Help!!!!! Is is Marek's disease??

[Mr Peeps Mama]

annnnd...(why can I never get everything in one post? hahaha) The first sign of anything wrong I noticed him running across the lawn and he was limping on the foot that was later paralyzed first....then he started dragging that leg...then the next day the 'other' leg was paralyzed...Is it possible to put a video on here?

 

[Haunted55]

It is but not sure how as I've never done it myself.

From what you have written it does sound like Marek's....but again I would really like to see. Your hen that had the episode at the Vet's may have just thrown another clot which finally took her. The one forward and one back, or the 'roadrunner' stance is classic Marek's. I've had quite a few of those with my birds. The iris part of the eye in mine has changed from the normal brown or black to a funky grey/green color and it is at this time that mine just go down hill. Either total blindness or partial and some type of balance issue that makes them incompatible with life. Some have even been found dead in the morning soon after the eye color change. Marek's sucks, no two ways about it.

I have survivors that are just about a year old now and I have been hatching their eggs [control group 1] and then their babies eggs are just hatching now [control group 2]. From the first group, only 1 died from Marek's. 1 leg back and paralyzed, with issues with his eyes as well. This happened right around the 6-8 week mark. The others are fine, fat and sassy andnot showing any issues. I am at the 6 month mark for them and this is usually when the other shoe drops if it's going to.

Now somewhere, your bird, if it is Marek's, was exposed. Either through new birds, shows, something. Have you brought new ones in lately? Was your roo vaccinated? Are any of your birds? I know, I keep saying "if it's Marek's". Reason is, there are other diseases that chickens can get that will cause paralysis and if that disease is taken care of, the paralysis goes away. Tainted feed can also cause it, lack of vitamins, again from the feed. With all of the recalls on the feeds in the last couple of years, I am cautious of saying it's Marek's and leaving it at that. You can send a blood sample and have it checked to see if it is Marek's.
http://tvmdl.tamu.edu/tests_service...sease-(PCR)&unit_id=1187&unit_effdt=02-JUN-10

 

[Mr Peeps Mama]

I want to try to figure out how to post a video for you bcuz I think then you'll be able to definitavely tell me whether or not it's MD. I grew up on a chicken farm from age 5 on all through the teen years and beyond and I've never seen anything like this...and I've asked my father if he's ever seen a chicken with Mareks and he said no. I'm guessing being a commercial farm they were vaccinated.
No, in answer to your question I didnt have them vaccinated. I didnt think I needed to, never thinking of how they might possibly be infected through wild birds...we do have alot of chickens in our neighborhood as we all have acreages.
Also wanted to mention that when I found my hen had died she had 1 leg forward 1 back. I have taken in two new chickens but it was after Gracie had passed away. I have 6 baby chicks that are two weeks old and they are in the henhouse, but penned off from the others. Is it too late to vaccinate them? Their mother, I'm sure was exposed to Stuey before she hatched the babies.
I sure wish I knew what to do about Stuey. You know how attached you get to them when they are dependent on you....when I take him out of his crate he just gets sooo happy. He's not mobile at all....he doesnt however flop over on his side anymore when he first came down with whatever it is. But on the other hand he doesnt have the strength to even partially hold himself up If it IS Mareks I wonder how many I'm going to lose. They are all pets and have names.
I never in a million years would have guessed my chickens would ever have something like this in the flock. Any chicks that come in from a hatchery now will be vaccinated. I do have some that I got from a hatchery a year ago in February and 1 of those passed away just a couple months ago...she wasnt well for quite some time but she didnt show any of the mareks signs...she just was listless and puffed up...
Well, it's almost chore time so I will get a video of Stuey when I take him out of the crate and see if I can post it on here for you to see exactly what he does. Gotta love technology...without it we wouldnt be having this conversation. Thank You for helping me.

 

[Mr Peeps Mama]

ugh. I have tried and tried to upload my images of Stuey and I just cant get it to go! I also have a short video. Is there an email address I can send it to that you dont mind giving me or do you have another suggestion???

 

[Mr Peeps Mama]

Haunted55 ~ I cant get my video or image to upload so I'm going to try to send the pictures of my rooster to you via private mssg.

