Doin the moon walk-HELP!

[chickenzoo]

Sorry...I ment it was more unlikely at age three for her to develope symptoms and problems. All chickens are exposed to it at some point and time... By age three she should have developed immunity unless kept very very isolated....but anything is possible.... It's just less likely.

 

[janinepeters]

I was just talking to an avian pathologist and he said that chickens of all ages get Merek's.

Yes, this is true, according to a vet I recently spoke with, too. Younger birds who appear unaffected in a flock where an older bird shows signs of Marek's disease, are also carrying the virus, and might develop symptoms later in life. There are different forms of the disease and different virus strains, leading to a wide range of presentations.

 

[chickenzoo]

I've talked to a lot of vets, and Mareks is often a catch all for....we don't know. Talking to many vets you often get many different answers...and I've spent a lot of money on vets and necropsys with no answers...even from the state and bird specific vets. Bird care seems to be part textbook, part guessing and part voodoo ...as many illnesses present similarly.

I have had many birds stop walking and improved after worming. Not saying this is the problem.... Could be Mareks..?. ..but if so there is nothing you can do. Toxicity could be a problem...easy to try to fix by flushing....Could be Nerological.....often simple Worming is a cheap way of ruling out things. Worms etc don't just stay in the stomach....they can migrate through organs into lungs, muscle tissue, eyes and the brain....


But after raising hundreds of chickens and many other fowl and animals..... What do I know.

 

[casportpony]

I've talked to a lot of vets, and Mareks is often a catch all for....we don't know. Talking to many vets you often get many different answers...and I've spent a lot of money on vets and necropsys with no answers...even from the state and bird specific vets. Bird care seems to be part textbook, part guessing and part voodoo ...as many illnesses present similarly.
I have had many birds stop walking and improved after worming. Not saying this is the problem.... Could be Mareks..?. ..but if so there is nothing you can do. Toxicity could be a problem...easy to try to fix by flushing....Could be Nerological.....often simple Worming is a cheap way of ruling out things. Worms etc don't just stay in the stomach....they can migrate through organs into lungs, muscle tissue, eyes and the brain....
But after raising hundreds of chickens and many other fowl and animals..... What do I know.

Marek's is not a "catch all" if you're an avian pathologist. The pathologist I spoke with said that even his fellow scientists perpetuate the "only young chickens get Merek's" wives tale and that it, Merek's, is one of the most common diseases that they, the UC Davis CAFHS labs see in California.

 

[janinepeters]

I've talked to a lot of vets, and Mareks is often a catch all for....we don't know. Talking to many vets you often get many different answers...and I've spent a lot of money on vets and necropsys with no answers...even from the state and bird specific vets. Bird care seems to be part textbook, part guessing and part voodoo ...as many illnesses present similarly.
I have had many birds stop walking and improved after worming. Not saying this is the problem.... Could be Mareks..?. ..but if so there is nothing you can do. Toxicity could be a problem...easy to try to fix by flushing....Could be Nerological.....often simple Worming is a cheap way of ruling out things. Worms etc don't just stay in the stomach....they can migrate through organs into lungs, muscle tissue, eyes and the brain....
But after raising hundreds of chickens and many other fowl and animals..... What do I know.

Well, I agree with this to a point, as well. I do think we don't fully understand chicken illnesses yet, and are looking at them more closely now because people keep them as semi-pets. No one cared about chicken longevity in the past, so no one studied diseases that keep them from living beyond 2 yrs of age.

However, I will add that I have had birds with neuro symptoms (staggering, sideways gait, not walking), improve when I did nothing at all but provide the usual food and water. If a bird is not eating or drinking, I'll dip the beak in water several times a day to prevent dehydration, but that's about the extent of it. So I personally don't bother with the remedies often discussed here. Some of the birds recover and some don't. Same as when people throw all sorts of remedies at them.

 

[seminolewind]

I agree with the last 4 posts. Marek's can be a catchall, but it can also be some symptoms that are not common. Then there are illnesses that are secondary to Marek's ruining their immunity. A necropsy would be the only way to know.

 

[casportpony]

Well, I agree with this to a point, as well. I do think we don't fully understand chicken illnesses yet, and are looking at them more closely now because people keep them as semi-pets. No one cared about chicken longevity in the past, so no one studied diseases that keep them from living beyond 2 yrs of age.
I think this is true.

However, I will add that I have had birds with neuro symptoms (staggering, sideways gait, not walking), improve when I did nothing at all but provide the usual food and water. If a bird is not eating or drinking, I'll dip the beak in water several times a day to prevent dehydration, but that's about the extent of it. So I personally don't bother with the remedies often discussed here. Some of the birds recover and some don't. Same as when people throw all sorts of remedies at them.
I guess I'm one to throw certain remedies at them... If I have a sick chicken, I always dust for mites/lice, worm, tube feed fluids and baby bird food if they are not drinking/eating and I might even give them antibiotics, but that's it.

 

[casportpony]

I've talked to a lot of vets, and Mareks is often a catch all for....we don't know. Talking to many vets you often get many different answers...and I've spent a lot of money on vets and necropsys with no answers...even from the state and bird specific vets. Bird care seems to be part textbook, part guessing and part voodoo ...as many illnesses present similarly.
....................................................snip...........................................................

California has a free necropsy service for backyard poultry owners and they'll even let you use their FedEx account to save on shipping. Maybe Florida does, too. The best way to get an accurate necropsy done is to have a good avian pathologist perform the necropsy. Will every necropsy yield a cause of death? Probably not, but your odds improve if you have a specialist doing it.

 

[chickenzoo]

Well if he raises a lot of chickens, personally, I'll take his opinion.....otherwise I find everyone has an opinion....many different.

 

[luvmigrls]

Wow! Thank you all for the brain storming on Rocky's behalf. As I mentioned earlier, I have been proactive in trying to rule out illness/disease. If it were/is Markels, would she be seemingly improving? And the other one seems to be holding her own. The only treatment I have given is the dusting and worming. I had looked all over the yard for any bad food or toxins and found nothing. However, none of the girls are laying. Not sure if that is another symptom or the weather, or coincidence..?? Someone mentioned a necropsy. What is that, like a biopsy? I live in a small town and know we do not any bird specialist. Not sure what else to do but watch and wait..