UK Member Please Say HI

[Warriorgal]

Oh no. I'm sorry about your silkies I'm not sure about mareks. It's not something I have had to deal with. I think Newcastle disease is similar or is a precursor to mareks. Newcastle disease can be bought in from wild birds especially pigeons @Eggcessive or @Wyorp Rock may be able to give better advice.

Thank you so much for the links I shall check them out soon. Its daunting when we are not sure whats going on.

I'm sorry to hear about your Silkie

The one that is exhibiting symptoms now - are her eyes odd too?
If you can post some photos of her and the eyes that may be helpful.

Sadly, it does sound like she has Marek's, but the only way to know for sure would be to send the body for necropsy if you lose her.

Marek's can be spread by wild birds, in dust/dander, on clothes/shoes, etc.
Here's a very good article about Marek's, you may want to read all of it.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

If she is struggling, you can try placing her in a sling to see if that will keep her more upright. Encourage her to eat/drink. See that she is eating her normal feed for the majority of the time, adding some fresh greens to her diet may be beneficial. See if you can find some poultry vitamins that contain the B's, if not use human B-Complex - 1/4 tablet a day for a week.

Thank you so much for all your help I saw the sling and thouught ohhh. So i put a tea shirt tightly over a cat litter tray and put some straw just underneath to make it conformtable. So far she seens fine (pics to follow) I have some poultry vitamins which I have added to her normal food which I had moistened, and she is eating chopped up grapes no problem. I have a hunch I am only easing things until her time comes, but deep down I pray she will recover.

 

[Warriorgal]

I am having issues with uploading photos from my mobile at the moment, tried 3 x leads and Ihave to work soon, Hopefully I can sort it out later tonight, Will keep you all updated.

 

[CCUK]

I'm sorry to hear about your Silkie

The one that is exhibiting symptoms now - are her eyes odd too?
If you can post some photos of her and the eyes that may be helpful.

Sadly, it does sound like she has Marek's, but the only way to know for sure would be to send the body for necropsy if you lose her.

Marek's can be spread by wild birds, in dust/dander, on clothes/shoes, etc.
Here's a very good article about Marek's, you may want to read all of it.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

If she is struggling, you can try placing her in a sling to see if that will keep her more upright. Encourage her to eat/drink. See that she is eating her normal feed for the majority of the time, adding some fresh greens to her diet may be beneficial. See if you can find some poultry vitamins that contain the B's, if not use human B-Complex - 1/4 tablet a day for a week.

Thankyou

Thank you so much for the links I shall check them out soon. Its daunting when we are not sure whats going on.


Thank you so much for all your help I saw the sling and thouught ohhh. So i put a tea shirt tightly over a cat litter tray and put some straw just underneath to make it conformtable. So far she seens fine (pics to follow) I have some poultry vitamins which I have added to her normal food which I had moistened, and she is eating chopped up grapes no problem. I have a hunch I am only easing things until her time comes, but deep down I pray she will recover.

I hope she will recover too. I know mareks isn't necessarily the end of chickens but they will need extra special care. Hopefully it isn't though.

 

[Warriorgal]

Thankyou

I hope she will recover too. I know mareks isn't necessarily the end of chickens but they will need extra special care. Hopefully it isn't though.

Thank you CCUK and everyone who have helped and pointed me in the right direction. She was still alive this morning so I gave her some of her layers pellets mashed a bit with a bit of vitamin and some water. She has just been eating well whilst sitting on my lap i the garden and I have given her some St Johns Wort and she is eating grapes well too, But she seems to prefer it when I feedher. She is in the wire mesh run with some shading and not in the sun in the support tray. Im hoping she will relax well now that she has eaten some and wake up feeling a lot better. I shall keep you updated. Thanks once again

 

[Warriorgal]

Well she is stable made some improvement breifly. She doesnt move but seems quite content like she is sitting on eggs. I have to still hand feeder and of course she cant walk. I am unsure if she is sufferrig at times. I walk around the garden holding her and I place her where she sits looking at the other chickens. I have to encourage her to eat. I was thinking about showing her the rainbow. My partner reckons its expensive for a vet to do, a freind of mine uses a rifle and I was thinking about whether the bicarb/vinegar method was the calmest. Either way I think i would get distressed about it.

