Two hens left- one sick with likely Marek's

[Mayhaps Moss]

Apologies for the lengthy post.

For the past three weeks, one of my two 3 year-old bantams has been sick. She has become lethargic, very skinny, and her comb has shrunk due to dehydration (but she is still drinking water). I took her to the vets a week ago, and she was prescribed some antibiotics that might help her recover. However, I was also warned that it was possibly Marek's disease.
For the past couple of days she has become more unsteady and showed signs of paralysis, however she can still walk fine and will eat and drink. Other than that there has been little change in her symptoms, and her weight has remained consistent. I strongly suspect my sick hen has some form of visceral Marek's.
She is currently housed in a crate indoors with her (healthy) sister, as the two become very distressed when separated. Assuming it is Marek's, the other would have already been exposed to the disease for a while, so I didn't see much point in causing them both further stress and loneliness.

I have had a lot of experience with Marek's before, first in my original (mostly Orpingtons, all unvaccinated) flock as at least two of them died from the disease, showing typical symptoms of paralysis etc. There had been others in the flock who had died suddenly too.
When I moved a couple years ago I started afresh with three crossbreed bantam pullets (also unvaccinated), with all-new housing and equipment to prevent transmission. Within a year however one of the pullets got sick (as far as I can remember, no sign of paralysis), and a week later was dead. I then got two Silkie x Polish pullets, and within a year they both died suddenly, approximately two weeks apart.
My two remaining bantams have been going strong, up until recently.

I am questioning now how long can I expect my sick hen to live for, as I know it is very unlikely she will recover, and I don't want her to suffer for a long time. I'm also wondering whether her sister will start showing symptoms soon too? My biggest fear is that the sick hen will die but the other won't, and how to care for her after that. Of course, I don't want to keep her alone, but as a likely carrier of Marek's introducing new birds would likely result in them also getting sick. I have found a breeder near me who vaccinates their chicks for the disease, but I also know that the vaccine only decreases the likelihood of chickens getting sick from it. Would the risk still be worth it if one or both of my hens live? If they both pass in the next few months, I won't get any more chickens for the time being because of Marek's.
Right now it's just a waiting game.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Have you read these helpful articles? I will tag both authors who will hopefully have specific advice for you.
@microchick
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-i-learned-to-deal-with-mareks-disease.76944/

Actually, I don't think the author of the following article is still active on BYC. The article is very long but also very comprehensive, and is well worth the read for anybody dealing with Mareks Disease in their flock.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/reviews

 

[microchick]

@Mayhaps Moss I am so sorry. I always hate to hear of somebody battling the heartache and heartbreak that is MD.

@Allsfairinloveandbug Thank you for the tag and recommending my article. Much appreciated.

Mayhaps I'm intrigued by the breeder nearby who is vaccinating chicks for MD. I'm wondering if they too have dealt with the disease and this is their solution to further strengthen their resistant survivors.

As for your sick baby. Makes my heart cry as I have a flock of Silver Duck Wing and Black Breasted Red OEGBs that I love to pieces so I can really empathize with the pain you are suffering. I would guess that she is probably actively declining at this point in time. As to how long she will last, that is between her and her Creator. You will know when it is time to cut her loose for her spirit to fly free. She will let you know when it is time. If you can consider having your vet do a necropsy....just to make sure you are dealing with MD. You sound like a veteran of this horrible club though so your instincts are more than likely right and for that I am truly sorry

This breeder that you mentioned. Do they have any mature flock over the age of 3 that you could buy from them as a companion for your surviving bird(s)? The reason I say this is if the are vaccinating for MD and IF they have mature birds that have survived to the age of 3 or 4 then they could potentially be resistant to MD and have survived to maturity/less likely to succumb to an infection.

Your bantam from the way you describe her, is declining the same way my first rooster did before I figured out I had MD. He guzzled food and water but lost weight, his comb and wattles shriveled and turned white. Nothing I tried worked for him. When he went through this he lasted about 1-2 weeks before dying. He was a sweetie and I still miss him. RIP Big Red.

If you have any questions or concerns or just need someone to talk to we are here to help and support one another. You aren't alone out there. More here that have either dealt with Marek's in the past or are currently dealing with it so please don't hesitate. I don't always get notifications on watched threads but I will check in daily. Hang in there.
Becky

 

[Mayhaps Moss]

@Allsfairinloveandbugs and @microchick, thank you for your responses. The articles were very helpful, I feel a bit more sure about what to do next. I'm planning on contacting the breeder later today (when I get the time), and I'll ask about any older birds available, fingers crossed.
My sick bantam has gotten a little more sleepy, but no change other than that. My other hen still seems perfectly healthy.

Waiting resumes, but at least I have a plan.

 

[microchick]

Sorry that your hen is continuing to slowly decline. It doesn't sound as though she is suffering though which is a blessing.

So glad that you have a plan though. Don't get discouraged. It will take a bit of time to get things on an even keel but it will happen.

