Edited: Big Liver Spleen/ Graphic Photos

[Araucana Nest]

If I remember correctly, wet pox is the one that's more dangerous for the birds. I think dry pox for the most part is just an annoyance. Could be totally wrong though

Thank you. That would be the best. I haven’t touched him to be honest. I don’t want to spread anything but he is breathing okay and is eating when he locates the food. Never dealt with fowl pox either.

So sorry that you are dealing either with Mareks or Lymphoid Leukosis virus, along with fowl pox. I am not an expert on any of those, not a vet, but I think that @azygous recently was dealing with something similar. She has had LL in her flock for a long time, but recently had a hen who seemed to have Mareks. It is all in a rather long recent thread of hers, and I’m not sure about the conclusion. I had suggested getting the home test kit available from a couple of national labs to test blood from a cut toenail for Mareks. This pcr Mareks test is done by RAL and I think someone else did it through UGa. It is about $40 total I think. Here is the link for RAL if you want to check it out:
https://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf

thank you for the test link and information.
I read that thread you mention from beginning to end, pulling for May the whole way. I corresponded privately with @azygous on Sunday and had considered it was LL from what she shared and images I saw on my hunt for answers. The necropsy report yesterday confirmed it. I’m going to test my oldest residents first and then test others as possible.

 

[Araucana Nest]

Good luck. I'm considering getting a test kit if I can find one somewhere because we're worried we might have had pullets die from it last year (I had a thread but no one suggested this, so we thought maybe it had been rat poison instead they ate). I'll let you know if I find any that seem reasonable

Thanks That would be very helpful. I’m going to test my breeding flocks little by little and move them to the barn as I set it up for chickens instead of horses.and my best wishes for a clean flock for you

 

[Araucana Nest]

It's more likely lymphoid leucosis which presents symptoms in birds in the age bracket of your sick ones with those particular enlarged organs. A necropsy will be able to determine if the symptoms point more to LL or Marek's. But I've seen the enlarged livers in my flock that has LL.

Thank you. She was vaccinated for Marek’s.

 

[Araucana Nest]

I have not dealt with it or even really read up on Hepatitis in poultry. It will be interesting to see what others say and what you find out through necropsy of the other bird.

Keep us posted.

Thank you

 

[Araucana Nest]

I would get a necropsy if you lose the second bird. I would also suspect a cancer-causing virus such as Mareks or lymphoid leukosis. Even with vaccination for Mareks, chick can still get it in the first 2 weeks of life it they are exposed to an environment where Mareks is common. Leukosis is less likely to affect the whole flock as Mareks can. Sorry for your loss.

Thank you. I have my lab information and materials to ship it at the ready.

 

[Araucana Nest]

I would get a necropsy if you lose the second bird. I would also suspect a cancer-causing virus such as Mareks or lymphoid leukosis. Even with vaccination for Mareks, chick can still get it in the first 2 weeks of life it they are exposed to an environment where Mareks is common. Leukosis is less likely to affect the whole flock as Mareks can. Sorry for your loss.

She passed away on Monday and was sent to the Bronson lab for a necropsy. Vet called me a little while ago and said there was nothing remarkable that she had found. So this one didn't have the big liver and spleen. When I told her about the first one, she said the histopathology screen would show more definitive results. Possibly Marek's but I can't believe that. They didn't show symptoms of Marek's and the first one to die was vaccinated supposedly. I should know mid-week next week what the histopathology shows. If it is Marek's I'll be done.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Question. What are you feeding them???

Enlarged liver is also associated with various dietary issues. The first one you opened up, did you find a significant quantity of fat (particularly hard fatty nodules) in the organ cavity? How about subcutaneous?

(NOT to disagree with the very experienced Wyorp Rock, Eggcessive, etc - but with the clinical findings being less than definitive, suggesting a wider net might be worthwhile if only to eliminate those potentials as well. FWIW, I'm leaning LL myself.)

 

[LikeTurkeys]

I don’t think susceptibility runs in a particular line or breed but resistance does. Yesterday I had read on a thread that maybe CL were more resistant in the person’s particular flock. A large hatchery probably had LL but also probably has resistance. I’m guessing about that though.

Resistance does not mean that it can't be passed through the eggs, which is my chief concern. It would be a big problem if major breeders of Cream Legbars had stock that was infected with lymphoid leukosis, since that would mean that the chicks they are selling have a high probability of being infected as well.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

I was reading about LL, and I saw somewhere that birds with the Mareks vaccine could get complications. I'll see if I can find it again

Yes, I read that too. I think it was when chicks were vaccinated with the serotype 2 vaccine.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Yes. I’ve stopped all sales and won’t be resuming. FWIW I stopped breeding CL in spring. My flock is closed now.

I'm so sorry. You know, I was reading about how some breeders were able to eradicate LL in their flocks without culling everyone. It has to do with selectively hatching small batches of chicks, keeping them isolated and testing to see whether they develop symptoms of LL. By doing this, you can identify which hens in your flock are carriers and which aren't, then cull all the carriers. Difficult I know, but maybe worth it depending on the value of your birds.