UPDATE: Chickens can't walk and now four have died.

[Cindy25]

I just bought 10 Partridge Rocks and 8 BLR Wyandottes 7-8 months old. I brought them home and put them in 2 seperate coops away from chickens that I already have, just incase they had something that wasn't showing yet. One hen got to where she couldn't walk about 1 1\\2 ago, and now 3 have died, and one more is showing the same symptoms of not being able to walk and having no balance. The three that died never showed any symtoms, and the first one that can't stand has shown no response to antibiotics. She can't keep her balance and can't stand up and walk around. We thought she had broke a leg or both legs, up high were they join her body, but now we think it is something else. Can anyone Help?? I plan to research it but would like some advice if anyone has it.


I found out that some of my chickens have had Mareks Vaccines and some have not. The first Hen that could not stand seems to feel better, she is moving around a little easier. I am starting to think that there is two diffrent things going on since she has been unable to walk for two weeks now and has shown no other signs of sickness. The ones that died suddenly showed no signs of sickness, we just would find them dead the next day. I bought about 30 chickens from the same person and am keeping them in two seperate locations. At the location where the deaths have occured we have had deaths there before that were sudden and unexplainable, and at the other location I have never had any sudden deaths to speak of and have had no problems with the new ones that are there. Could there be a disease in the ground that is causing these sudden deaths to occur?

Please help!!

 

[Indiana hens]

Necropsy on dead chicken may help determine any treatment to the remainder of the flock.

 

[Judy]

Here is an article about Marek's:

http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/mareks2.pdf

The unvaccinated birds could be getting the disease from the vaccinated ones or from the ground. The vaccine is not effective against all types of Marek's.

The article says there is no treatment for Marek's. However, there are several threads here about using vitamins to help the birds. There is also a holistic treatment:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=135247

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=224231

 

[Cindy25]

Ok so everything that I have read about Mareks disease so far says "Paralysis" of the legs or wings. My two hens that are still alive can move their wings and legs but just seem too weak and off balance to stand up fully. So does that qualify as paralysis with this disease?

 

[miniCOOPer]

I also have one bird out of five displaying the EXACT same kind of symptoms. She kind of flops around and seems off-balance but can still use her legs and wings. It started two days ago when we noticed she seemed to be limping a little - she favored one leg. We figured she had strained it somehow as she showed no signs of injury or swelling so we confined her so she could get some rest. She has been eating and drinking but now both legs appear to be weak.

She is 4-5 months and I've had her for just over a month. None of the other birds are displaying anything like this.

 

[crtrlovr]

Quote:
In my recent sad experience with Marek's virus, YES. None of the chickens I lost to Marek's had real paralysis; it was more of a weakness. They could MOVE their legs; they just couldn't stand or balance on them. Also, mine did NOT display the "one leg forward, one leg back (i.e. "Roadrunner") posture that is reportedly a common symptom. Mine started by sitting back on their hocks and that gradually progressed to having both legs stuck straight out in front of them.

 

[Pathfinders]

Quote:
Generally, yes. Sometimes birds with Marek's appear as if they are drunk, staggering around. It's very sad. It always seems to hit the most beautiful pullet, generally at about 4-5 months old. Even if you vaccinate (as I do) you'll get one now and then that catches it. Really not much you can do (although I'm going now to read through the holistic treatment thread.)

Sorry to hear about your sick birds.

 

[Cindy25]

Should I cull anybirds that have been exposed to it?

 

[obe10]

for me culling is a last resort and i wouldn't do it unless there are suffering

 

[threehorses]

Honestly, I don't think bringing home birds would cause them to die off from Marek's like that. That's not the way marek's works at all.

I'm thinking more of your other instinct - that something else was causing the deaths. I'd like to explore that.

First, we really don't have any information on where they are, what they're eating, etc. Can you possibly answer the questions in the second sticky post of this forum but answer it into here, please? I'm just not convinced of mass sudden die off of Marek's when two birds died suddenly in the same place before.

