Best Show bird aka Patriarch Rock Bantam sick

[Poka_Doodle]

Yes, but her Crop is full and she eats a lot.

Was that the D'Uccle? Not sure exactly what she had but the cure was time

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I don't know what chicken it was, I just remember you mentioning thin chickens several times.

I would be looking for parasites. Both internal and external. (So, worms, cocci, mites, lice) You cannot see most worms by looking at the poo with the naked eye (you would need a microscope) and mites are hard to detect as you cannot see most mites. You can see lice.

These can cause the bird to become lethargic, lose weight, and death. We have a friend who called once crying because her chicken was slowly dying.....Asked some more questions and figured out it was mites. Most people don't give it much thought but it can be a huge issue. Your birds are very prone to it because you show. Nothing is wrong with you showing so don't take it that way.

Most folks don't realize it is in their flock until they have lost several birds.

How are the other chickens? Are they acting okay? Are they thin too?

Do they have feed available at all times?

 

[Poka_Doodle]

My others are well, they are acting funny but well. They all seem to be normal weight for their size. The first sign that came again was that she was walking funny. We will check her for mites when we get home on Sunday

 

[Goat Whisperer]

What do you mean by the others acting funny? Are they fluffed up and lethargic? The chickens that died- did they look like they could be anemic? Ask your dad what he thinks.

You may have a disease running thru the flock, again its something that show chickens cannot avoid.

 

[HomesteaderWife]

My best wishes to you hun, and I hate that your chicken is going through such a rough time. Please keep us updated.

 

[Southern by choice]

The first sign that came again was that she was walking funny.

If you stare just at ONE FOOT - keep yout eye on that foot only... when she walks are the toes rigid- straight out? Normal a chicken has a gentle bend and up.... when the toe stays straight and the walk is funny that is a symptom associated with MG-
It is not listed as a symptom however.... there are 37 (possibly more) strains of MG... this is found in a very virulent strain.

Now the other side of that is the bird would be showing respiratory.

It would be much more helpful and we all could be more helpful if you could be very specific on symptoms. I notice in your threads several people ask questions that could really be a help and you don't answer them. Not a criticism, I know how easy it is to get distracted.

There are so many Poultry diseases but being able to narrow it down is impossible without good info.
At this point you really should send in 2 birds to your state lab (most will take them live- take in a sick bird and one that is getting sick) have them necropsied for an accurate diagnosis. Most state labs charge $10-20 for up to a certain # of birds.

Your flock is infected with a disease and you need to know what it is. With a few symptoms you have given it could be anything from Fowl Cholera, to Lymphoid Leukosis, Mareks....

I run a large poultry farm so I know how wonderful chickens are and it is hard to see anyone struggling with loss in their flock. I hope you can get to the root of this Poka Doodle. So sad.
Keeping you in my thoughts sweetie!

Your state lab for Avian Diagnostics- Maybe give them a call.
http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/vdl/avian-diagnostics/Pages/default.aspx

 

[Poka_Doodle]

What do you mean by the others acting funny? Are they fluffed up and lethargic? The chickens that died- did they look like they could be anemic? Ask your dad what he thinks.

You may have a disease running thru the flock, again its something that show chickens cannot avoid.

The others are just doing silly normal chicken things. I'm not sure it is a complete flock thing, not to say it isn't. But the birds I have lost showed different signs. Also, my last one I lost was Halloween which wouldn't explain a flock thing. Not sure if the last one had a necropsy, but the one in the summer came up with heat stroke.

My best wishes to you hun, and I hate that your chicken is going through such a rough time. Please keep us updated.

Thanks. It is a little hard to keep updated with the fact I am gone each weekend, but I will do my best.

 

[Poka_Doodle]

And southern, I didn't do a recent necropsy but I have had them done in the past, thing is in order for me to get it done the way I do paying nothing the bird has to be dead. Otherwise I have to go two hours away.

 

[Southern by choice]

And southern, I didn't do a recent necropsy but I have had them done in the past, thing is in order for me to get it done the way I do paying nothing the bird has to be dead. Otherwise I have to go two hours away.

A regular vet not only does not have the testing equipment or tests but are not generally avian specialist. If the bird dies put on ice and drive 2 hours to get it done. We all do this, it is part of owning goats, poultry, sheep etc.... when something like this is going on where you have bizarre sicknesses and deaths occurring. If it were 1 bird then no of course not.

Also, my last one I lost was Halloween which wouldn't explain a flock thing.

It actually is indicative of a flock issue as your symptoms have varied and you have had progression of illness.
Lymphoid Leukosis-Has an incubation period of 4 months,
Mycoplasma Synoviae (MS)- has all symptoms you mention and also has a long incubation... it is triggered randomly more often than not.

Any NPIP tester will tell you that show birds have a very high risk of being infected because judges are going bird to bird... there is no bio-security in poultry shows. Many illnesses can be transferred horizontally by dust and feather dander alone. This is why breeders put the birds on Tylan or another antibiotic for 10-14 days after returning home from a show. The issue is antibiotics generally give relief of certain symptom but DOES NOT eradicate the disease. It is treating the actual secondary infection.

I hope your birds get better.

 

[Poka_Doodle]

Thanks. I could have seen how the disease would be from a show. I just am not understanding the fact that it could be something from show but I haven't showed since the end of July.