URGENT Help and advice needed please! Another chicken seems to be going the same way. Lethargic & Fl

[NewbieChickFam]

**UPDATE** 6 days later from initial symptoms. 2 days of 150mg Doxycycline/chook. Chicken 1 is still alive! Yay! Gaining head strength again but legs are still totally floppy. BUT There's another chicken that is going the same way!!! She's just sitting there by herself Gutted! There's no rotting food in the coop nor any old that we can see. Only a couple of old chicken cobs they like to peck at but these seem to be dried out and not wet or rotting... Is it Mareks?? We really need some help and advice fellow BYC's! Please!!


Hey hey, a newbie here... We have found BYC to be so amazing the past few months and such a wealth of knowledge for us!
We have 7 chickens (6 x 3/4 Australorps and 1 x 3/4 Leghorn). We bought them all mid Nov 2016 when they were 2 weeks old. They were hand raised and are very dear to us. We've lost two very early on, both were the runts and died really quickly when they were young which broke our hearts.

Everything has been great and we even had our first eggs 2 days ago! Yay! We were so excited until we also found on that day, our most robust chicken suddenly quite ill.

So we have two questions...

1. Chicken is really sick and can't stand up.

Two days ago, our most robust Australorp suddenly couldn't stand up. She seems to be holding herself up with her wings to move/shuffle. Her legs are off to the side and she's laying on her side. Her legs are also shivering/fine shaking . She's not fluffy but is quite lethargic and just sits there.
Of course we started researching and were bombed with a huge amount of information... We thought there might be a stuck egg but couldn't feel anything.

We did more research and then thought it sounded like Mareks Disease as it sounded like that but when I called the breeder today, she said they're all vaccinated and it couldn't/shouldn't be. She also asked if the legs were floppy opposite each other and I said no so she was pretty confident it wasn't Mareks. The breeder suggested it could be either a virus or Botulism. That botulism gives similar symptoms to Mareks. She said Doxycycline could help so I went and got it and started it tonight. The pharmacist however called the vet to check. She said that apparently, if it is botulism, it should be a penicillin treatment, not doxycycline... Argh... So so confusing!!

I forgot to say... She is eating and drinking when we pop it right next to her. We keep her sheltered and isolated during the day (our coop and run is like the Taj Mahal @17meters long! They're VERY spoilt chickens) but we have been keeping her in the coop warm with the others. So we're now worried if whatever is the matter is contagious


Any thoughts on the diagnosis AND treatment? The poor girl looks worse.

2. I am 7 weeks pregnant and got scratched by this sick chick on my hand and I'm worried, if in fact it is botulism, if it could spread/transfer? I know it's treatable but being pregnant, the antibiotics for it aren't good for pregnancy. Couldn't find much on google. Any thoughts? x

Thank you so much, we really appreciate it and would love your feedback and advice!

 

[BYC910]

**UPDATE** 6 days later from initial symptoms. 2 days of 150mg Doxycycline/chook. Chicken 1 is still alive! Yay! Gaining head strength again but legs are still totally floppy. BUT There's another chicken that is going the same way!!! She's just sitting there by herself Gutted! There's no rotting food in the coop nor any old that we can see. Only a couple of old chicken cobs they like to peck at but these seem to be dried out and not wet or rotting... Is it Mareks?? We really need some help and advice fellow BYC's! Please!!


Hey hey, a newbie here... We have found BYC to be so amazing the past few months and such a wealth of knowledge for us!
We have 7 chickens (6 x 3/4 Australorps and 1 x 3/4 Leghorn). We bought them all mid Nov 2016 when they were 2 weeks old. They were hand raised and are very dear to us. We've lost two very early on, both were the runts and died really quickly when they were young which broke our hearts.

Everything has been great and we even had our first eggs 2 days ago! Yay! We were so excited until we also found on that day, our most robust chicken suddenly quite ill.

So we have two questions...

1. Chicken is really sick and can't stand up.

Two days ago, our most robust Australorp suddenly couldn't stand up. She seems to be holding herself up with her wings to move/shuffle. Her legs are off to the side and she's laying on her side. Her legs are also shivering/fine shaking . She's not fluffy but is quite lethargic and just sits there.
Of course we started researching and were bombed with a huge amount of information... We thought there might be a stuck egg but couldn't feel anything.

