18 week old chicken with suspected leg paralysis. Mareks? Other causes?

[Pistachionut]

Hi all,

I have a bird aged roughly 18 weeks old who has been having trouble walking for 3 weeks now. We took her to an avian vet 2 weeks ago who suspected mareks, but also prescribed some anti-inflammatory just in case.
Her legs have gotten progressively worse, with the left one being the main problem. She still manages to get around but has a lot of trouble. Has the usual one leg stretched to the back and the toe curling that is common in Mareks. Everything else seems fine. She sleeps outside with the other birds and spends the day with them. She'll hobble to where they are and scratch around but will often just sit near/with them. We had her inside originally but she seems much happier with her sisters. All other birds are showing no sign of infection and seem perfectly healthy. We've started bringing her in twice a day to feed and water her as we suspect she isn't getting much to eat outside. She eats and drinks well and is still very chatty and friendly. No lumps on skin or issues with her crop that I'm aware of. Eyes seem fine and her droppings are normal. She is breathing normally. The colour of her comb looks the same, but neither she or her sisters have managed to get to that 'red comb' stage yet so it's hard to tell. The vet taught me how to check if she's underweight but I'm having a few issues with that. I can't feel her ribs but her breastbone (bone at the bottom of neck) seems rather prominent?

I'm just unsure of what to do at this stage. The handout from the vet advises humane euthanasia once the bird can no longer stand, but she seems quite happy and content. I'm wondering whether the vet missed something? Could it be a vitamin deficiency even though the other birds seem fine? Should we be considering euthanasia?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) deficency can also cause the curled toe paralysis, as well as Mareks disease. It is more common in very young birds. Unfortunately it may not respond to treatment if it isn't started early on, but I sure would try it anyway. You can give her vitamins by mouth each day when feeding her (say PolyVisol baby vitamins 2-3 drops daily) or put a B complex tablet dissolved in a gallon of water daily which won't hurt the other birds. A soft scrambled egg every day may help her gain weight, and you could always try putting her among the others in a cage with food and water if she has trouble getting around, or needs to eat. Here are some of my favorite Mareks links along with links on ribflavin deficiency to read:
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._poultry/vitamin_deficiencies_in_poultry.html
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/217/vitamin-b2-deficiency
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf
http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/disease/502

 

[Pistachionut]

Thanks eggcessive. Does it matter if the liquid baby vitamins have iron in them? Just don't want to overdose her on it! I've been sprinkling raisins with crushed up vitamin B tablets and she gobbles them up which is good.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, it is best to use the vitamins without iron. There is iron in Poultry Nutridrench and some of the other vitamins, but since you are treating for B vitamins, you don't want to overdose the iron.

 

[Nambroth]

Eggcessive gave some great links and info. I just wanted to add that palpating the breastbone for muscle mass is a tricky and less than concise way to tell a bird's weight unless you are very experienced. The easiest thing is to get a kitchen or postal scale-- you can order them online for less than $20 if you can't find one locally. This will get you an exact weight in grams and will allow you to really judge weight loss or gain. This is a tool that is useful for chicken keeping long term, and a good investment.

 

[Pistachionut]

Thanks for the suggestion Nambroth! Sounds like a good investment indeed. I have manual kitchen scale but I don't think that would really do the job!
If it is a vitamin deficiency, how long would I expect to wait before at improvement? She cannot stand up today, so I'm starting to think it may be Mareks. I gave her crushed up vitamins in her food yesterday and has had a very small dose today (didn't have time this morning to keep her in for long).

 

[Nambroth]

Thanks for the suggestion Nambroth! Sounds like a good investment indeed. I have manual kitchen scale but I don't think that would really do the job! 
If it is a vitamin deficiency, how long would I expect to wait before at improvement? She cannot stand up today, so I'm starting to think it may be Mareks. I gave her crushed up vitamins in her food yesterday and has had a very small dose today (didn't have time this morning to keep her in for long). 

It really depends on what deficiency she has, her individual body, and the amount of vitamin you're giving. Honestly it can take days, or weeks or sometimes even months before a chicken is vastly improved from a deficiency-- since there are so many variables it is hard for me to answer this.

 

[Pistachionut]

Hi all. I thought I would provide an update. Our chicken is still going! We've been grinding up B vitamins and putting them in her food. Not much change, although we've noticed she deteriorates a little if we don't give vitamins for a week or so. But with the vitamins she managed to get around the garden ok. Lots of stumbles but she seems to manage. Spends most of he day sitting under various trees though. She seems to have up days and down days. She'll occasionally stand and take a couple of semi-normal steps. Still eats and drinks, although we go out to her a couple of times a day with some food and water for her as she cannot reach the food and water in the coop by herself. We have to put her in the coop at night as she can't get up the ramp.

I think she's been sick for about 5-6 months now. I still have no idea if it's Mareks or not. I'm told some birds contract Mareks and they can live for over a year before dying? Her sisters are laying now and have been for a while, but no eggs from sick chicken. Her comb is developing a little over time (getting redder) although very slowly.

Should we just keep going as we are? Is it likely that she will pass away at this stage, or will she simply live her life with wobbly legs? One of her sisters (we have three in the flock) has taken to pecking her during the day when they are out free-ranging. It seems to hurt sick chicken as she will make some noise about it and go and hide. Could this be a sign that sick chicken's health is deteriorating? Or just usual pecking order stuff? Is there anything we can do to prevent this?

Sorry for all of the questions. Just a bit perplexed!

Thank you.

 

[Fly Right]

You must be doing something right since she is still with you. Great job. I think the answer to your question is more of a personal choice. Since you are the one taking care of her, only you can decide how long you want to try. Just keep an eye on that pecking thing with her sisters and make sure it doesn't turn into a blood bath. Good luck.

 

[seminolewind]

It's been 5-6 months and she may improve. If you think her quality of life is poor, I would euthanize. But, seems like she's happy at this time. I've only had 1 hen that had Marek's paralysis and recovered and that was 3 years ago. It took her about 2 months. I never thought I would see one get better.