 

[silkiemama22]

Hi my splash silkie roo is doing the same thing, I've suspected mareks but still don't have a proper diagnosis. It's so sad to see him like this. He is almost a year old and was a rescue from a couple who got their chickens from a random breeder. I think they didn't get vaccinated and thats why he ended up with this disease.
I have 4 hens in addition to him, 2 which are silkies but they are all older (2+years) and 3/4 are vaccinated.
I've been giving him some homeopathic treatments like honey/pollen/propolis and water mixed with apple cider vinegar and he seems to respond to that. I wonder what else I could do for him in the meantime. I know if he has this deadly disease he won't get better but I just feel so bad and am trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

 

[seminolewind]

I want to try to figure out how to post a video for you bcuz I think then you'll be able to definitavely tell me whether or not it's MD. I grew up on a chicken farm from age 5 on all through the teen years and beyond and I've never seen anything like this...and I've asked my father if he's ever seen a chicken with Mareks and he said no. I'm guessing being a commercial farm they were vaccinated.
No, in answer to your question I didnt have them vaccinated. I didnt think I needed to, never thinking of how they might possibly be infected through wild birds...we do have alot of chickens in our neighborhood as we all have acreages.
Also wanted to mention that when I found my hen had died she had 1 leg forward 1 back. I have taken in two new chickens but it was after Gracie had passed away. I have 6 baby chicks that are two weeks old and they are in the henhouse, but penned off from the others. Is it too late to vaccinate them? Their mother, I'm sure was exposed to Stuey before she hatched the babies.
I sure wish I knew what to do about Stuey. You know how attached you get to them when they are dependent on you....when I take him out of his crate he just gets sooo happy. He's not mobile at all....he doesnt however flop over on his side anymore when he first came down with whatever it is. But on the other hand he doesnt have the strength to even partially hold himself up If it IS Mareks I wonder how many I'm going to lose. They are all pets and have names.
I never in a million years would have guessed my chickens would ever have something like this in the flock. Any chicks that come in from a hatchery now will be vaccinated. I do have some that I got from a hatchery a year ago in February and 1 of those passed away just a couple months ago...she wasnt well for quite some time but she didnt show any of the mareks signs...she just was listless and puffed up...
Well, it's almost chore time so I will get a video of Stuey when I take him out of the crate and see if I can post it on here for you to see exactly what he does. Gotta love technology...without it we wouldnt be having this conversation. Thank You for helping me.

Do you have an update?

 

[seminolewind]

Hi my splash silkie roo is doing the same thing, I've suspected mareks but still don't have a proper diagnosis. It's so sad to see him like this. He is almost a year old and was a rescue from a couple who got their chickens from a random breeder. I think they didn't get vaccinated and thats why he ended up with this disease.
I have 4 hens in addition to him, 2 which are silkies but they are all older (2+years) and 3/4 are vaccinated.
I've been giving him some homeopathic treatments like honey/pollen/propolis and water mixed with apple cider vinegar and he seems to respond to that. I wonder what else I could do for him in the meantime. I know if he has this deadly disease he won't get better but I just feel so bad and am trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

I'm glad you have vaccinated hens. Your unvaccinated hen may be okay since she's older. Fingers crossed. I'm sorry about your roo. My silkie roo is the last one remaining from my 3 original silkies, and one daughter as well. He's 5.5 years old, and getting slow. He was exposed about 4 years ago. My first silkie roo was hit the hardest. I didn't know what he had, til later. He had all the symptoms. I had him in a cage on my patio. When he couldn't eat , no neck control, no depth perception, I had him euthanized. You will have to decide when he has no quality of life. If you continue to get vaccinated chicks in thefuture, you may never have all the heartache in watching most of a flock die. I and others know how bad you feel. As long as he's eating, give him all the super treats he likes.

 

[silkiemama22]

Thanks so much for the kind words, it is tough to see him like this but knowing that we tried to make his life the best we could makes me feel a bit better about the whole situation. He was a rescue so he is special to us for sure. I will keep giving him all the TLC till the end,he's such a good boy. I always get vaccinated chicks when I can but the 2 out of the 5 I have are rescues so I don't know much about their backgrounds unfortunately. Keeping my fingers crossed for my feathered babies. They're all so spoiled that they all live in my house haha.

-Sabrina

 

[kimspangrude]

Hello, what happened finally with your little hen? I have one in identical situation.