Does this sound like Marek's?

[crtrlovr]

Quote:
I don't have another safe, secure place for them to stay overnight, if that's what you're asking. (They free range in my yard on days when I'm at home, and I leave the chicken house door open so they can come and go at will during the day since several of them prefer the same nest box and take turns using it during the day). I treated them with the Eprinex at night, and will be dusting their entire coop & roost boards tonight. I've seen several posts on how good Oxine is supposed to be for disinfecting coops and/or runs; who has the best prices for this, or might I be able to find it at a farm supply place?

 

[horsejody]

The leg sticking out suggests mareks. Mareks is everywhere. It is one of the most common poultry diseases in the world. Effected birds may survive and go into remission if given intensive care. If it is Mareks, I would suggest that you only get vaccinated chicks from now on. It can show up at 5 months of age, but it can also happen to older birds, especially in times of stress. Even if they survive, they and all of your other birds are carriers. BTW they have to vaccinated as very young chicks and quarantined for at least 10 days to have an effective vaccination. Contrary to popular internet myth, chicks that have been properly vaccinated and quarantined do not contract the disease, and they are not carriers. I was told that by a university poultry vet that studies such diseases. Chicks that are vaccinated but NOT properly quarantined for at least 10 days can become carriers.

 

[crtrlovr]

Quote:
So what it boils down to is that all my birds including the youngsters who were hatched by the silkies & OEGB BBreds have been exposed, and since I've put the 9 chicks I hatched in the incubator outside during the warmer part of the day for the last 2 days to enjoy the fresh air and playing in the grass with my other chickens coming up to peer curiously at them through the mesh, they've also now been exposed...

Thus, it is too late to vaccinate the babies or the youngsters out in the henhouse. If this IS what the problem is, how many should I be prepared to lose? The silkie roo seems to be getting stronger and will try to sit upright if I can keep him propped up, and I noticed today that the leg is not paralyzed; he CAN move it but it is weaker than the other side. Related question: is Marek's more prone to hit the smaller breeds like the bantams and Silkies harder than the LF?

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

mareks will effect young bird and old birds
especially when they have very hot climate or very cold climate
and they do die suddenly as you will not notice their trouble walig till it is too late
***The person telling you what the vet tech said is true on vaccinating the chicks
and if one chick does not take the vaccine it is a automatic carrier sluffing off the germs to the other chicks
that is why he said to leave them 10 days as each chick gets a fever and that is how you know it takes the vaccine for mareks

**also note that you CAN NOT vaccinate for mareks in birds over 1 day old and the chick has to not be submerged into the population as it then has been exposed to the mareks germ

so they vaccinate for mareks on day olds in the incubator

with that said you will not be able to save the birds and have to dispose of them as they come down with it

you have gotten a carrier bird who sluffs off the mareks germs to the others

** you see all birds carry mareks genetic and then when exposed to the right conditions get mareks

I would personally go with the
wet mash probiotic with Vit E oil put in it

Hereis what to do
buy a container of Wheat germ oil from a supplier like
Smiths Poultry supply
Ph. 913-879-2587 - 7:30 A. M. - 3 P. M CST Monday-Friday
24-hour Fax. 913-533-2497

Here is the
**wet mash probiotic with Vit E oil put in it
for whole flock make this

1 qt of dry crumbles
1/12 qt of milk any kind
1/4 cup of the wheat germ oil ( provides Vit E for the condition of the general body

***mix good and feed 3 tbsp daily to the adult birds and 2 tsp to chicks daily

because of the imment danger to their health feed this daily for at least two weeks and then twice a week for liife

as your birds will have the mareks and there is not any thing else you can do

this vit E builds the nervous system and helps the birds equalibreum

you can email me for more info PM me

 

[crtrlovr]

Thank you for your input, Glenda. I appreciate it very much, and will try to find the items I need tomorrow. I am assuming that for the protection of everyone else I know who has chickens, they should NOT be around my coop/run, and I should not sell or give any of them to another chicken owner. As for ever adding any more breeds to my existing flock, I have two choices as I see it: don't add any at all, or (and somewhat risky) add chicks from a certified hatchery that have been vaccinated for Marek's and sustain a minimum 2 week quarantine. sigh........

 

[gretahw]

Wow, this Marek's thing...it's all new to me and I have a chick (she's one of my new flock of 8--all are about 5 weeks old) who is laying down all the time, seems to be limping, holding one wing out. Is there a good place to learn about Marek's from the beginning? If it is Marek's and I can keep them alive, will it affect the eggs (are they safe for humans to eat?)
Thanks!

 

[mrszlopez]

im going thru the same thing with my cochin hen. shes with other birds & is the only one showing signs of anything. the vets told me its neurological. but who knows. hope you find out whats going on. as for learning about mereks from the beginning, google it & youll get lots of info.

 

[Ryu]

Quote:
I'm not sure I'm reading the above correctly, just to clarify.

The virus in the Marek's vaccine is the Turkey Strain of Marek's. Chickens can not replicate this turkey virus, they do not shed virus, they can not infect other birds. Birds vaccinated with the Turkey strain can still contract the Chicken of Strain Marek's, but will not develop neural lesions (almost always fatal). The Turkey virus is cleared from the Chicks by their immune system, it does not remain in the Chick for much more than the 10 day quarantine.

The chicks must remain in quarantine for ten days so that they are able to generate a strong immune response before exposed to the Chicken Strain. If the chicks are exposed to the Chicken Strain of Marek's before they have had time to generate an immune response to the Turkey Marek's vaccine, then they are susceptible to the neural lesions which is the fatal symptom of Marek's.

 

[horsejody]

Chickens can survive Marek's, but you should only get vaccinated birds in the future. The vaccine virus is not the same as the disease virus, but it is close enough to produce immunity. Strict quarantine is necessary for the Marek's vaccine to be effective. Your other birds are already exposed. It's too late to vaccinate them. Personally, I wouldn't cull the flock just because they are carriers. Most birds have been exposed anyways, but I would only get vaccinated birds in the future and if I wanted a broodie to hatch, instead of an incubator, I would use a hen that was vaccinated as a chick and she would be sitting indoors or in an enclosed coop that was away from the others and sterilized. Then I would vaccinate the babies as soon as they hatched and institute a strict 10 day quarantine.

 

[crtrlovr]

Quote:
Thank you so much. It is very gratifying to know I don't need to kill my whole flock. (It seems to me that FAR too often, the knee-jerk reaction to ANY issue inquired about on the forum is "cull" / "kill".

I believe in giving EVERY possible opportunity to live if there is any chance of a decent quality of life). I used an incubator to hatch the cochin eggs I bought from a fellow BYCer but didn't think to order the vaccine. At this stage I can only hope the rest of my guys who hatched here on the premises can survive to adulthood, and not bring in anything other than pre-vaccinated chicks or order vaccine and hatch eggs here in the house since I have no way of knowing whether the Silkies have been vaccinated, and I KNOW that none of my other adult hens have been. Thanks for clarifying this whole issue. I appreciate your input and time!

crtrlovr

Edited to clarify a previous statement