The more information you give, the better we can try to find the clues that point out your other options. That way if it's something that can be fixed, maybe we can find out what that is and fix it.

I realize you won't be able to tell us much about these new birds. But how long have you had them, how long before the first death? What is their environment (coop/run, pen/shelter, etc) What about bedding (shavings, dirt, combination - and type of bedding - and is it old bedding or new? If dirt or concrete did you do anything to decontaminate after the other losses)?

What feed are you feeding, and did you use the same feed for the dying birds as the existing? Or are they eating two different feeds? did you check the feeds carefully for mildew, etc? Did the new birds have access to puddles, wet feed, any old feed that might have been in from the previous chickens unspotted, etc? Are they in a more closed coop perhaps, and is the ventilation exceptional there?

Did you try changing the feed? Any supplementation?

First thing when I hear of birds like this, I think of two things that can be worked on without hurting the birds, always helping them, that can be started immediately while the illness is being worked out: nutritional deficiencies, and possible exposure (with you or before you got them) to toxins. At this time of the year I also include heat issues and parasites.

People tend to forget (understandably) that these symptoms are the same ones that are shared in any weak and dying bird. Often enough, the symptoms can be reversed with intense nutritional supplementation. If there is an underlying disease, the supplementation supports the healing of the type of symptoms we see (in this case neurological - inability to use limbs). Sometimes the "support treatment" ends up being the cure. (That's always a bonus.)

So first thing I would do with these birds is really sit down with a piece of paper and write stuff down. What happened right before the deaths. What are the similarities in situation between the previous two deaths and these recent ones? Time of year? Anything at all. Sometimes it takes a few sittings to remember things. Then do a thorough investigation of the coop. Look at the bedding, under the bedding, smell it - smell the air in the coop, in the run. Look at the dirt - is it wet? Is it dry? Are there bits of food there? droppings? do they have good air circulation? If you squat down to their level, is it hotter than you expected? What can they get into?

Then I would work on their nutrition. Supplement to heal neurological and possible nutritional issues. Vitamin E for neurological and inflammation (which sometimes presses against nerves causing paralysis). A broad-spectrum vitamin for total healing. Depending on the bird's age and symptoms, vitamin B for defiencies. In this case, I'd supplement all birds with a multi-vitamin like the poultry vitamin/mineral packages for water. For acutely ill birds, I'd use polyvisol baby vitamins 3 drops daily in the beak, and one 400 to 700 IU vitamin E capsule's contents daily into the beak. (Slit the end of the capsule, squeeze.) i'd also give yogurt in their dampened feed to give them good bacteria back, protocol with any ill or stressed bird. The general flock can get that, too.

With these birds, I'd like to rule out a toxin. In the water, in the environment, in their feed, from before you got them. The information you provide will help to do that - or help to show us that you need to cleanse them from an unknown toxin.

We need more information - like droppings color and consistency, clean enough where I could draw a picture is always dearly appreciated. If you pick up these birds, how do they feel? Light? Boney? Fat? Normal? Lumpy? Hard? Check them for parasites; mites can take down birds very quickly, causing anemia (particularly during heat stress) and can cause the same symptoms. Can you please examine them for any signs of mites/lice? They're very hard to see, nearly microscopic. For mites, you have to check random birds at night as mites move at night - lice are on all day long. Mites get off the birds during the day so you won't see them them. Look also at their vents. Are they reddened? healthy? Are the feathers there bare? Do you see evidence of droppings clinging to feathers?

Also be sure all these birds have oyster shell free choice and are eating laying crumbles or pellets as at least 90% of their diet. Egg laying issues can cause "sudden death" that really wasn't sudden, but birds are very very good at masking illness as their lives depend upon it.

If you're still willing to try to work out all the possibilities on this, I'm up for it. I look forward to your reply.