It does look like Marek's I think so too. He seriously just stood up and he hasn't done that in two days, the heat lamp or vitamins must be helping? If and when he passes I'll have his body tested . That's creepy so I guess you ship the dead body to the necropsy place that does that. This poultry vet at the university has been emailing me all week wanting updates...
Thank you so much! Yeah, I've cried two days straight over a rooster that attacks me (he seems to really like me now and I'm shocked) I'm glad I made you feel more normal because I was starting to wonder about myself lol. I can't help it, I'm such an animal lover that is ridiculousOK well that at least makes me feel more normal
Seriously though, you're doing a good job trying to help him, I truly hope it turns out to be something other than Mareks, but if it is - well that too can be managed. Best of luck!
So are you saying that you never had a chicken show signs this long, Like my rooster is doing? They just seem to pass away fast before you knew they were sick? I know, I seen mixed thoughts on the Marek's vaccines, I hate reading mixed feelings on something. But Ive made up my mind I'll definitely vaccinate. I've always feared Marek's , but knew very little about it. Of course it happened to me my worst chicken fear ugh....That's interesting information! Thank you!
some people say you got to burn your coop down and rebuild a different area? Even burn the chickens body, that seems extreme! I will make the hatcheiers do that, I'm a very small flock owner so it shouldn't be to expensive for me.
Agreed!
Marek's paralysis is somewhat different to what you might expect. It can just be a weakness where the bird can operate the limb or muscle but it takes a lot of concentration or effort, or the bird can move the limb but has no sensory feedback from it so they don't know if they are putting any pressure on the ground with a leg for instance and as a result they push harder than necessary or it may cause a muscle to extend or another to contract causing a twisting of the neck or tail as in wry neck or wry tail. Sometimes you do get what you or I would consider paralysis where a limb is motionless but more often it is a weakness which makes them appear uncoordinated or drunk. It can be very frustrating and frightening for them not to be able to coordinate their limbs all of a sudden, as that makes them very vulnerable.
I have had several birds recover from an outbreak of neurological Marek's but they always have the disease and be at risk of future attacks. It helps to think of Marek's like the cold sore virus in humans.... both are Herpes viruses. It has dormant phases and outbreaks. During the dormant phases you cannot tell who has the disease and who doesn't and they only actively shed the virus whilst they are symptomatic. We don't all have outbreaks of cold sores at the same time. Some things will be more likely to trigger an outbreak than others but even exposed to the same triggers, some people will have an outbreak and others won't. Unfortunately the Marek's virus in chickens is much more debilitating than the cold sore virus for us. I have had a couple of birds recover from 2 outbreaks of Marek's. Some do not make a full recovery but retain a slight limp or twist. I have had birds fully recover from an initial outbreak of neurological Marek's in a matter of a couple of days. Secondary attacks are usually more prolonged and I have had a few that took over 2 months of supportive care but returned to holding their own in the flock and free ranging after that.
