# Marek's or just old age?



## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

This morning I noticed that my five year old silkie hen is lethargic, not eating, and has her eyes shut. She stopped laying last year, so she can't be egg bound. My grandfather has had chickens all his life, and he says that she's old and there's not much I can do for her. From what I've been reading, it sounds like Marek's. I would separate her, but she's just with one rooster who won't trample her, and he's already infected with whatever this is. She isn't coughing or sneezing, so it can't be a URI. What could it be? And what can I do for her? 

Thanks in advance.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

She's close to the end if she's in that position now. I can't answer what it is. Old? I don't know. You don't get your birds from hatcheries so I couldn't call her old. Several of mine lived to be anywhere from 8 to 14 years old. The average being ten. But I did lose some at five for no apparent reason.

I wouldn't worry about it being Mareks.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

Thank you for replying. Okay, what can I do to make her more comfortable? Oh, wow. That's quite a long time. 

That's great. I actually don't know if she was vaccinated. Is that required for show birds?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

No, vaccinations are not required for show birds since most vaccines can make birds carriers of the disease. 

There really isn't much you can do. Have you picked her up and checked her all over? You can offer some wet oatmeal with some sugar or chopped strawberries or blueberries. Something that might entice her to eat a bit. Put a little in a shiny spoon.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

Oh, okay. Gotcha. 

No, she's pretty intolerant of being held, and that roo won't let me in the pen. I will try. I see what I can find that she might like to eat. Should I put some apple cider vinegar in her water? Thanks again!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I have yet to see any scientific evidence that ACV does anything to help in any way. You can use it, I don't think it will hurt anything. Try putting a colorful oatmeal dish in with them. Maybe his interest will prompt her to try it.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

I'm no help! But I'm so sorry to hear!
Prayers that she gets better!


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

robin416 said:


> I have yet to see any scientific evidence that ACV does anything to help in any way. You can use it, I don't think it will hurt anything. Try putting a colorful oatmeal dish in with them. Maybe his interest will prompt her to try it.


Yeah, I don't think it has any medicinal properties, but I think they like it. Will do. I tried feeding them some grub worms, she pecked at it some before Julius ate it. I threw some tomatoes, too, and I think she ate a piece. It's hard to tell. LOL.


Animals45 said:


> I'm no help! But I'm so sorry to hear!
> Prayers that she gets better!


That's okay! Thank you! I appreciate your prayers!


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

SilkieGirl said:


> Yeah, I don't think it has any medicinal properties, but I think they like it. Will do. I tried feeding them some grub worms, she pecked at it some before Julius ate it. I threw some tomatoes, too, and I think she ate a piece. It's hard to tell. LOL.
> 
> That's okay! Thank you! I appreciate your prayers!


You're welcome!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Hmm, we might have to come up with a solution for Mr. Piggy so she has a chance to check things out before he gobbles them up. 

Red color good. I used to buy frozen blueberries and give them to the chickens. I didn't do that often because they are expensive. Watermelon.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

LOL, yeah. He's a greedy thing. 

We're out of frozen blueberries, they never seemed to like them anyway. Or strawberries or watermelon, which is strange because their previous owner said that they love fruit. 

I found a recipe for oatmeal for chickens. I tried to feed it to her from a sliver spoon, but she didn't eat it. Also, I got a better look at her eyes, and they're oozing. And she's holding her beak open a tad.


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## Hania41806 (May 4, 2021)

robin416 said:


> I have yet to see any scientific evidence that ACV does anything to help in any way. You can use it, I don't think it will hurt anything. Try putting a colorful oatmeal dish in with them. Maybe his interest will prompt her to try it.











Anticoccidial effect of apple cider vinegar on broiler chicken: an organic treatment to measure anti-oxidant effect - PubMed


The objective of this study was to investigate the anticoccidial effect of apple cider vinegar added to drinking water with the anticoccidial effect of amprolium to feed broiler chicken. The study has adopted an observational approach to evaluate the anticoccidial effect of apple cider vinegar...




pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov




it does have benefits when it comes to cocci . Not sure if it would help here though.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

That's good to know.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It is. But that's coccidia alone. People are using it for everything under the sun. 

Abby, put your big girl pants on. Get that girl out. Examine her closely. Get a pic of her face. She might benefit from a broad spectrum antibiotic like Baytril.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

I'm dressed for church now. She survived the night, which was surprising. I will get a picture of her eyes as soon as I can.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

Her eye looks a little worse, but she's not lethargic today. Me and my dad give her some water from a syringe, which she drank. Here's some pics of her eye:


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Those are not great pics and don't really show anything. I'd be checking her closely for mites.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

I apologize for that. She isn't losing feathers, but I will.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

They don't necessarily lose feathers when they have mites. If there is a bunch of what looks like dirt in her topknot she has mites and has them bad. It would make her lethargic when there are a ton of them or have been there a while.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

Oh, okay. I'll look her over, thanks.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It will also cause the eyes to look all messed up.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

I didn't know that. I see if I can find some pics of the internet to compare.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

SG, if this is mites the longer you delay the less chance this girl has of recovering. 

