Could this be Marek's Disease?

[bevyjo]

I have a little Silkie hen who is not quite 6 months old. A couple of days ago we noticed that she wasn't moving around much, but didn't see anything wrong with her. Yesterday morning I brought her inside when she refused to go out into the yard with the others, preferring instead to huddle in a nest box. Over the past 24 hours she has gradually lost the use of her legs (other than kicking them when she gets irritated.) She is VERY thin, so I have been hand feeding her. Yesterday she ate scrambled egg, cooked squash and some applesauce with honey in it. I'm syringe feeding her water with Sav-A-Chic vitamins, electrolytes and probiotics. This morning she is a LOT worse. She's lying mostly on her side/at an angle with her legs out in front of her. She seems to be having trouble holding up her head. She refused all but a couple of tiny bites of food this morning and I had to put them in her beak for her to eat them. (Yesterday she pecked eagerly at the food in my hand.)

I checked her for scaly leg mites based on research I did yesterday and it appears she may have a mild case of that. I have soaked her legs and treated them as recommended. I want to give ivermectin to make sure they are gone but won't do that while she's so sick.

I hatched her from eggs I bought from someone nearby, so she has not been vaccinated. Thankfully most of the rest of my flock has been, since I ordered them from the hatchery and paid for the vaccine.

If this is Marek's I know there is some chance she could survive it but she's not looking good. She doesn't appear to be suffering, she's just lying in her box. She's also my stepdaughter's favorite chicken, so I'm hesitant to cull her unless it's absolutely necessary.

I appreciate any advice/experience that anyone can offer. The stuff online about Marek's is scary, but also conflicting. Some places say it's rare, others that it's rampant. I'm concerned for the rest of my bantam flock as well.

UPDATE: She is now having uncontrollable spasms in her legs and wings. I'm afraid she may be dying. :-(

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh dear I'm very sorry to hear about your Silkie

It can be hard to know what happened unless you get more information by sending the body to your state lab for testing. If that's something you wish to do, refrigerate the body and contact your lab. https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

Here's some further information about Marek's disease.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your little silkie. Mareks could well be a possibility—it is more common in certain areas of the country. Where are you located? If you do lose her and want to find out if it is Mareks, call the state vet in your state and enquire about a necropsy. The list is on @Wyorp Rock ‘s post. The body can be taken directly to the lab or shipped overnight. Keep it cold, but not frozen.

 

[bevyjo]

Thanks ya'll. We already had a funeral for the chicken (she was my stepdaughter's special favorite, sadly.) I am in Kansas, and I don't know if Marek's is prevalent here. The state ag college doesn't have anything about it on their website, so maybe it's not. Upon further reflection I think she was just really malnourished. Not sure what made her stop eating, but she was super thin. She also wasn't paralyzed, she was just very weak. I say this because as she was dying all her limbs were flailing around. For now I'm treating the whole flock for worms and then keeping a close eye on things for a few weeks. If it's Marek's I will probably lose more bantams, but most of my large breed flock was vaccinated.