Can Marek's show up after years?

[boatagor]

I have a large mixed flock of 20+ birds. They range in age from 8 years to 8 weeks. Earlier this week, I found my beloved silkie rooster (been here 2 years with no problems) half dead from an unknown cause. He had wounds on his head and back, which appeared to be from the other chickens, but otherwise seemed fine physically. I tried to pry his beak open to give him water and food to no avail. He sadly passed. Then yesterday, I noticed an 8 week old chick, born here on my farm, was having trouble walking. I caught it last night and it appeared fine, no injuries at all. This morning I found it completely immobile, unable to walk or hold its head up. This seems like Marek's after a Google search, but I've had my flock for 8 years, in 2 separate homes. Some are vaccinated, some are not, I've brought some in as chicks and some have been hatched here. I have adults hatched here that were not vaccinated and they're just fine. Is there something else that could be causing this? If it is Marek's, can it work this way, randomly striking chickens in an otherwise healthy, established flock? Do I need to be worried about the rest of them?

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a large mixed flock of 20+ birds. They range in age from 8 years to 8 weeks. Earlier this week, I found my beloved silkie rooster (been here 2 years with no problems) half dead from an unknown cause. He had wounds on his head and back, which appeared to be from the other chickens, but otherwise seemed fine physically. I tried to pry his beak open to give him water and food to no avail. He sadly passed. Then yesterday, I noticed an 8 week old chick, born here on my farm, was having trouble walking. I caught it last night and it appeared fine, no injuries at all. This morning I found it completely immobile, unable to walk or hold its head up. This seems like Marek's after a Google search, but I've had my flock for 8 years, in 2 separate homes. Some are vaccinated, some are not, I've brought some in as chicks and some have been hatched here. I have adults hatched here that were not vaccinated and they're just fine. Is there something else that could be causing this? If it is Marek's, can it work this way, randomly striking chickens in an otherwise healthy, established flock? Do I need to be worried about the rest of them?

I'm sorry to hear about your rooster.

Can you post photos of the chick and her poop?

What do you feed?
Possible at 8 weeks she may be suffering from Marek's, but I would be trying to rule out other things.

Could she have been pecked in the head, was she being kept from food/water (bullied), could she have eaten moldy feed, gotten into a compost, ingested something toxic.

Can you take a sample of the poop to your vet to rule out Coccidiosis?

I would work on hydration, give 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex once daily to see if that helps.

Hopefully with more info and photos we can offer better suggestions.

If you lose her, sending the body to your state lab will give you the most answers as to what caused the sudden decline.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[boatagor]

I'm sorry to hear about your rooster.

Can you post photos of the chick and her poop?

What do you feed?
Possible at 8 weeks she may be suffering from Marek's, but I would be trying to rule out other things.

Could she have been pecked in the head, was she being kept from food/water (bullied), could she have eaten moldy feed, gotten into a compost, ingested something toxic.

Can you take a sample of the poop to your vet to rule out Coccidiosis?

I would work on hydration, give 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex once daily to see if that helps.

Hopefully with more info and photos we can offer better suggestions.

If you lose her, sending the body to your state lab will give you the most answers as to what caused the sudden decline.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

She/he (likely a rooster with my luck lmao) definitely could have eaten something toxic, they free range on about 3 acres. We have had a lot of rain the last few weeks and there are mushrooms popping up everywhere, I actually have seen some local goat breeders dealing with poisoning from that. Can coccidiosis cause paralysis? I have a microscope and I'm doing goat fecals right now, not sure what the process is for chickens but I can try lol.

 

[boatagor]

Here is the chick now. Maybe older than 8 weeks now that I'm thinking about it. Time flies lol.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She/he (likely a rooster with my luck lmao) definitely could have eaten something toxic, they free range on about 3 acres. We have had a lot of rain the last few weeks and there are mushrooms popping up everywhere, I actually have seen some local goat breeders dealing with poisoning from that. Can coccidiosis cause paralysis? I have a microscope and I'm doing goat fecals right now, not sure what the process is for chickens but I can try lol.

Coccidiosis could cause paralysis if the infection is severe enough. Don't ask me if it's a boy or girl LOL I'm terrible at guessing.

He? looks to be bright eyed and not hunched up, scruffy, etc., so Coccidiosis may not be an issue.

I'd work on hydration, start the vitamin therapy. Possible he may have eaten something like a mushroom. He's young, has he been stressed, in a fight with other boys or the rooster, just thinking what could be going on. 8 weeks, Marek's is possible, the average to see early symptoms is around 12weeks, but that's "average" so some may show earlier.

I do not know how to do fecal floats, but there's some folks here on BYC that do their own. The thread below is the most comprehensive. Look at the posts from the OP (KSKingBee) and Sue Gremlin. There are a few other threads about doing fecal floats, but I think this is the most comprehensive.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/doing-fecal-floats-at-home.1047614/

 

[boatagor]

Coccidiosis could cause paralysis if the infection is severe enough. Don't ask me if it's a boy or girl LOL I'm terrible at guessing.

He? looks to be bright eyed and not hunched up, scruffy, etc., so Coccidiosis may not be an issue.

I'd work on hydration, start the vitamin therapy. Possible he may have eaten something like a mushroom. He's young, has he been stressed, in a fight with other boys or the rooster, just thinking what could be going on. 8 weeks, Marek's is possible, the average to see early symptoms is around 12weeks, but that's "average" so some may show earlier.

I do not know how to do fecal floats, but there's some folks here on BYC that do their own. The thread below is the most comprehensive. Look at the posts from the OP (KSKingBee) and Sue Gremlin. There are a few other threads about doing fecal floats, but I think this is the most comprehensive.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/doing-fecal-floats-at-home.1047614/

He's definitely more alert now than he was this morning. Possibly he was trampled when I grabbed him. He could have been in a fight, for sure, but there's no wounds.

Can Marek's show up randomly like this though? Wouldn't I have seen sick birds when my first homebreds hatched with no vaccinations?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

He's definitely more alert now than he was this morning. Possibly he was trampled when I grabbed him. He could have been in a fight, for sure, but there's no wounds.

Can Marek's show up randomly like this though? Wouldn't I have seen sick birds when my first homebreds hatched with no vaccinations?

I'm glad he's perking up a bit. Can he walk at all now?

Marek's is complicated. It seems it can strike anytime, anywhere. The vaccine only helps to reduce the chance of tumors, it doesn't stop infection from the virus, so vaccinated and non-vaccinated birds still can have symptoms of infection.

I'd really hit him hard with vitamins, chick starter or an 18-20% protein feed, give him a little egg daily or canned fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines).