- Sep 15, 2011
- 21
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I have a Silkie hen named Wynter who at 5 weeks of age began displaying the classic symptoms of Marek's - splayed legs, droopy wings, and lying upside down more often than right side up. I separated her from her 5 Silkie flockmates and 7 Golden Sex Links who were all the same age. She was paralyzed for about 2 months and then made a miraculous recovery. She was able to run around with the other chickens, pecking and scratching, although she was never able to master the art of roosting.
She suddenly went downhill in the span of about a week as her legs began to fail her once again. Her "recovery" had lasted a mere two months. She was placed back inside except for nice days when I would take her outside and hold her up so she could eat grass and commune with her flockmates (which she thoroughly enjoyed, chirping and singing her happiness). I devised a sling with litter underneath to catch her droppings and two leg holes for her feet to at least be partially weight-bearing and there she has been ever since. At night she sleeps in a laundry basket lined with blankets and during the day, she "hangs out" looking out a big window and alerting me to hawks flying past! At about 9 months of age, she began laying eggs. She is now approaching one year of age. The other chickens have gone on about their lives, hatching chicks, interacting with Wynter when I had time to take her outside - which hasn't been as much since temps are below freezing here and she gets very cold since she can't move.
My husband and I are kinda iffy about eating her eggs. I know it's not communicable to humans, but I haven't seen any other threads where the chicken is still paralyzed and laying eggs. Most of what I have read is that IF they recover, they usually die from tumors and don't live long enough to lay eggs WHILE paralyzed.
I'm not keen on digesting a mutant virus that causes paralysis and I won't feed them to the other chickens for the same reason. Logic tells me it's not transmitted that way, but I can't get past that thought. So I have been scrambling the eggs, with the crushed egg shell, and feeding them back to Wynter. Also, I keep hoping, maybe it's NOT Marek's. It's been a year and no one else has shown any symptoms or died suddenly.
Any thoughts? (other than that I am crazy; I have been told that already).
She suddenly went downhill in the span of about a week as her legs began to fail her once again. Her "recovery" had lasted a mere two months. She was placed back inside except for nice days when I would take her outside and hold her up so she could eat grass and commune with her flockmates (which she thoroughly enjoyed, chirping and singing her happiness). I devised a sling with litter underneath to catch her droppings and two leg holes for her feet to at least be partially weight-bearing and there she has been ever since. At night she sleeps in a laundry basket lined with blankets and during the day, she "hangs out" looking out a big window and alerting me to hawks flying past! At about 9 months of age, she began laying eggs. She is now approaching one year of age. The other chickens have gone on about their lives, hatching chicks, interacting with Wynter when I had time to take her outside - which hasn't been as much since temps are below freezing here and she gets very cold since she can't move.
My husband and I are kinda iffy about eating her eggs. I know it's not communicable to humans, but I haven't seen any other threads where the chicken is still paralyzed and laying eggs. Most of what I have read is that IF they recover, they usually die from tumors and don't live long enough to lay eggs WHILE paralyzed.
I'm not keen on digesting a mutant virus that causes paralysis and I won't feed them to the other chickens for the same reason. Logic tells me it's not transmitted that way, but I can't get past that thought. So I have been scrambling the eggs, with the crushed egg shell, and feeding them back to Wynter. Also, I keep hoping, maybe it's NOT Marek's. It's been a year and no one else has shown any symptoms or died suddenly.
Any thoughts? (other than that I am crazy; I have been told that already).