What is wrong with my chickens?

[GabePryor]

Hey all,

So back in September ago I had a chicken die and had a necropsy done (she was the 2nd chicken to die from the farm I got them from). She was diagnosed with lymphoma. I now have 3 other chickens from the same source who have stopped laying. 2 of them have been having watery green poop for a while, and the other has normal poop but tends be more more lethargic. 2 seem to have decreased appetite. They all have healthy combs. They are all a little over a year old. I have tried de-worming, yogurt, and treating for coccidiosis (no blood in poop though). No change. 1 of the chickens from that source has none of these symptoms, and a few other chickens I got at a different time/different source all seem ok.

I am trying to decide if I need to take the affected chickens to the vet and spend more money. Or assume they probably also have lymphoma and cut my losses. I don't want to spend money to have 3 chickens looked at, and I don't know that a vet would provide treatment for all of them if I only took 1 to be seen.

Thoughts?

 

[nuthatched]

I'm sorry to hear that.
What's their diet? Have you checked for crop issues?

 

[GabePryor]

They eat layer pellets. And I give them raw oats and some chicken scratch. I have not checked for crop issues. What would I look for? Their crops look normal and there's no sour smell coming from them.

 

[azygous]

Most likely, the lymphoma diagnosis is avian leucosis. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/neoplasms/lymphoid-leukosis-in-poultry

Did you get a summary of findings when you had the necropsy done? Read it again and see if it says lymphoma due to avian leucosis. This is an extremely contagious disease, similar to Marek's, that infects whole flocks. Hens will lay eggs, roosters will fertilize the eggs, and the embryo is then inoculated with this virus in the process. These embryos are doomed and chicks hatched with it usually develop tumors within the first year and die.

Other chickens will carry the virus, may become resistant, but then develop tumors in their later years. I know these things because I've experienced them in my flock which has been diagnosed with this virus.

There is no cure. There is no vaccination. Continuing to buy chickens from this farm will result in more dead chickens. But now it's very likely you have a flock with this virus.

 

[nuthatched]

They eat layer pellets. And I give them raw oats and some chicken scratch. I have not checked for crop issues. What would I look for? Their crops look normal and there's no sour smell coming from them.

I'd listen to azygous however, crop issues feel like dough, or like a water ballon.

 

[GabePryor]

Most likely, the lymphoma diagnosis is avian leucosis. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/neoplasms/lymphoid-leukosis-in-poultry

Did you get a summary of findings when you had the necropsy done? Read it again and see if it says lymphoma due to avian leucosis. This is an extremely contagious disease, similar to Marek's, that infects whole flocks. Hens will lay eggs, roosters will fertilize the eggs, and the embryo is then inoculated with this virus in the process. These embryos are doomed and chicks hatched with it usually develop tumors within the first year and die.

Other chickens will carry the virus, may become resistant, but then develop tumors in their later years. I know these things because I've experienced them in my flock which has been diagnosed with this virus.

There is no cure. There is no vaccination. Continuing to buy chickens from this farm will result in more dead chickens. But now it's very likely you have a flock with this virus.

What do you think is the likelihood that my chickens who came from another source have also been infected? Do I need to cull my entire flock?

 

[GabePryor]

Here is what the diagnosis said:
Lymphoma. Differential diagnosis
include proliferative phase of Marek's disease or avian leukosis.

 

[TillyPeeps]

Here is what the diagnosis said:
Lymphoma. Differential diagnosis
include proliferative phase of Marek's disease or avian leukosis.

Both Marek's disease and avian leukosis can cause Lymphoma, and Marek's is more common. Your flock are all carriers now no mater which disease you have, and there is no cure for either disease. If it's Marek's, you could get vaccinated chicks in the future and 90% of them will be safe. If it's avian leukosis, you can only build resistance in your flock or restart your flock.

 

[GabePryor]

Both Marek's disease and avian leukosis can cause Lymphoma, and Marek's is more common. Your flock are all carriers now no mater which disease you have, and there is no cure for either disease. If it's Marek's, you could get vaccinated chicks in the future and 90% of them will be safe. If it's avian leukosis, you can only build resistance in your flock or restart your flock.

Can a vet diagnosis which it is?

 

[azygous]

A vet could do a rudimentory necropsy and may be able to determine which avian virus it is if they see an enlarged liver, which would point to avian leucosis or if they find an inflamed sciatic nerve, which would point to Marek's.

Yes, your whole flock is carrying the virus now. The farm you got it from should not be selling chickens from their flocks, and you also must not rehome or sell chickens or hatching eggs from your flock.

My guess is you have avian leucosis as the age of the afflicted is more consistent with that virus. Marek's usually turns up in much younger chickens around eight weeks old. Leucosis is generally symptomatic around six to eleven months.

You may cull your entire flock and, after waiting a few months for the leucosis virus to disappear from the premises, begin a new flock. But if this is Marek's, that virus lasts a year or often two years in the environment. If it's Marek's, you would be safer buying only Marek's vaxed chicks.