Unbalanced/head tipping up +vent discharge & death

[Eggcessive]

Thanks I’ll add some B vitamins.
Their feed is 100% dry. We haven’t had any moisture in weeks. In fact our temps have increased a lot lately. It’ll be in the 90s this week.
Could the heat stress have exacerbated something already there?

So, I know vaccination doesn’t 100% prevent Mareks, but isn’t it odd to have two chickens have the vaccine fail on them? Maybe something happened with their batch at the hatchery?
I just really don’t want my other 3 hens to get sick.

One last thing…should I make Goldie a sling so she isn’t putting so much pressure on her lame foot? Or just let her be?

Sorry that you are dealing with illness in the other animals. At 4 years old, I don’t think they had a bad hatch. Mareks symptoms usually show up much earlier in the first year of life, unless they have recently been exposed by a new bird in the flock who is a carrier. So many things can look like Mareks, so it would be good to rule out other things. Getting a necropsy by your state vet is the best way to know what was going on inside them. If that is not possible, I do home necropsies to look at and take pictures of the organs. Post any here for comments.

 

[Sunshade82]

Thank you for hearing my rant. I was feeling very sorry for myself last night.
Today I brought Goldie out for some time in the yard. She is very happy to be on the grass, nibbling at the blades around her. No change otherwise.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she possibly starting to molt? That could explain some of her problems. Glad that she is getting outside today.

 

[Sunshade82]

Is she possibly starting to molt? That could explain some of her problems. Glad that she is getting outside today.

Her feathers look intact. They’re not thinning or breaking at all. And no feathers fall off when I wash her bum.

Not much change today. Except she is grubbing the spinach I’m giving her. It worries me because she gets so much in her mouth and then she has to take a break before she can swallow it. It worries me she’ll choke. I ripped it up into smaller pieces so hopefully she can’t get as much.
She isn’t interested in scrambled eggs or anything else I give her. Just spinach.

Oh and she is biting at her water like she does her food. Idk if she’s getting enough to drink. I may have to start giving her some in a syringe.
Any eating or drinking she does she is clicking her beak together pretty loudly. Makes me wonder if she’s losing some feeling around her mouth/neck.

 

[Sunshade82]

Goldie is still with us. I almost wish she wasn’t. I feel bad she isn’t getting better.
I haven’t posted in a couple days because my cat that had surgery a couple weeks ago ended up having complications so I’ve been trying to keep him alive too.
It seems like Goldie is getting more paralyzed every day. I’m leaning more towards mareks even though they were all vaccinated as chicks.
Does this mean I’m going to lose all my chickens? The other 3 are showing no symptoms.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is there any way that you or a friend could put her down? Or ask a vet to euthanize? I don’t think that you will know if it is Mareks or not without the state vet doing a necropsy when she dies. It is possible that her vaccine was missed at the hatchery, or she may have been exposed in the 2 weeks it takes for the vaccine to cause immunity. Here is a list of state vets that will do a necropsy and testing:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Here is a thread where you will find many designs for homemade chicken slings, and the design is in post 11:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[Sunshade82]

Is there any way that you or a friend could put her down? Or ask a vet to euthanize? I don’t think that you will know if it is Mareks or not without the state vet doing a necropsy when she dies. It is possible that her vaccine was missed at the hatchery, or she may have been exposed in the 2 weeks it takes for the vaccine to cause immunity. Here is a list of state vets that will do a necropsy and testing:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Here is a thread where you will find many designs for homemade chicken slings, and the design is in post 11:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

Thanks I actually just made her a sling this morning.
We don’t have any chicken vets near us but my neighbor is a lot more experienced than I am. I’ll check to see what she’s done with ones that need to be put down. I think we’re about to that point.

 

[Sunshade82]

The last few days there’s been no change in Goldie. She just sits in her sling all day munching on spinach and tuna.
Today I was changing her food and bedding and she started thrashing around a little. Idk if her nerves are wigging out or if she’s regaining some feeling and trying to move.
I found a vet that does chickens. But her moving around made me hesitate calling to get her euthanized.

(Hopefully the video works)
Is this more than likely her nerves acting out on their own? Or could she be regaining some feeling?
The last week she wasn’t moving at all besides eating and using her head to prop herself up.
Btw I put her on her side and she isn’t twitching anymore.

 

[Sunshade82]

We had Goldie euthanized last week. The day after we had to put our cat down too. A whole month of nursing sick animals and they died anyway .
I have 3 hens left and I’ve decided to integrate them with my mom’s flock. How long do I need to wait before I’m sure it wasn’t something contagious? It’s been over 2 weeks since Goldie became paralyzed and Dixie got sick and died. There are no symptoms of illness in the remaining hens.
At this point, is it safe to assume they didn’t catch what the other two had or that it wasn’t contagious?

 

[Lillith37]

At this point, is it safe to assume they didn’t catch what the other two had or that it wasn’t contagious?

Unfortunately the only way to know for sure is to have the vet perform a necropsy to determine cause of death.

Usually I think one month is safest/the general rule for quarantine before integrating flocks.