4 year old hen suddenly paralyzed

[Kellabee]

Hello all:
I have a small flock of chickens (10). Two days ago one of my isa browns suddenly went paralyzed. She was about 4 years old and still one of our best layers. The ONLY slightly off thing I noticed about her was in the morning she had some
Diarrhea. Otherwise, She was still running around and eating. I saw her several times throughout the day and she seemed completely fine. In the evening my husband went out to make sure everyone was in their coop and noticed her laying in the middle of the yard. He thought she was dead but she wasn’t, her legs were just completely paralyzed. She passed away within 24 hours. Everything I Google suggests Mareks but this was very sudden and everyone else seems completely fine. We haven’t added any new chickens in over a year and she has been with us since we got her from a hatchery 4 years ago. I have no idea if she was vaccinated but it was a reputable place. We examined her for cuts and bumps and other injuries and weren’t able to find anything. Do you think this was Mareks?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's hard to say without a neocropsy. Since she passed not long after I wouldn't necessarily think mareks.

Hybrid layers are prone to reproductive cancers. So it could have been a tumor pushing on the nerves that had nothing to do with mareks.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Mareks is best diagnosed with a necropsy and testing by your state vet, soon after death. The body should be kept cold, not frozen. Hopefully, it was something other than Mareks. A tumor, an injury, an infection, even a stuck egg could cause paralysis. A 4 year old would be less likely to show symptoms of Mareks, especially since you have not added any new birds recently.

 

[33ChickenLovers]

I had a 2 year chicken who had Mareks. He would be with the flock walking normally when I would find him sitting down all alone in the most random places. Yes My chickens are free ranged okay I have 150+acres (fully fenced). This happened regularly and I would scoop him up, pop him in a cardboard box and feed him his favourite treat.. raw egg yolk
I was heartbroken however to find him dead a few weeks later near my mango trees. I’m not sure how long he was lying there, but I still feel guilty about not being there to pick him up and feeding him.

 

[33ChickenLovers]

Hello all:
I have a small flock of chickens (10). Two days ago one of my isa browns suddenly went paralyzed. She was about 4 years old and still one of our best layers. The ONLY slightly off thing I noticed about her was in the morning she had some
Diarrhea. Otherwise, She was still running around and eating. I saw her several times throughout the day and she seemed completely fine. In the evening my husband went out to make sure everyone was in their coop and noticed her laying in the middle of the yard. He thought she was dead but she wasn’t, her legs were just completely paralyzed. She passed away within 24 hours. Everything I Google suggests Mareks but this was very sudden and everyone else seems completely fine. We haven’t added any new chickens in over a year and she has been with us since we got her from a hatchery 4 years ago. I have no idea if she was vaccinated but it was a reputable place. We examined her for cuts and bumps and other injuries and weren’t able to find anything. Do you think this was Mareks?

A chicken with mareks will be completely paralysed (in the legs) at one moment and up and walking in the next. Or depending how bad it is die within the next 24hrs. Mareks disease has no cure, so I hope that’s not what your chicken has.
Best wishes xx