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Vaccinated at a day old but showing signs of Marek's at 6 mo.?

Date sort Score sort
KB

KB

In the Brooder
11 Years
Oct 13, 2008
14
0
22
My hen - hatched 10/15 and vaccinated the same day - has been limping for almost 3 weeks. I had 2 roos that had been hatched with her and when hormones kicked in the boys were enthusiastic and one was a bit aggressive. I thought she sprained a toe(s) on her right foot.

I originally thought that she had been a victim of an overzealous rooster but this morning, after getting noticeably better over the last several days, she came out with a stronger limp but still was out free-ranging the whole day.

This evening I went to head to the coop and the other 5 hens all came running - except her. She tried but layed immediately back down and her right wing, from a distance, looked like it may be broken; it just kinda hung there for a moment then went back into place.

I went to go get her and as I picked her up to carry her to the coop I noticed her right foot, the one she had been lame on, had all the toes curled. Her wing went right back to where it should be but flopped when she tried to walk.

She's eating, drinking, pooping fine. She had been getting up on a low perch all this time but tonight she is nesting in the corner - after eating and drinking.

I would have taken her to the vet sooner but she made improvement every day so I had talked myself into thinking it was a rooster injury. Now I am wondering if it is Marek's?

Tomorrow I head to the health food store for the hypercurium. What is the vet going to do for her?
 
If they were vaccinated at the hatchery, then all they should have been fed non medicated chick starter. If you have been feeding medicated starter, then it has cancelled out the vaccination. Have the Vet do a blood panel on your hen. It could be something entirely different.

I would isolate her if possible until you get her to the vets.
 
Thanks so much Father!

No medicated feed - started on organic chick feed and now on organic layer. And the boys have been rehomed for over 2 weeks.

I'll make an appointment for her tomorrow. I did a search on here and found a thread by "ryan" and it sounded so similar. When I followed a link for Marek's I saw that the vaccine can prevent the tumors but not the virus.

I wonder if that will help her recover - since she did have the vaccine. Other than being lame she appears in no distress.
 
have you done a thorough check of the foot..bottom and in between the toes?
check for any sores, scabs, swelling or heat..or even a splinter.
separate to a warm safe place with soft bedding, and food and water close by so she can rest the leg.

try making up this mix:
these amounts are for 1 day..divide into 3 feeds for the day..give for 5 days.

1 cooked chopped egg yolk
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
3-4 tablespoons water cooked oatmeal
layer feed to make the mix puffy, not soupy or gummy.

also try and get some poultry vitamins
Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins are good since they have Vitamin B complex.., Enfamil brand if possible, no iron..
give 2-3 drops on beak once a day for a week tapering off for another week.
also a tiny dab of vitamin E oil from capsule.

hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
I have been told that vaccines can fail sometimes, even in people and dogs and so on.
Maybe she had the vaccine but it didn't take or she was exposed before immunity began.
I believe the one lady at Ideal even told me that vaccines are not 100%. Most local vets don't know anything about mareks and even if they did there is really no treatment. If you have an avian vet they would know more about what is wrong with her.
I think the medicated food is just for coccidiosis only, not for any viruses. They only tell you not to use medicated feed if you had them vaccinated for coccidiosis. Since you didn't use medicated feed there is no worry about that anyway.
Good luck at the vets. I hope she has something she can recover from.
 
Tootsie has an appointment with the vet this afternoon. She's perky, eating, drinking, and bright-eyed so I hope that is in our favor. Dr. E does all farm animals and if it's something he can't handle he'll send me elsewhere.
 
Quote:
I don't believe this is correct. Marek's is a viral disease there is no reason for the coccidistat in the medicated feed to effect that vaccine. If thet were vaccinated for Cocci, then yes, that would hamper the effect of the vaccine.

Kb,
Unfortuneately with vaccinations there will always be animals that do not generate a sufficient response to the vaccine and are susceptible to the disease.

I hope it is not Marek's. Best of luck with your hen.
 

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