Broody pullet?

[Wyorp Rock]

She was always smaller than the other birds and wasn’t growing. But she could eat with the biggest roo. Do you know if marek’s causes this kind of wasting? Or maybe it could just make her more susceptible.

I'm sorry for your loss

When you lost another recently, did you have confirmation of Marek's through necropsy at your state lab? If not, then consider refrigerating the body of this one and sending it in so you know what you are dealing with.

Marek's can cause wasting, but there's 100s of things that can affect a chicken.

I don't see your location in your profile, so here's a list of state labs.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[Ida Red]

I'm sorry for your loss

When you lost another recently, did you have confirmation of Marek's through necropsy at your state lab? If not, then consider refrigerating the body of this one and sending it in so you know what you are dealing with.

Marek's can cause wasting, but there's 100s of things that can affect a chicken.

I don't see your location in your profile, so here's a list of state labs.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

The first bird is still in my freezer on the advice of my vet. The problem is that we’re in Canada so testing/ autopsy is super expensive. Upwards of $200 for an autopsy and $160 to test blood/feather tips.

If it’s marek’s, we will know soon enough? And there’s nothing we can do anyways.

 

[aart]

The first bird is still in my freezer on the advice of my vet.

Usually necropsy asks for refrigerated and but not frozen bird??

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The first bird is still in my freezer on the advice of my vet. The problem is that we’re in Canada so testing/ autopsy is super expensive. Upwards of $200 for an autopsy and $160 to test blood/feather tips.

If it’s marek’s, we will know soon enough? And there’s nothing we can do anyways.

You might be able to take a "good guess" that it's Marek's, but without confirmation it's still a guess.
Hard to know if you will have any more birds that show symptoms or not...Marek's seems to be very frustrating.

Generally a carcass is kept refrigerated and sent quickly to a lab for testing, but if your vet advised freezing, then they likely have a reason. Unfortunately testing can be expensive in certain areas of the world and in some states of the US.

You may find this article helpful.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Ida Red]

Yes, here (Ontario, Canada) it costs $250 for an autopsy. My vet advises to freeze just in case we change our minds because a frozen bird, while not ideal, can still be tested.

We have lost another bird, that’s three now. So marek's seems very likely. It’s so heartbreaking.