Help/Emergency! Just left the vet. She thinks my 4 week old chick has Mereks

[AnimalmomSarah]

Let me start off by saying I’m new to owning chickens. I bought 12 baby chicks on 2/2/19 and was given an extra one (making it 13) because the chick appeared to have an issue keeping her balance. We brought all the girls home and put them in a stock tank that has been acting as a brooder. They’ve all been on medicated chick food with vitamins and electrolytes in their water. The 13th chick we were given was not showing any improvement in mobility, so we separated her from her flock after a week/week and a half. We thought she had splay leg at the time so we researched splay leg and made her a hobble. While the splay leg seemed to improve some... her hock joint became inflamed. So I we discontinued the hobble for a while or gave her a break and then proceeded to try the hobble again. The hock once again became inflamed and we discontinued. Looking back I remember it wasn’t just her left leg that had issues, it was hard for her to control her left wing as well. In the last week this little chicks feet have started to deform on both feet. She’s half the size of the others that are in her flock (that she’s completely separated from(for 2 weeks)). I found a vet who sees poultry. She suspects Mereks is the culprit, which over the last few days I’ve been worried about. This chick has blue eyes. My question- do all baby chicks have blue eyes? I looked at the rest of the flock (who are in the basement) and I thought their eyes were black when we got them. Now every single bird has blue eyes. Second question- no one has even gone into our new coup yet. Do I keep these birds if they’re infected? Or do I do the humane thing (if they’re all infected) and euthanize them? We just moved to this property. The coup and run haven’t been touched. I put an order in for more chicks (a month ago) that will be getting vaccinated. Help! I need expert opinions and thoughts. I’ll attach images.

 

[staceyj]

@casportpony
@Eggcessive
@WVduckchick
@Texas Kiki

I hope these people can help you find the answers you deserve .

Did the chicks come from a breeder or hatchery?

Are you getting the second batch from somewhere DIFFERENT?

 

[azygous]

Am I safe in assuming your chicks are between three and four weeks old? Marek's doesn't usually show up in chicks this young, especially ocular tumors which grow slowly and begin by muting the color of the iris while causing the pupil to shrink and become irregular in shape. The iris really doesn't get to be a real blue color but leans more to a muddy grey.

What your chick has is probably a genetic set of problems that cause foot and leg abnormalities. There's only a very narrow window during the first week that these might be fixed. By now, you can't expect any real improvements.

Along with genetic defects you can see, usually there are genetic abnormalities inside. Underdeveloped digestive systems can result in poor nutrient uptake and slow growth. Immune systems are usually weak and these chicks get sick. The breeder or feed store that gave your the 13th chick probably didn't have the courage to euthanize it.

There is always the chance your chicks are carrying Marek's, especially if you got them from a private breeder with lax biosecurity. But it's probably not the 13th chick's problem.

 

[Kiki]

I do not think you are dealing with Marek's.
I think this chick has deformities from hatch.

Where did you buy them?

 

[WVduckchick]

I have to agree with the others. Kinda looks like slipped tendon or displaced hip.

I can’t remember off hand if there is a test for Mareks on a living bird, or only on a dead one. But i would try to get it tested before putting them into the new coop, especially if you already have others on order.

A video might be helpful, if you could take one of her, and post to YouTube or Vimeo, and link here.

Best of luck!

 

[azygous]

There are tests for live birds to detect the Marek's virus, but they can be inconclusive and not totally reliable. The best way to find out if these chicks have been exposed is to cull the 13th chick and send it to a lab for a necropsy.

 

[WVduckchick]

There are tests for live birds to detect the Marek's virus, but they can be inconclusive and not totally reliable. The best way to find out if these chicks have been exposed is to cull the 13th chick and send it to a lab for a necropsy.

Sadly, that probably is the best option.

 

[AnimalmomSarah]

@casportpony
@Eggcessive
@WVduckchick
@Texas Kiki

I hope these people can help you find the answers you deserve .

Did the chicks come from a breeder or hatchery?

Are you getting the second batch from somewhere DIFFERENT?

Thank you, I hope so too. I got these chicks from Rural king, and they order their chicks from Hoover hatchery. The second set I have on order is from Meyer Hatchery.

 

[AnimalmomSarah]

Am I safe in assuming your chicks are between three and four weeks old? Marek's doesn't usually show up in chicks this young, especially ocular tumors which grow slowly and begin by muting the color of the iris while causing the pupil to shrink and become irregular in shape. The iris really doesn't get to be a real blue color but leans more to a muddy grey.

What your chick has is probably a genetic set of problems that cause foot and leg abnormalities. There's only a very narrow window during the first week that these might be fixed. By now, you can't expect any real improvements.

Along with genetic defects you can see, usually there are genetic abnormalities inside. Underdeveloped digestive systems can result in poor nutrient uptake and slow growth. Immune systems are usually weak and these chicks get sick. The breeder or feed store that gave your the 13th chick probably didn't have the courage to euthanize it.

There is always the chance your chicks are carrying Marek's, especially if you got them from a private breeder with lax biosecurity. But it's probably not the 13th chick's problem.

Yes, she’s between 4 and 5 weeks old. Thank you!

 

[Kiki]

Thank you, I hope so too. I got these chicks from Rural king, and they order their chicks from Hoover hatchery. The second set I have on order is from Meyer Hatchery.

I really really think this one chick was either hatched "bad" or it got injured shortly after hatch. I do not think your vet should have said Marek's.