We did more research and then thought it sounded like Mareks Disease as it sounded like that but when I called the breeder today, she said they're all vaccinated and it couldn't/shouldn't be. She also asked if the legs were floppy opposite each other and I said no so she was pretty confident it wasn't Mareks. The breeder suggested it could be either a virus or Botulism. That botulism gives similar symptoms to Mareks. She said Doxycycline could help so I went and got it and started it tonight. The pharmacist however called the vet to check. She said that apparently, if it is botulism, it should be a penicillin treatment, not doxycycline... Argh... So so confusing!!

I forgot to say... She is eating and drinking when we pop it right next to her. We keep her sheltered and isolated during the day (our coop and run is like the Taj Mahal @17meters long! They're VERY spoilt chickens) but we have been keeping her in the coop warm with the others. So we're now worried if whatever is the matter is contagious


Any thoughts on the diagnosis AND treatment? The poor girl looks worse.

2. I am 7 weeks pregnant and got scratched by this sick chick on my hand and I'm worried, if in fact it is botulism, if it could spread/transfer? I know it's treatable but being pregnant, the antibiotics for it aren't good for pregnancy. Couldn't find much on google. Any thoughts? x

Thank you so much, we really appreciate it and would love your feedback and advice!

Bless your heart sounds like Merricks disease to me too .I've lost a few to that. But a heavy infestation of worms can produce the same symptoms .Check for visible worms in their droppings. There are others far more knowledgeable in these matters than me . Without a vet to culture it no way I can tell . Isolate the sick chickens quickly . seek help from a vet. But do this for sure if your around any kind of animal that can scratch or bite you . Keep a large bottle of alcohol on hand and hydrogen peroxide. Also one qt. spray bottle with a three parts water to one part bleach mixture . Somewhere you can get to them quick when needed . If the shin is broken as in a scratch flush it with the peroxide first then apply the alcohol . Use the bleach mixture on your hand after handling any sick birds and rinse with clean water . Next spray or soak in the bleach mixture any feeder or water used by sick birds before using them again for healthy birds . As far as botulism If you cleaned your hand good and didn't lick it I don't think you would get it . But you'll know really fast just to be safe you might want to see your doctor if you have more than what you think is normal morning sickness . Good luck with both your baby and your chicks .

 

[Eggcessive]

It's hard to know exactly what the illness is unless the chicken dies and you have a necropsy done professionally by a state vet or poultry lab. Botulism can cause flaccid paralysis of the legs, progressing up the spinal cord to wings, and then to the neck and breathing muscles. It comes from eating a toxin in dead animals or fish that have been underground or underwater and without oxygen. Mareks disease affects younger birds from 5-25 weeks more commonly, but still can affect older ages if they are exposed. Vaccines don't always help, unless the chicks are kept from any exposure to the disease in dander or dust for 2-3 weeks after vaccination. There are other illnesses that cause lameness as well. Injuries, vitamin or mineral deficiency, dehydration, mold poisoning from feed, or lead poisoning are some other conditions that could be causes. Even coccidiosis which in turn causes dehydration can be a cause of lameness. Giving water with vitamins and electrolytes, keeping her close to food and water, and supportive care are helpful. There is no treatment for botulism, by the way--not penicillin or doxycycline. Botulism either kills from paralysis of breathing muscles within 2 days, or the chicken may survive with supportive care. With the age, I still would suspect Mareks, but only time will tell. Hopefully it's not. If you do a search here on BYC for Mareks, there are very good threads to read, including" the great big ginat mareks faq."

 

[Louise Waffles]

If it's toxicoinfectious, the antibiotic may help. Yes, penicillin, not doxyxycline. That is what I was told by my vet when I had a sick roo, and botulism was a possibility...he was put on an antibiotic and lived, bit not sure what it was that got him down. Maybe since you're seeing improvement with one, there's hope? I put my roo in a sling, an he stayed in my kitchen during treatment. It took a while but he recovered.
Can you take one to the vet? If you can, it is a good idea. Get a fecal sample read, maybe rule out cocci...
Keep food and water close. Best of luck, I hope they recover.