Here is proof. These are the forth generation of Silver Duck Wing and Black Breasted Red OEGB chicks that I have hatched from my original vaccinated breeding stock of 7 birds. They are 2 and a half weeks old. I'm hoping for pullets but I've learned that whether they are boys or girls, I'm just grateful for healthy RESISTANT chicks. My Original breeding stock is 5 years old now.

I guess I should explain, my husband called them cannibal chicks because they are enjoying a scrambled egg as a bedtime snack.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I guess I should explain, my husband called them cannibal chicks because they are enjoying a scrambled egg as a bedtime snack.

Thank you for explaining the cannibal comment, 'cause I wasn't sure what I was fixin to see.

 

[Mayhaps Moss]

UPDATE:

Two weeks ago, my bantam passed- but not my originally sick one, the other who had previously been much healthier. She declined suddenly and within a couple of days passed away. She suddenly lost a lot of weight, going from about 420 grams to just 280 grams. Her poop was bright green, and once when I picked her up she expelled a large amount of clear liquid from her mouth. After researching it online and looking in some poultry books, all the symptoms pointed to liver damage. Unfortunately, I was not able to have a necropsy done as I could not find a vet near me who would examine a chicken, so I cannot confirm that liver damage was caused by tumors.

After further reading and reflecting, I am now suspect Lymphoid Leukosis (LL) over Marek's Disease in my current flock. Of my now four chickens who have passed over the past couple of years, none of them developed signs of paralysis or eye issues. What I think is most telling is that none of them died before six months old (all of my chickens were approximately 10 weeks old when I bought them). From what I've read, chickens are far more likely to die from Marek's prior to this age, whilst LL is far more likely to affect older birds and seems to affect the liver in particular.
Also, I live in New Zealand, and all information about Marek's I have found written locally maintains that Marek's can ONLY kill birds under one year of age. Obviously these sources could just be outdated, but is it possible that the Marek's virus here hasn't mutated as much as overseas? We have extremely strict biosecurity here to protect native birds, so we have fewer avian diseases (no Newcastle Disease, Avian influenza etc.).

My remaining bantam, the one who was originally sick, has been steadily improving for the past two weeks. At her lowest, she weighed 285 grams and was very weak. This morning she weighed 340 grams, and is active and alert. Her comb has also become more red again, and her poop looks normal.
I am overjoyed to see her condition improving, but this does raise more questions.
Is it possible that she will fully recover? Or is it likely she will eventually succumb to tumors like the other probably did?
Whether it is Lymphoid Leukosis or Marek's I know that she will remain a carrier, so possibly introducing new chickens to keep her company is a problem. The breeder I previously mentioned who vaccinates against Marek's does not sell adult birds, but buying pullets from them is an option. Of course, that would not protect against LL.

Who knows, maybe in a fortnight from now my lone chicken will go downhill again.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

UPDATE:

Two weeks ago, my bantam passed- but not my originally sick one, the other who had previously been much healthier. She declined suddenly and within a couple of days passed away. She suddenly lost a lot of weight, going from about 420 grams to just 280 grams. Her poop was bright green, and once when I picked her up she expelled a large amount of clear liquid from her mouth. After researching it online and looking in some poultry books, all the symptoms pointed to liver damage. Unfortunately, I was not able to have a necropsy done as I could not find a vet near me who would examine a chicken, so I cannot confirm that liver damage was caused by tumors.

After further reading and reflecting, I am now suspect Lymphoid Leukosis (LL) over Marek's Disease in my current flock. Of my now four chickens who have passed over the past couple of years, none of them developed signs of paralysis or eye issues. What I think is most telling is that none of them died before six months old (all of my chickens were approximately 10 weeks old when I bought them). From what I've read, chickens are far more likely to die from Marek's prior to this age, whilst LL is far more likely to affect older birds and seems to affect the liver in particular.
Also, I live in New Zealand, and all information about Marek's I have found written locally maintains that Marek's can ONLY kill birds under one year of age. Obviously these sources could just be outdated, but is it possible that the Marek's virus here hasn't mutated as much as overseas? We have extremely strict biosecurity here to protect native birds, so we have fewer avian diseases (no Newcastle Disease, Avian influenza etc.).

My remaining bantam, the one who was originally sick, has been steadily improving for the past two weeks. At her lowest, she weighed 285 grams and was very weak. This morning she weighed 340 grams, and is active and alert. Her comb has also become more red again, and her poop looks normal.
I am overjoyed to see her condition improving, but this does raise more questions.
Is it possible that she will fully recover? Or is it likely she will eventually succumb to tumors like the other probably did?
Whether it is Lymphoid Leukosis or Marek's I know that she will remain a carrier, so possibly introducing new chickens to keep her company is a problem. The breeder I previously mentioned who vaccinates against Marek's does not sell adult birds, but buying pullets from them is an option. Of course, that would not protect against LL.

Who knows, maybe in a fortnight from now my lone chicken will go downhill again.

Marek’s can definitely affect birds over a year old. I’m sorry about your hen that passed, how is the other hen doing?