Broken leg? Sprain? How to tell

[RcoM]

That’s really helpful and yes I think that would help a lot. I’ll check on her again now. I used waterproof cushy tape but I’ll check for swelling etc.

 

[RcoM]

Dear coach,
I need help. I’ve done everything I can and I now think she has Marek’s after observing for a few days, giving all support (incl sling) and reading up on symptoms. Both legs and wings have no strength, droopy lower eye lid, laboured breathing. Mainly lies flat. Seems progressively worse. Can barely coax food and water.
My concern is what to do as regards current flock
Two adults are in a yard - they remain separate.
Two sisters in nursery pen.
This one will die.
Therefore how do I ensure the sister isn’t sick? I can separate her now but I can’t put her with the adults for fear of infecting more of the flock.

 

[coach723]

The first thing to do is to find out if it IS in fact Marek's, or not. The mind jumps there first, but there are many things that can look like Marek's and are not. Have you ever had Marek's confirmed in your flock before? If you lose her, or cull her, I highly recommend that you contact your state poultry lab and have a necropsy done. Links below to resources. In many states it's quite reasonable, call yours for particulars. If they are close enough,sd you can drop off a live bird and they will do the rest. If she's culled, refrigerate, don't freeze the body. If you have never had Marek's diagnosed in your flock before this is the best next move. Then you know for sure if the others have been exposed and can make reasonable decisions going forward. Marek's in many cases is manageable, it just depends on your expectations of chicken keeping. But find out for sure before assuming anything. I, and many others here, have Marek's in our flocks, and are still moving forward and keeping chickens.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[RcoM]

Thank you coach. Yes, she has to be euthanised no matter what, today.
I have not had it before, if it is as I suspect. I have one vaccinated (apparently) chick who has once mingled with the older unvaccinated hens. If she’s a possible carrier, although not sick, I’d rather re-home her. The areas each has lived in are fenced separately.

 

[RcoM]

Thank you for your help coach. I’ve been reading up. We culled her this morning.
Her vaccinated sister was housed with her but I now do not want her to mix with my unvaccinated adult hens. While it may be too late, I believe this may be our best bet and then control environmental risk factors - separate paddocks may not help or they may.

 

[coach723]

Without a necropsy, there is no way to know what happened. There are other virus's that can affect chickens. Lymphoid leukosis is known to often mimic the symptoms of Marek's, among other things. There are a lot of things that can make them sick and die. The vaccine does not cause them to have Marek's, but it can mask symptoms and prevent tumors and make it hard to know. Marek's is very contagious and can travel miles on the wind in feather dander and dust, it can be carrried from place to place on shoes, clothing, equipment, so separate pens is not a guarantee of no spread. That is why a necropsy to confirm or rule it out is the best way. If one bird is positive for it, then they have all been exposed. I would not rehome a bird from your flock, any bird, unless you know for sure and disclose that you have Marek's in your flock, or at very least that you suspect you do. Without necropsy, all you can do is wait and see if any other birds show any signs. There are places that can test a sample from a live bird, but very few, link to one below if you'd rather go that route. It requires a small blood sample which you can get from a toenail, one resource I know of for that is linked below, you can contact them for specifics, I believe they will ship you the supplies, you ship back the sample.
https://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf

This thread discusses testing, it's older, pricing mentioned is likely inaccurate:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mareks-testing-in-living-birds.1206105/

This is an article on Marek's, says necropsy is the best way, to look for the tumors:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...try?autoredirectid=16879&autoredirectid=12051