Chicken can't use wing (very unbalanced, stiff)

Okay! Take a deep breath.

The photo and the symptoms you are describing do sound like Marek's, but it CAN be other things. The fact that she's been exposed to other birds, especially at a fair, is obviously a big disease vector, since Marek's travels on chicken dander-- which is everywhere at a show/fair. The best thing to do is to keep biosecurity at this point in case it is Marek's, but explore other possibilities.

The one good thing is that she's been like this for two weeks you say? With the leg paralysis? That suggests it might not be Marek's, because usually once they develop paralysis they have tumors and (sadly) they don't last long after that. It tends to be an aggressive lymphoma.

What is her diet like? Sometimes vitamin deficiencies can manifest as paralysis or weak limbs. It may be worth exploring Vitamin E (most importantly considering her symptoms) and Vitamin B complex (that contains B12) vitamin supplements. Selenium when used in conjunction is generally thought to be beneficial for uptake/absorption. Here's some reading: http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._poultry/vitamin_deficiencies_in_poultry.html
This page describes the symptoms you have mentioned, and has some dosing information at the end for Vitamin E... http://www.poultrynews.com/New/Diseases/Merks/207020.htm
More dosage: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/380235/vitamin-e-dosage#post_4600002

As vitamin E is fat soluble, please be sure not to overdose as they can end up causing other problems if they build up too much in the hens' body.

How old is she?

CochinBrahmaLover said:

Oh my god! We've NEVER bought the mareks vaccination according to my mom, ***? I thought we ALWAYS bought it!
She's been like this for 2 weeks, and has interacted with chickens, ducks, pigeons and chukars.
And they're at the fair too.
Oh my god, if she has mareks, that means everyone she's interacted with has gotten it.
And I took them to the fair.
Thus, infecting all the other birds.
Am I overreacting?
What do I do for the other birds?
If it was mareks, then wouldn't the others be infected by now?


Noooooooooooo!!! Bad bad bad chicken week!!!!

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Again take a deep breath!
For the other birds, keep them healthy and free from stress, as much as you're able to. A good diet, and clean environment will go a long way. If (IF!!!) it is Marek's this gives them the best possible chance to build a resistance.
IF! It is Marek's, you may consider all the chickens that your hen has been housed with or near as potential carriers/infected. It is amazingly easy to spread within a flock. But please don't panic, let's see if we can figure out your hen's ailment first.

CochinBrahmaLover said:

Can you eat a chicken with mareks?
Can chukars get mareks?
Can ducks get mareks?
How long would It take for mareks to show in infected birds, if she does, in fact, have mareks?
D:

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You can indeed eat a chicken with Marek's. Marek's is a herpesvirus BUT it is not zoonotic to humans-- we cannot catch it.
To the very best of my knowledge, chukar and ducks cannot become infected with chicken Marek's disease.
It is generally thought that it takes 4-12 weeks after exposure. The problem is that it's nearly impossible to know when she was exposed. Obviously the most common point of exposure is being around other infected chickens (or being in an area where chickens have been previously, since the virus can live for years outside of a host). However, it can also be blown on the wind, brought in on wild birds, or transferred on the clothing/shoes/etc of people that have been around an infected chicken.

How is your hen doing?
Is she eating at all? Drinking?
Does she seem to be losing weight? (Do you have a meat/postal/food scale you can weigh her on, or feel her keel bone?)
Does she pant only at certain times or all the time?
Does her comb seem to get dark/purple/blue/not a nice healthy color?

I hope I am not overwhelming you. I just want to help. I forgot to mention-- I really want to see your hen get better but if something happens and she does pass away, consider doing a necropsy on her to see. That will give you SO much peace of mind to know why and what was going on. It will also allow you to know if your other birds are healthy, or not, and if not what course of action to take.

You might want to call your state's extension office, if you do not know, or even any local vets, to ask where you can send a bird for necropsy and testing. The fee for this seems to be very variable depending on where you live. If she does pass away, it is important to cool her (such as in a fridge) but not freeze her. Again I want her to get better! I just want you to be prepared and know your options in case she does not.

We sent her to the big field in the sky yesterday. Sending to vet tomorrow (closed today) and when they're avian vet gets back he's going to test for mareks (the ladies were very unhelpful in price, I should've just said 'how much does it cost for an autopsy?'). I really hope it's not mareks, I'd be heart broken to never have chickens again.


To answer your Qs, though, -
She was panting quite often, but not always
Yes she was losing weight, her keel wasn't sharp but was very thin for a production hen, or a hen at all (IME, production hens tend to be kinda fat)
Her comb was normal
No. She wasn't eating or drinking to my knowledge. The only poop I saw her pass was water urates with some actual poop in it, but very watery. And that was 3 days before her pass to the big field in the sky.



Lol, to your post about mareks not being zoonotic -
I told my friend who helped me butcher her that I hope it's not mareks, then he started acting like a big ol' baby 'Oh god I've been eating they're eggs. I feel feverish. Do I have a rash?'

Good luck to you!
Her symptoms sound like Marek's, but they also sound like any number of other things that can go wrong. I hope you are able to get answers soon.

Thank you for all the help. Hoping I over reacted and perhaps she went to our neighbors garden (he has rhubarb) or she ate or moldy feed or really anything but mareks

They supposedly did the necropsy yesterday...
Haven't called yet hoping that's a good sign. They said they'd call on Sunday after doing the necropsy at 4oClock
Hoping that's a good sign.. I know when I had my foot surgery they had to do a swab to make sure I didn't have bacteria that'd cause surgery to be risky, and they said if they didnt call = awesome, did call = oh crap. Lol.
Seriously. Nervous. As. Crap.
Oh well. Our friend has extra Roos and is giving us 2. She understands if they have mareks, the state likely is going to get involved and that the chances of them living is unlikely. They were vaccinated, though. Do you think it'd be stupid to add 2 roosters? We have plenty of hens, and wouldn't be selling anything.
Maybe we could breed a mareks resistant flock. If it is mareks, if they become immune to it, would the mareks eventually just die off?

Necropsy done, no signs of Mareks Lesions
BUT, they want to do some more tests and the states gonna get involved.
Crap.

CochinBrahmaLover said:

Necropsy done, no signs of Mareks Lesions

BUT, they want to do some more tests and the states gonna get involved.
Crap.

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Yay-- no Marek's signs so far! That's good.
Will the other tests be free to you? If anything it will help you get good answers for the rest of your flock and know if you can sell birds or not. That's a good thing. Knowledge is a powerful too!