Favorite Hen is down... Marek's disease, Vitamin B Defiency??

[msiler]

Have you introduced any new chickens in the flock within the last three weeks? If not then I don’t think it’s Mereks. I have a pullet that did this too, I knew it wasn’t Mereks so I took care of her until she was able to walk again.
I’d wait awhile before assuming it’s Mereks and putting her down.

Ok! Good to know.

Are you in the US?
If so, are you aware necropsies are available by state labs...usually for a decent price?

Yes the US. Oregon specifically. If something happens to her I will do that. I need piece of mind.... I have a lot of money into these Silkies!!!

It does sound like Mareks, hoping it's not! She's so pretty! Wishing you the best.

Thank you! She is gorgeous. I hope she can recover...

This sounds like Marek's.

Even though it took so long? I think I noticed the limp in July, and it was just like a minor limp none of the toe pointing she did before. We moved and she had to stay in an enclosed area for a while and she was great! She got to go back out and start free ranging again in September and her limp came back about then. Then of course, the sudden splay leg and death just a couple days ago.

 

[Eggcessive]

Exposure to a carrier of Mareks takes 3 weeks or more for symptoms to show. That could be weeks, months, but symptoms cannot show up until at least 3 weeks AFTER exposure to the virus.

Poor girl looks to be having some wry neck or torticolis in the new video. Wry neck can also be a symptom of Mareks. Live birds can be tested for Mareks with a sample of blood serum fo about $20 at this RAL Texas lab:
http://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf

Most of the time, chickens are tested after death with a necropsy by the state poultry lab, where they test tumor tissue or feather shafts.

I really hope this is not Mareks.

 

[msiler]

Ok good to know... I’ll look into it and maybe test some of my other birds. I’m honestly not too hopeful at the rate she is declining.

So, I know there is no cure for Mareks. But if I proceed like it is, is there ANYTHING I can do to potentially help her recover?
Secondly, what can I do for the remaining birds who may potentially have it and just haven’t shown symptoms?

 

[Kiki]

Ok good to know... I’ll look into it and maybe test some of my other birds. I’m honestly not too hopeful at the rate she is declining.

So, I know there is no cure for Mareks. But if I proceed like it is, is there ANYTHING I can do to potentially help her recover?
Secondly, what can I do for the remaining birds who may potentially have it and just haven’t shown symptoms?

If she has it..the best thing you can do is keep your flock closed and as stress free as possible.
Feed them a good balanced diet and hope.

 

[Painted Calls]

Ok good to know... I’ll look into it and maybe test some of my other birds. I’m honestly not too hopeful at the rate she is declining.

So, I know there is no cure for Mareks. But if I proceed like it is, is there ANYTHING I can do to potentially help her recover?
Secondly, what can I do for the remaining birds who may potentially have it and just haven’t shown symptoms?

I have lost my entire flock to "Likely Marek's" in the last 6 months. Not all of them exhibited the "leg paralysis", but 3 did. None of their legs splayed like this however.

Your girl needs a sling to help her feel more stable. Here is the type I use. Super convenient to move around, clean etc.

I agree that this could absolutely be Marek's. How much time do you have to devote to her? As long as she is able to eat and drink on her own, that is wonderful. However you need to think about how much time you have to give to her if she stops eating. I was tubing so often that I can now do it blindfolded. I do not regret it. I just want to make sure you know what kind of a commitment it is to try and pull them through.

Start with the B complex and getting her situated into a sling. Hopefully this is just a deficiency.

 

[msiler]

Ok!
So good news is, she made it through the night! She is in a sling now. She is DEVOURING scrambled eggs!
She is still doing the wry neck thing and she has no control over her legs. But I do find it encouraging that she is eating well! So I guess we could say, her morale has improved but physically she still looks and acts about the same.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad to hear that she is eating. Let us know how she is doing a little later. I usually also recommend trying vitamins—human vitamin E 400 IU daily for the wry neck, and 1/4 tablet crushed of human vitamin B complex in a little food or water.

 

[msiler]

Look who’s on their way to a full recovery!! Two weeks ago her wry neck went away. About a week and a half ago, we took her out of her sling. Now a week ago she started gaining function back in her legs, and now look at her go!! She is so happy to be moving around!

I still have no clue as to whether this is Mareks or not though. We lost a gorgeous black Silkie rooster who was in the coop with her suddenly, just one morning we came in and he was just about gone. He died less than an hour later. I guess we will see....

 

[LaFleche]

That's good news, hopefully she will make a full recovery.

Here is how to speed it up: Trim back her head feathers on a regular basis to allow for unobstructed view. Silkies and other crested breeds very often grow too much crest/head feathers and their vision slowly gets impaired leading to starvation and resulting vitamin deficiencies.