Poorly chicken - vet no idea. Help please.

[StripeyKnickersSpottySocks]

Lulu is my 6month old Maran. She was fine on Sat and on Sunday I found her lieing at the foot of the Eglu cube ladder unable to get up, she was on her side.

I thought it looked like possible Marak's so put her in the broody coop to die. She's still alive this morning, very perky and eating/drinking. Still unable to move. Though slightly better today in that if you stand her up she can stay stood up for a minute before sinking down. If she tries to walk she topples over to the side. She is favouring her right leg

So off to the vet. Vet says no broken legs, both legs are waek and the left one worse. Her left foot also a bit curled round but can be straightened and stay straght for a bit. Its not bumblefoot. She has a lump on her right wing.

Vet has given her an anti-biotic injection and also an anti-inflammatory injection. Any ideas what may be wrong?

I've posted on the PP forum as well but no luck there yet. Thanks.

Our Maran cockerel had something similar a while back and we did discover he had a bad lice infestation. We treated it and he did recover almost completely, although whether the lice infestation was incidental, I don't know.

Worth a go, I have some luse powder so I'll stick some on her. I know the flipping cube has red mite again. Though she's not in it now and I washed them off with the hosepipe yesterday.

Thanks, btw!

They are usually vaccinated against Mareks, but obviously can slip through the net. The typical symptom of Mareks is splayed legs, forward and backward.

My failsafe remedy is beef cat food with mashed up hard boiled egg and poultry spice sprinkled on the top. It gives their immune system a boost and helps them fight off illness.

Hope she recovers.

I would de-louse, de-mite, add some ACV to the water and perhaps give a course of Tylan in case it's mycoplasma (it can affect all the joints, making the hen feel stiff and sore, before eye bubbling/ breathing difficulties occur). Most vets don't give Tylan as a first antibiotic, they seem to prefer baytril, but most experienced poultry keepers advise going straight to Tylan as it's much more effective. Hope she makes a recovery

Can I put louse powder straight onto her? I normally put it in the dust bath but she's too poorly to bath at the min?

Yep Just part her feathers around her neck, under the wings, and around the vent. She might not like it, though....

I've deloused the poorly one, done all the others directly apart from 2 young skittish ones that I can't catch. Powder in the nest box and dust bath. ACV in all drinking water. Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hope you see an improvement, or at least some more definite symptoms so you can treat her.

Well I've bee ndoing lots of googling and I'm getting more convinced its Marek's. The tumour on the wing, limb paraylsis. It all fits. Plus she's POL which is the typical time to get it.

I think I'm going to have to get her put down as even if se revoevrs she will be infectious for life. Just worried about the rest of my chickens now.

Even if she recovers that was meant to be. Sorry, my typing gets worse.

Oh dear Sorry to hear it, Stripey. Is there anything you can give your other girls to hopefully prevent them getting ill?

I don't think vaccinations are available on a small scale, mre if you have 1000s of birds. I could ask but imagine it would be too expensive. I have to think of the others.

sorry to hear this stripey. Isolate her from the other birds, keep offering her food and water.

Where did you get her from? And the others? because usually chooks are vaccinated at 1 day for mareks.

I bought her as a chick at 2 weeks old from Melton rare breed sale. The other 4 chicks wer eall boys. So as I'm going to have to have her put to sleep it was an expensive £35.

Plus now I'm worried she's going to have infected the others. 3 of my others I have hatched out as chicks myself and they're not vaccinated. I don't know about the others, I know where they came from but don't think they're vaccinated.

I've been thinking and remembered that she often sneezes when she drinks. I just use to think she was getting water up her nose and thought it was funny, now I think it may have been the beginning of this.

Ill chicken seems a bit perkier and steadier on feet today. However 3 of my others are sneezing when drinking now. Just how she staretd off.

I don't know whether to cull the lot of them and start again.

I would give them all a dose of Tylan in their water, and give them a week to see how they go. Mine have had various colds/virus' over time, and sneezing doesn't necessarily mean fatal.

Just an update. Turned out it was Marcks. I had chicken put to sleep and a PM done.

Oh no. Sorry to hear that Stripey. How is the rest of the flock?

About 3 or 4 of them are sneezing but otherwise well. I'm putting ACV in the water but if it continues then I'll have to get some Tylan, they don't have discharge or rattly chest.

I've spoken to a specialist vet who says the whole flock will be infeced with Marcks and that they will be infectious for life. He doesn't recommend culling them though as its so common I could get it again. He says they may well not actually become ill with it as many chickens can have the disease and it doesn't affect them. Though it can also lie dormant and then flare up suddenly and they can become ill. He said any further chicks I hatch out or birds I buy in I should get innoculated.