Chicken Died, Marek’s Disease Suspected. Rest of flock probably exposed. What do I do? What can I do?

[Navigator73]

I had a chicken die today, and we are suspecting Marek’s. She’s been limping for a couple weeks. Thought it was an injury. Took to avian vet, just gave us Meloxicam. Chicken when down hill over weekend. Isolated her to a her own cage, but not sure if we isolated her soon enough to have prevented exposure of the rest of the flock. Seemed to slowly become more paralyzed yesterday. Gave her water thru syringe all weekend because she couldn’t seem to move enough to get to the bowl. She seemed to be having seizures this morning, and then she died suddenly. But I’m concerned what might happen to the rest of the flock if they’ve been exposed. We’re new to chicken raising, and we didn’t realize the importance of vaccinations when we needed to have gotten it done. But they’re all 6mos old now, and likely exposed. Is my flock doomed? What can I do to protect them and keep them healthy with the prospect that they might all have the same fate?

 

[azygous]

If you haven't disposed of the body, it would be wise to find an animal testing lab and get a necropsy to confirm cause of death. Call your university extension office to find an agricultural lab.

Yes, it could be Marek's, but the symptoms can also be from toxin poisoning from petroleum distillates or from mold - insecticides, automotive fluids, moldy bedding or food.

All of your flock has already been exposed if it's Marek's. It's important to find out in order to properly manage your flock. Meanwhile look around for any sign of mold or leaking machinery before any more chickens get sick in case that's the cause of death.

 

[Navigator73]

If you haven't disposed of the body, it would be wise to find an animal testing lab and get a necropsy to confirm cause of death. Call your university extension office to find an agricultural lab.

Yes, it could be Marek's, but the symptoms can also be from toxin poisoning from petroleum distillates or from mold - insecticides, automotive fluids, moldy bedding or food.

All of your flock has already been exposed if it's Marek's. It's important to find out in order to properly manage your flock. Meanwhile look around for any sign of mold or leaking machinery before any more chickens get sick in case that's the cause of death.

Not sure a necropsy is an option. We’re are out of town on a trip we’d planned for a while. Our friend who’s been looking after the flock and also checking on her until we got back, was with her and we were talking of FaceTime when the chicken appeared to have a seizure and died. We’re not getting home until tomorrow, and the only thing I could think of in a pinch was having her put in a freezer until we can get home. I’ll still call the nearby vet school and see what they can do, but I know it’s harder to do a good necropsy with a frozen body.

 

[azygous]

You must not freeze the body. It destroys tissues that need to be examined. Refrigeration is the way to preserve the body. But the necropsy should be done with 48 hours before serious degradation occurs.

Most chickens appear to have a seizure when they die. Furious wing flapping occurs as the nervous system shuts down following death. It means nothing unless the chicken was observed to have seizures in the days before it died.

If death occurred within a couple of days following onset of symptoms, it's likely not an avian virus that killed it as avian viruses produce symptoms over weeks and months prior to death.

There are so many things that can kill a chicken, even a weird caterpillar as happened to a couple of chicks in my flock. Death was within hours following the encounter with the insect.

A necropsy is the best way to get the answers you need.

 

[Riverbend Farms]

I am so sorry your chicken died, I had a much-loved hen die a couple days ago. How old was your bird and any history of illness/issues? This is just guessing but it can help get an idea of what may have happened.

 

[Navigator73]

You must not freeze the body. It destroys tissues that need to be examined. Refrigeration is the way to preserve the body. But the necropsy should be done with 48 hours before serious degradation occurs.

Most chickens appear to have a seizure when they die. Furious wing flapping occurs as the nervous system shuts down following death. It means nothing unless the chicken was observed to have seizures in the days before it died.

If death occurred within a couple of days following onset of symptoms, it's likely not an avian virus that killed it as avian viruses produce symptoms over weeks and months prior to death.

There are so many things that can kill a chicken, even a weird caterpillar as happened to a couple of chicks in my flock. Death was within hours following the encounter with the insect.

A necropsy is the best way to get the answers you need.

I am aware of what freezing does that makes a necropsy difficult, but I think it’s too late. I’m 600mi from home and I had to think quick to give our caregiver instructions. I watched the chicken die on the nanny cam I had in her iso cage while our caregiver was trying to get her to take water. A necropsy wasn’t in my mind when I asked her to place the chicken in a freezer. I was thinking of the best way to prevent her body from contaminating our home environment, and placing her in our fridge didn’t seem like a safe option. But in hindsight now, we may have come up a way to put in the fridge safely… I guess I was still in shock from what I had just seen to have made the better decision. That’s why I’m here asking for guidance, since my flock could be at risk, and I may have made it impossible to know from what. If the answer is now just wait and see, I figured it would be easier to accept from folks with more experience raising chickens. But unless the nearby vet school is still willing to try and I can get her there someone tomorrow, maybe it’s still possible. She died yesterday, so if they take her tomorrow it’ll be just past 48 hrs. So we’ll see. Thank you for all your guidance so far.

 

[azygous]

A vet school may be able to determine some obvious things from a necropsy. The two avian viruses that are common to our backyard flocks have very distinctive indicators. Marek's virus causes obvious inflammation of the sciatic nerve, while leucosis virus causes a grossly enlarged liver. Also, tumors are common to both viruses but the location of the tumors can point to one or the other virus. Even a do-it-yourself home necropsy can often detect these.

The implications for your flock are serious, as you've instinctively presumed. Managing a flock with one of these viruses is different from a normal flock. I have the leucosis virus in my flock, so I can give advice if it turns out your chickens are carrying that one. Others here have Marek's flocks and can give advice on how to manage things. The bottom line is that you can have a virus in your flock and still have a mostly normal flock of chickens and enjoy them just as much going from here. Having a virus in your flock is not the end of the world. You may still add baby chicks and grow your flock even with a virus. There are ways to do it.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

80% of the world chicken population is estimated to be asymptomatic carriers of Marek's virus. It's impossible to avoid without the most strict of quarantine and isolation practices

I would personally recommend doing the opposite. In my experience early and maximal exposure creates healthy chickens, whereas quarantine and isolation only temporarily preserves sickly chickens until a stray breeze or songbird infects them

Those with coops should collect soil and leaf litter from all corners of their property and place it into their coop to expose their chickens to the natural pathogens in the area. Ideally on their first day of life they should have encountered everything already