Closed, swollen eyes and panting... Marek's symptoms?

[feather13]

Hi all,

On Monday, I had to cull a young Sebright chick for classic Marek's symptoms. She was one out of nine chicks of various breeds. Now the other Sebright has symptoms. I've searched online and on forums, but don't know if her symptoms are Marek's-related. This chick has swollen eyes and that opens and shuts frequently as well as opening her beak frequently as though she's panting (although not wheezing). She's been doing this since yesterday and our weather hasn't been particularly hot the past two days. She's never been as active as the other chicks (our two Sebright chicks are/were kind of skittish and stand-offish).

Are swollen eyes and panting symptoms of Marek's? Should I go ahead and cull her? I'm really paranoid about any unusual behavior given the culled chick's symptoms.

Thanks for any advice you can give. I'm at my wit's end dealing with this disease

 

[Eggcessive]

What were the classic Mareks symptoms that your first one had? Swollen eyelids and panting can be signs of a respiratory disease. MG and coryza are common ones. Mareks is a little more common in Sebrights, and the disease can cause the chicken to lack immunity to more common diseases. You could try to treat her symptoms with Tylan 50 injectable given either by mouth 0.25 ml (1/4 ml) for a bantam, given twice a day for 5 days. It is found in feed stores in the cattle section, and you will need to buy a few syringes with 18-20 gauge needles, just to withdraw it from the vial, then remove the needle to give it orally. If your vet can see her, they may have other antibiotics. If you should cull her or lose her, I would refrigerate her body and seek a necropsy to look for Mareks by your state vet or poultry lab. Here is some info and contacts about that:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[feather13]

Thank you for your response! I had no idea that Sebright's were more susceptible to Marek's than other breeds. Her symptoms were leg "splits," paralysis, and a twisted head. After looking at other threads, I couldn't see this as a symptom for anything else. All the chicks are eating medicated feed plus organic fruit that grows in our garden. If the other Sebright dies or is culled, I'll send her body to a poultry lab. Thanks for the list. There's a facility about a 45 minute drive from our house.

 

[LittleFlockSMTx]

Thank you for your response! I had no idea that Sebright's were more susceptible to Marek's than other breeds. Her symptoms were leg "splits," paralysis, and a twisted head. After looking at other threads, I couldn't see this as a symptom for anything else. All the chicks are eating medicated feed plus organic fruit that grows in our garden. If the other Sebright dies or is culled, I'll send her body to a poultry lab. Thanks for the list. There's a facility about a 45 minute drive from our house.

Did your chicken look like it was dead? Not moving until you touched her? I have had 2 die in 2 months. Fine one day, then the next legthargic , not eating or moving.

 

[feather13]

I'm so sorry about your chickens I'm new here, so don't know all of the symptoms of Marek's. My first Sebright was always kind of a runt and never very active. She started to have a drunken gait and then was paralyzed quickly. She would still peep and seemed mentally active. We ended up culling her. The second Sebright started off sneezing and then also had a drunken gait. Her symptoms were different though. She had symptoms more like Coccidiosis. She became very lethargic and stopped preening. After 1.5 weeks, she died while I was out of town and my family disposed of her before I could get home and take her in for a necropsy. I would look into both Marek's and Coccidiosis and be very vigilant looking after the other chickens you might have. It's so heartbreaking when they get sick.