 

[NewbieChickFam]

It's hard to know exactly what the illness is unless the chicken dies and you have a necropsy done professionally by a state vet or poultry lab. Botulism can cause flaccid paralysis of the legs, progressing up the spinal cord to wings, and then to the neck and breathing muscles. It comes from eating a toxin in dead animals or fish that have been underground or underwater and without oxygen. Mareks disease affects younger birds from 5-25 weeks more commonly, but still can affect older ages if they are exposed. Vaccines don't always help, unless the chicks are kept from any exposure to the disease in dander or dust for 2-3 weeks after vaccination. There are other illnesses that cause lameness as well. Injuries, vitamin or mineral deficiency, dehydration, mold poisoning from feed, or lead poisoning are some other conditions that could be causes. Even coccidiosis which in turn causes dehydration can be a cause of lameness. Giving water with vitamins and electrolytes, keeping her close to food and water, and supportive care are helpful. There is no treatment for botulism, by the way--not penicillin or doxycycline. Botulism either kills from paralysis of breathing muscles within 2 days, or the chicken may survive with supportive care. With the age, I still would suspect Mareks, but only time will tell. Hopefully it's not. If you do a search here on BYC for Mareks, there are very good threads to read, including" the great big ginat mareks faq."

Thank you so much Eggcessive! We're nursing her separately in our house now. She seemed better yesterday, lifting her head but she's worsened this morning, barely moving. I feel gutted and almost cruel for supporting her to live like this... I found some white poo with a dark green swirl through it on the floor this morning? I'll go have a read of the Mareks thread now - thank you. If it is that, is there anything I can do to prevent it spreading? I'm so worried now as we kept her isolated during the day but popped her in the coop at night (until yesterday)... So for almost a week!!

 

[NewbieChickFam]

If it's toxicoinfectious, the antibiotic may help. Yes, penicillin, not doxyxycline. That is what I was told by my vet when I had a sick roo, and botulism was a possibility...he was put on an antibiotic and lived, bit not sure what it was that got him down. Maybe since you're seeing improvement with one, there's hope? I put my roo in a sling, an he stayed in my kitchen during treatment. It took a while but he recovered.
Can you take one to the vet? If you can, it is a good idea. Get a fecal sample read, maybe rule out cocci...
Keep food and water close. Best of luck, I hope they recover.

Awesome Louise, thank you so much! The vets around me don't treat or know chickens A real issue here The poo is white like yoghurt with a dark green swirl through it. Does that help at all? Yes we brought her inside yesterday to nurse her but she seems to be worse this morning. Feeling gutted and almost cruel that we're keeping her like this but my husband and I just can't bring ourselves to kill her

 

[Louise Waffles]

Even if a vet doesn't treat chickens, many will read fecal samples or euthanize for you if it comes to that. It never is easy to make that decision, but it is the kindest when your chicken just can't be a chicken anymore. I can't bring myself to do it, so we go to the vet. I know it's hard to find one, but maybe widen your search a little, I travel 2 hours to get to mine. It is worth every minute. She is my regular vet, and will often just consult over the phone, and call in prescriptions to my pharmacy. If you plan on keeping chickens, it's really helpful to have that.
I think that when the poo is dark green, they are not getting enough nutrients. Search for tube feeding instructions for chickens. I found them on BYC and they made it very simple.(I was so scared to do it!) If you get baby bird formula made by Kaytee from pet smart or petco, use that. If not, I soaked layer pellets down and strained it through mesh so it wouldn't block up the tube. It was a pain, but got the bird food. You can get tube feeding stuff from your feed store, or use syringes from the pharmacy and some aquarium tubing.
This could be cocci, it could be Marek's. It could be lots of things. Getting a fecal sample is the first thing I do when anything is wrong. You can rule out so much that way. I just do my best to keep them hydrated with plenty of water and fed well until I know for sure. In the morning, call around for a vet that will read one for you. If no worms/cocci, and there's no improvement....
Sorry for the long rambling post, and I really hope for the best for your little chickens.