 

[CCUK]

Well she is stable made some improvement breifly. She doesnt move but seems quite content like she is sitting on eggs. I have to still hand feeder and of course she cant walk. I am unsure if she is sufferrig at times. I walk around the garden holding her and I place her where she sits looking at the other chickens. I have to encourage her to eat. I was thinking about showing her the rainbow. My partner reckons its expensive for a vet to do, a freind of mine uses a rifle and I was thinking about whether the bicarb/vinegar method was the calmest. Either way I think i would get distressed about it.

I'm sorry she's not making an improvement. One of my ex batts is also not doing great, she is living in a cage in my living room. She goes out during the day but had lost all weight and struggles to get up steps. If the time comes I believe the best and quickest way is to use a broom handle and pull her neck. It's quick. I feel your pain but sometimes their pain is greater than ours and we have to do what's right by them.

 

[Warriorgal]

Thank you CCUK its hard seeing them get ill. I phoned a vet and its less than £19 to have hear euthenised, which isnt too bad, the problem is the vets I called are very busy. At the moment she is ok just sitting there looking around, i guess a bit like if they were siting on eggs, just looking around. So she is stable but I guess. I have looked up different means of euthenisation etc and tests etc and which is best and its so disheartening and I really dont think I could live with the fact of doing it myself. The vets would be quick and painless and peace of mind for me. I will bide time since she is stable and probably make an appointment at a later stage.

 

[Warriorgal]

I'm sorry she's not making an improvement. One of my ex batts is also not doing great, she is living in a cage in my living room. She goes out during the day but had lost all weight and struggles to get up steps. If the time comes I believe the best and quickest way is to use a broom handle and pull her neck. It's quick. I feel your pain but sometimes their pain is greater than ours and we have to do what's right by them.

I see you are going through very similar issues. We do our best for these little ones that we dearly love and it does hurt us, I guess theres a lot they dont understand which is maybe a good thing. All the best to your little one.

 

[CCUK]

Thank you CCUK its hard seeing them get ill. I phoned a vet and its less than £19 to have hear euthenised, which isnt too bad, the problem is the vets I called are very busy. At the moment she is ok just sitting there looking around, i guess a bit like if they were siting on eggs, just looking around. So she is stable but I guess. I have looked up different means of euthenisation etc and tests etc and which is best and its so disheartening and I really dont think I could live with the fact of doing it myself. The vets would be quick and painless and peace of mind for me. I will bide time since she is stable and probably make an appointment at a later stage.

To me I believe this is the single hardest decision to make for our chickens. I'm weak when it comes to this and have taken them to the vet or had someone else do it. If she's reasonably OK at the moment and you can wait for an appointment then that is what I'd do. One other thing that may be recommended is to have her tested to see what exactly was up with her. If it is mareks you will have to decide what to do. I'm really sorry your facing this.

 

[Warriorgal]

To me I believe this is the single hardest decision to make for our chickens. I'm weak when it comes to this and have taken them to the vet or had someone else do it. If she's reasonably OK at the moment and you can wait for an appointment then that is what I'd do. One other thing that may be recommended is to have her tested to see what exactly was up with her. If it is mareks you will have to decide what to do. I'm really sorry your facing this.

Thank you CCUK I guess this is something we can share and understand the pain as being humans seeing this going on, Its the way things are I guess. I think there is a cost to check them for Mareks, The odd thing is that both silkies had the issue within 48 hours of each other and all the other chickens are perfectly fine. Im thinking now if its something in the garden they ate because it all happened very suddenly. I got her to eat a bit more and cleaned her a bit and im still checking out other vets and times etc.