tract so that nutrients are easily absorbed by the body. Sunshine and grass are two elements that seem to have made more of a difference than anything else with some of my Marek's birds, but sadly not often available here in the UK. Keeping the birds happy and stress free is really important as stress often triggers a Marek's outbreak. Stress can be integration into a new flock or surge of hormones at point of lay or the overly amorous attentions of a young rampant cockerel or confinement due to bad weather.... some things are clearly beyond our control so all we can do is our best. Some people believe that St John's Wort is beneficial. I've tried it and the chickens did not want to take it, so it became stressful for them and me trying to get it into them which defeats the object since stress makes them worse. I've also tried turmeric and black pepper and again, after a few days they got sick of the taste of it in their food and stopped eating which is counter productive. What I have found is that some birds recover from a Marek's episode pretty suddenly and miraculously and for no apparent reason, some get sick and die equally quickly and some take weeks or months to recover or decline. Those that recover will be carriers for life and will be prone to future episodes which are usually more severe and prolonged but have an excellent quality of life for weeks, months or even years between attacks..... depending on the level of stressors they are exposed to. It is a very complicated disease, not unlike AIDS in humans.... there is no risk to human health from it though.

 

[Fordchickenmama11]

There is no recognised treatment for Mark's Disease, despite the fact that it is very common. Commercial poultry houses vaccinate and operate an all in, all out approach, so there are no birds of different generations or from different places mixing. The biggest risk of getting Marek's is by bringing grown birds into your flock from local auctions/sales or breeders. Getting day old chicks direct from a hatchery is the safest in respect of Marek's. Even the NPIP certification for breeders does not cover Marek's because it is so widespread and difficult to test for and the vaccine can give a falsely positive reading from what I have read, so if birds have been vaccinated they may test positive for the disease.
I got it by buying birds from an auction. Even if you quarantine birds you buy, they can still appear healthy for the quarantine period and then the stress of integrating into your flock can trigger it.
Because the disease attacks the neurological system and compromises the immune system a good poultry broad spectrum vitamin supplement may help and perhaps a probiotic or fermented feed to support the digestive tract so that nutrients are easily absorbed by the body. Sunshine and grass are two elements that seem to have made more of a difference than anything else with some of my Marek's birds, but sadly not often available here in the UK. Keeping the birds happy and stress free is really important as stress often triggers a Marek's outbreak. Stress can be integration into a new flock or surge of hormones at point of lay or the overly amorous attentions of a young rampant cockerel or confinement due to bad weather.... some things are clearly beyond our control so all we can do is our best. Some people believe that St John's Wort is beneficial. I've tried it and the chickens did not want to take it, so it became stressful for them and me trying to get it into them which defeats the object since stress makes them worse. I've also tried turmeric and black pepper and again, after a few days they got sick of the taste of it in their food and stopped eating which is counter productive. What I have found is that some birds recover from a Marek's episode pretty suddenly and miraculously and for no apparent reason, some get sick and die equally quickly and some take weeks or months to recover or decline. Those that recover will be carriers for life and will be prone to future episodes which are usually more severe and prolonged but have an excellent quality of life for weeks, months or even years between attacks..... depending on the level of stressors they are exposed to. It is a very complicated disease, not unlike AIDS in humans.... there is no risk to human health from it though.

Ok thanks so much

 

[Eggcessive]

The only way to know if a sick chicken has Mareks is to have a poultry lab or state vet perform a necropsy and test for Mareks. Just hearing symptoms and making a suggestion of possible Mareks or another disease is not a diagnosis.

It might help to do a little reading about illnesses in chickens. Here is a link about common diseases and symptoms, and there are books in feed stores available:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Fordchickenmama11]

Well I’m thinking of anything is wrong it’s extremely mild. I freak out over the smallest thing and notice everything so he I know it’s nothing major but i wanted to get opinions. My polish looking one she kinda seems like it may be her personality because she lets us catch her and she pecks at us but more in a playful way and then when we sit her down she just hangs out right there until we leave. She flattens her wings out just about every time we sit her down and just stands there but if I watch from window in house she is normal.
My Brahma roo was well taken care of by previous owner and i don’t know if he just keeps his mouth open a lot and that’s normal, I don’t hear any respiratory sounds, he isn’t crowing yet so can’t tell what he sounds like, but he acts fine so maybe he just likes his mouth open a lot?