Heat Stress/Heat stroke - How long do symptoms last?

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@Eggcessive, @micstrachan,
I just lost my little red OEGB cockerel. He didn't even show signs of illness until after his first dose of Corid and he went steadily downhill from there. I just walked in from work adn my daughter met me with,"I think we're gonna lose Peanut, if we haven't already." the poor baby died in my arms. He went from decent 5-month bantam weight to nothing in about three days His beautiful red comb turned almost chocolate in the same time frame. When I picked him up, his legs were stretched fully - one forward, one back - in "full run mode." Does this still sound like coccidiocis, or am I dealing with something else, now?
The two D'Uccles who were so sick are doing better. but not great. The make is very talkative. He stands over the pullet and babble-squeaks to her almost constantly. She'll sometimes answer him, but generally just minds her own business. This is my first time running with chickens in "Hospital Mode," so I'm at a loss with what to expect. Does it sound like normal behavior for recuperating chickens?
 
Oh no, I am sorry. It is possible that you are dealing with Mareks disease, but I am not a vet. Can you wrap his body in a plastic garbage bag and refrigerate him (do not freeze.) contact your state vet and get a necropsy performed, and tested for Mareks. Here is a contact link:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
 
Sorry about this happening on your birthday, and losing the two birds so close together. Mareks is an oppurtunistic disease. Any type of stress can bring it on if they have been exposed. I really hope that this isn’t what is going on, but you won’t know until the Mareks test, if indicated, is done. They examine and test the feather shafts and tumor tissue in the body. Here is the best article I know with a ton of info about Mareks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/
 
I've contacted an old friend who is an emergency vet (and deals with avians) and our Ag extension/4H agent to see what I need to do. Peanut is in the fridge, sealed in a freezer bag. I'll send him off to wherever they tell me to. The two in the freezer will go out in tonight's trash. Since I'm not 100% sure what killed them, I'm afraid to bury them for fear they'll be dug up and eaten. My sister is a dairy farmer, and she's always said, "When you have livestock, sometimes you have deadstock," but this is so hard!
 
Oh no! I’m so sorry. And I’m
doubley sorry for missing your tag on the weekend. I agree it is sounding as much like Marek’s as coccidiosis at this point. So sorry about this happening on your birthday. How heartbreaking! Is your vet friend able to give some ideas? Do you have results from the fecal float? The chocolate comb sounds peculiar. It also seems odd to me that it’s hitting so hard all at once, unless it is coccidiosis. Like @Eggcessive already mentioned, it’s also possible coccidiosis caused Marek’s to flare up.

Wondering if it could be some other protozoan like histomoniasis or even botulism poisoning. Thoughts? @rebrascora @casportpony @Wyorp Rock @azygous @dawg53 @coach723 @aart
 
I think the male standing over chattering to the other sick bird is pretty normal. I lost my little d’uccle rooster a couple of years ago, and his little hen mate sure has missed him. He had a little flock of banties, and they all coexisted with the many other large birds in the flock. She and a little OEG are the only tiny ones left.

With the ones that were frozen, I don’t know if you could possibly do your own necropsy to look for tumors if they were thawed. That might be the only thing that would be visible. Frequently, the liver is spotted and there may be tiny tumors on other organs. Sorry that you are dealing with this.
 

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