Has anyone's chicken ever recovered from Mareks?

[CuteChick369]

We have a rooster who is about 6 months old and began to lose use of his legs. We took him to an avian vet, and they feel he has Mareks. They said there as nothing we could do except keep him comfortable and put him to sleep if it looked like he was no longer happy.

I want to do everything I can to save him. Has anyone had luck curing this disease? I know it's a virus, but in my research, not all chickens show symptoms. Fletcher (our rooster) has the neural form, and I am really hoping their is a way (even if alternative) that we can shrink the tumors on his nerves so he can function (even if only partially) once again.

He's been able to sit in the grass pretty well until a couple days ago. He can still sit in the grass, but he loses his balance much easier, so I've been holding him to eat and drink. He watches TV on the sofa with us at night, and purrs. He talks to us all the time, but I can tell he's not as happy the past couple days because he has struggled to not fall down. When I can't be outside with him, he's in a rabbit hutch with no floor, so he can be in the grass but safe from the others. He talks to the other chickens and they talk to him. He seems very happy, I just want to help him regain some balance that's he's last the past few days.

My other chickens are showing no signs, although I'm sure they have the virus since they've been exposed. My plan is to just keep their nutrition strong, and hope for the best.

Any advice though on helping Fletcher to improve or even beat this virus and live a normal life?

Thanks!

 

[seminolewind]

I doubt there's anything you can do. You may hear of others saying they cured it, but there's no real proof. If you read the link at the bottom of my posts, Marek's, the Big FAQ, it can answer a lot of your questions, although you seem to know quite a bit already. Marek's is like Herpes and it can hide but you can't cure it. It will be there. There's a rare case that does recover from paralysis, but it's very rare. Sorry.

 

[CuteChick369]

Thank you for the Marek's FAQ link. Great info, and it makes me want to explore the other options too. At first we suspected B2 deficiency so we supplemented B2 (and some other vitamins), which stopped the progression of symptoms (lameness in the legs) but he didn't show improvement. The avian vet is very sure it's Mareks. But, I kind of disagree because no one else has shown symptoms. He first became symptomatic when he lived at another home with 70 other chickens, many of them babies. I brought him to my house for treatment where he's lived with my 10 adult chickens. No other chicken has shown any signs of Mareks. But, the vet is sure it's Mareks and said there is nothing we can do.

I kind of want a hail mary pass on this and just TRY something for him. The vet gave me Metacam to help him be more comfortable, and that did help. He's sitting much better, so he must have been in some pain.

Your link gave me some other things I can try. Thank you!

 

[canadian flock]

I had mareks first go through my flock about a year ago, and I have had only 2 out of 6 go back to the coop after being brought inside. 1 relapsed and died shortly after being put back but the other has being doing fine since, lays eggs, and is near the top of the pecking order. Unfortunately, it is probably only a matter of time before it comes out of remission and kills her because I have no doubt that it is still in her body. Good Luck!

 

[seminolewind]

If you added a 6 month old to adults, there's a good chance that your adults are old enough where many are already resistant. Hopefully your losses will be minimal or none.

 

[CuteChick369]

Thanks all! I am trying a few things and will update this thread if anything works. So far, I feel good that my adults are ok. No symptoms at all, and we've had the sick rooster for over a month now.

I have some doubts it's Mareks because he came from a home with several other baby chicks in his age group, and he's the only one who's sick. So, I'm still giving doses of B2 and some other vitamins, hoping something helps. X-rays showed bones and muscles are perfectly normal. It's pretty clear his problem is neurological.

Wish us luck....he's such an awesome rooster!!