When did you become so skittish about handling your birds?


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

I know, I know. I picked her up yesterday, and didn't notice anything else wrong. I'm going to check her for mites now.

I guess when that derned rooster made it his life goal to murder me.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Don't let him intimidate you. Because of his size he can't hurt you. Just shock the heck out of you when he jumps at you. I kept one like that for 8 years. He was a pain in neck but he was so defective I kept him when no one else would. 

Give him a good boot when he does lunge. Heaven knows I did that enough times with the one I had. 

When you pull her out, treat her for mites anyway. And if you put her in a dark space and use a flashlight on her head you just might see movement.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

Yes, ma'am. I don't know if I could do this for 8 years. A chicken breeder I was talking the other day volunteered the information that it could be hormonal. 

But I don't wanna hurt him. I did have to hit him with a stick the other day, which was painful.

What mite treatment do you suggest? I don't have anything on hand right now. I looked in her feathers for mite droppings, and didn't see anything.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

Oh, and here's some better pics of her eye:


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I almost always used ivermectin cattle pour on for mites in the Silkies. 

Do you have any eye drops? Or eye ointment? Or even saline for contact lenses and give her a good wash out of the eyes. And I would trim those feathers that are directly over her eyes. 

Do you have anywhere you can put her so you don't have to deal with bully bird? It would be easier to keep a watch for what it going on with her.


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## Lillith (10 mo ago)

SilkieGirl said:


> Yes, ma'am. I don't know if I could do this for 8 years. A chicken breeder I was talking the other day volunteered the information that it could be hormonal.
> 
> But I don't wanna hurt him. I did have to hit him with a stick the other day, which was painful.
> 
> What mite treatment do you suggest? I don't have anything on hand right now. I looked in her feathers for mite droppings, and didn't see anything.


May I suggest a large laundry basket? Just use it as a shield when you walk in, then pop that thing over the top of the rooster when it comes at you, and you've successfully confined him until you can finish working with the hens. You can even throw it over him from a distance, as they're generally so light it won't do any lasting damage. You may want to sit a rock on top of the basket, though, once you've caught the rooster, so it doesn't escape. It's also a useful method for very flight hens who resist capture...

As for mites, I've luckily not yet had to deal with them yet, but I found this article on identifying and treating mites very helpful when I was (still am!) learning about all the things I need to be prepared for!


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

robin416 said:


> I almost always used ivermectin cattle pour on for mites in the Silkies.
> 
> Do you have any eye drops? Or eye ointment? Or even saline for contact lenses and give her a good wash out of the eyes. And I would trim those feathers that are directly over her eyes.
> 
> Do you have anywhere you can put her so you don't have to deal with bully bird? It would be easier to keep a watch for what it going on with her.


Okay, I'll order it. I found Ivermectin pour on dewormer for cattle on PBS animal health. 250 ml for 25. That it? 

Nope. My sister tried contacts for a for a month or two, I'll see if she has any.

I have a pet carrier, but it's pretty small. Today, I just let her out to look her over and give her some water.


Lillith said:


> May I suggest a large laundry basket? Just use it as a shield when you walk in, then pop that thing over the top of the rooster when it comes at you, and you've successfully confined him until you can finish working with the hens. You can even throw it over him from a distance, as they're generally so light it won't do any lasting damage. You may want to sit a rock on top of the basket, though, once you've caught the rooster, so it doesn't escape. It's also a useful method for very flight hens who resist capture...
> 
> As for mites, I've luckily not yet had to deal with them yet, but I found this article on identifying and treating mites very helpful when I was (still am!) learning about all the things I need to be prepared for!


Thank you for replying! That's a good idea, I'll see if I can find one.

And thank you for the link, I'll check it out.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Love the basket idea, @Lillith. Silkies are bad about getting mites. I had more problems with them than my hard feathered birds. Don't know why but they were more of a problem. 

SG, what I have is Agri-Mectin ivermectin. It doesn't give strength. 1/4 CC per bird.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

Oh, okay. I'll look for that.

(Edit) This work? Agri-Mectin Cattle and Swine Dewormer Injection. It's an injection.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

No, that's injectable. You want pour on.

Your feed store probably carries it.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

Dang. 

I'll look. Thanks.


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