question about sending birds in for necropsy

[quark]

hi all,

so I had a hen die a couple of days ago from what I suspect to be marek's. this morning I noticed another hen in the flock kind of keeping to herself and not eating with the rest of them. she's not paralyzed, but she does not appear to be as mobile as her normal self. I'd like to know if I indeed am dealing with marek's. unfortunately I have already disposed of my dead hen. my question is, if I want to send one to the state vet for necropsy, does it need to be from a natural death? or can I send a culled bird (if my 2nd hen goes downhill, I will probably cull)?

also, what does one do when they have marek's in the flock? do you just wait and see who makes it and who doesn't?

thanks in advance for any help/suggestion!

 

[SilkieChicken123]

hi all,

so I had a hen die a couple of days ago from what I suspect to be marek's. this morning I noticed another hen in the flock kind of keeping to herself and not eating with the rest of them. she's not paralyzed, but she does not appear to be as mobile as her normal self. I'd like to know if I indeed am dealing with marek's. unfortunately I have already disposed of my dead hen. my question is, if I want to send one to the state vet for necropsy, does it need to be from a natural death? or can I send a culled bird (if my 2nd hen goes downhill, I will probably cull)?

also, what does one do when they have marek's in the flock? do you just wait and see who makes it and who doesn't?

thanks in advance for any help/suggestion!

I've never done a necropsy before, but can you help @casportpony ?

 

[coach723]

Call your state lab and ask. Most will take a culled bird, some will take a live bird and euthanize there. There is also a lab in Texas that will test a small blood sample from a live bird, form is here, you can call or check their website for particulars (website & number are on the form):
https://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf

 

[Crazychickengirl2]

@ castropony

 

[Crazychickengirl2]

@casportpony

 

[casportpony]

does it need to be from a natural death? or can I send a culled bird (if my 2nd hen goes downhill, I will probably cull)?

Sorry for your loss. If you are close enough you can take a live bird to the lab. If not, you can send a euthanized body.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a list of state vets to contact for a necropsy:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Two very good articles to read about Mareks disease:

http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/Documents/vdl-mareks-disease-fact-sheet.pdf

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Meegnmike]

hi all,

so I had a hen die a couple of days ago from what I suspect to be marek's. this morning I noticed another hen in the flock kind of keeping to herself and not eating with the rest of them. she's not paralyzed, but she does not appear to be as mobile as her normal self. I'd like to know if I indeed am dealing with marek's. unfortunately I have already disposed of my dead hen. my question is, if I want to send one to the state vet for necropsy, does it need to be from a natural death? or can I send a culled bird (if my 2nd hen goes downhill, I will probably cull)?

also, what does one do when they have marek's in the flock? do you just wait and see who makes it and who doesn't?

thanks in advance for any help/suggestion!

Yes you can send the culled bird to have a necropsy done. Not sure where you live but I took mine to the WSU Avian Health Lab. It was $40.00 and it’s the students that do it as part of their curriculum.