3 Yr Old Hen Walking on Hocks, Thin

[Kathy Golla]

Thanks MFE. Super informative...thank you for the more detailed explanation.
I also have always wondered when people say they won’t have mareks vaccinated birds in their flock because they are breeding for resistance what that actually means.

 

[Stephine]

Oh, the ups and downs!
After barely moving, not eating any treats at all, not even taking a drop from my finger all day yesterday, I was a bit surprised to find her still alive this morning. Picked her up and put her in her outside pen, that still had some blueberries and cherry tomatoes scattered in and untouched from yesterday so she could enjoy some morning sun and fresh air. Next time I looked she was eating a cherry tomato! I went and gave her a big tomato for an easy target (and more fluids, minerals and all that) and she’s actually pecking away at it! So I guess this is either the last hurray or she might be getting better -? Still doing the head twitch, though, and of course the walking on hocks... but her eyes still look the same, no grey...

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Oh, the ups and downs!
After barely moving, not eating any treats at all, not even taking a drop from my finger all day yesterday, I was a bit surprised to find her still alive this morning. Picked her up and put her in her outside pen, that still had some blueberries and cherry tomatoes scattered in and untouched from yesterday so she could enjoy some morning sun and fresh air. Next time I looked she was eating a cherry tomato! I went and gave her a big tomato for an easy target (and more fluids, minerals and all that) and she’s actually pecking away at it! So I guess this is either the last hurray or she might be getting better -? Still doing the head twitch, though, and of course the walking on hocks... but her eyes still look the same, no grey...

Glad to hear that Penny is having a good day!

 

[Stephine]

Almost bed time for my hen and she definitely had a better day then yesterday. After seeing her eat the tomato, I bought some watermelon for her and she ate it with gusto. Some small pieces scattered about, as she is still not that good at actually eating what she picks off, but she ended up eating a good sized chunk throughout the day. She eagerly came waddling to the door of the pen when I gave her a second piece. She even pecked at the corn cob I put in for her. I am glad she got some carbs for energy today after not eating at all the day before. And fluids! I added a bit of oregano oil supplement (ropa) to her watermelon juice standing in the hollowed out piece. Tried to get some on her beak directly, but it was too runny, so I put it in there, knowing she will get at least some that way... She has a messy bottom and reeks though, so she will definitely get a bath tomorrow unless she seems worse again. She is in the house overnight and right outside the kitchen door in the day and Yuck! Plus I am worried about fly strike. Anyway.... We’ll see. When I nursed my bunny through what I thought was a bout of stasis (well it was, but I didn’t know the bad stuff behind it) I went out of my way and got all her favorite treats for her for a few weeks. Favorite hay, favorite greens and herbs, bits of fruit... I hand fed her many times a day, trying to get her eating again. One day she started panting and I found out that she had a giant tumor filling up most of her insides and she had to be put down immediately. I felt really glad that she had gotten all that pampering in her last weeks, even if it didn’t help her get better. I feel the same about this hen - at least she is getting her favorite foods (and aren’t chickens almost all about food?) even if she doesn’t recover...

 

[Kathy Golla]

Are you getting the b vitamin into her?

 

[Stephine]

Are you getting the b vitamin into her?

Yes

 

[micstrachan]

Sorry about your girl. Did you read my thread Kathy linked? The UC Davis vet who worked my hen’s case mentioned vaccine failure and said my hen did not appear to have the full blown tumorous disease, but had evidence of background infection, whatever that means. She was supposed to be vaccinated. I also lost a 2-week old chick with Marek’s-like symptoms shortly before losing my hen. Same vet thought that, though Marek’s symptoms in chicks that young are rare, it is likely what caused her symptoms.

 

[Kathy Golla]

@micstrachan i took one of my hens to the vet today and asked him about mareks. He said “ mareks is incredibly common. If a chicken is vaccinated, it doesn’t keep them from getting the disease, but it keeps them from dying from the symptoms. It’s very typical that only one hen in the flock exhibits symptoms and if they are going to get symptoms it’s going to be the ocular, neuro, tumors, skin. He said Davis won’t pick up on Mareks unless there’s something obvious on gross necropsy. I mentioned the lung striations on your gross necropsy and he said he’d never heard of that! Just an interesting perspective.

 

[Stephine]

Sorry about your girl. Did you read my thread Kathy linked? The UC Davis vet who worked my hen’s case mentioned vaccine failure and said my hen did not appear to have the full blown tumorous disease, but had evidence of background infection, whatever that means. She was supposed to be vaccinated. I also lost a 2-week old chick with Marek’s-like symptoms shortly before losing my hen. Same vet thought that, though Marek’s symptoms in chicks that young are rare, it is likely what caused her symptoms.

I am not sure I read the link - I think I read everything as the posts came in, but can’t find right now what you are referring to.
I don’t think it’s considered vaccine failure, exactly. It is just that this vaccine does not give immunity, it just gives birds a chance to fight the virus a bit better than without the vaccine. That’s quite lousy, but the best we got right now...

 

[micstrachan]

Maybe not in your bird’s case, but according to UC Davis, vaccine failure does occur. This was straight off the final necropsy results/report for my hen:

In response to our email correspondence, it is possible that this bird was vaccinated for Marek's disease, unfotunately vaccine failure is not uncommon due to a variety of reasons, and, this bird did not have the full-on tumorous disease but the microscopic lesions compatible with background infection.