Help!! Marek's Disease??

[Haunted55]

After watching this last video, I really am having doubts about it being Marek's. Here is why...her legs are too limber for one thing. With Marek's the legs if involved are usally still and she wouldn't be able to get them under her the way she seems to. Her feathers would be more puffed out as well, at least that has been my experience. Almost as if she had cocci. With her crop involved and the apparent pain in her belly, I really think this may be some kind of an internal bleeding issue, possibly peritonitus. I hope I am wrong but I have never seen Marek's cause bruising in any of the 85 plus birds I have lost because of it.

 

[clairebear]

After watching this last video, I really am having doubts about it being Marek's. Here is why...her legs are too limber for one thing. With Marek's the legs if involved are usally still and she wouldn't be able to get them under her the way she seems to. Her feathers would be more puffed out as well, at least that has been my experience. Almost as if she had cocci. With her crop involved and the apparent pain in her belly, I really think this may be some kind of an internal bleeding issue, possibly peritonitus. I hope I am wrong but I have never seen Marek's cause bruising in any of the 85 plus birds I have lost because of it.

I haven't seen bruising in my flock either and agree about the puffed appearance in a bird with Marek's. I hope you are able to determine what is causing this and wanted to wish you luck with her.

 

[Haunted55]

Look, I understand not knowing what to do and not having the resources to do it with also. Been there, done that. With the cost of the grain this year and all the other little surprizes I've had to face, I get it. There have been quite a few times when I have had to decide whether to buy groceries for myself or grain for my animals. Call me silly, but the animals have won, hands down. Vets can be very expensive, that's why I mentioned the State Vet before. They're not and will usually work with you for next to nothing or set up some kind of a payment plan so you can get the help you need. Just my 2 cents. We all have to make our own way and choices in this world.

I am sorry, I thought I had mentioned on this thread that you should contact your State Vet.. In going back over it I realized I had not! My bad! If you can contact your State Vet. This info should be in your phone book or you can look it up on-line. They can and should be able to help you and give you the information you need.

 

[seminolewind]

Marek's is a real tear jerker, because there's nothing you can do, and second, they mostly "smile" in your face and remain alert the whole time.

I've never seen bruising, but the one I necropsied first I found that her crop was emptying-to a point, but her gizzard was impacted, probably because of a slow down or ceasing to work at all. Prior to that she had ungodly smelly poop. So I think paralysis can happen anywhere along the digestive tract, and may possible cause an out-pouching in an intestinal wall and look like bruising. Or it could be peritonitis. Does the bruised area feel enlarged with watery or hard material?

Like Haunted said, this could be secondary because of Marek's. I'm also finding that Marek's symptoms can be just about anything, if not, you can have symptoms of some secondary problems.

The most of mine had similar symptoms. But there were some that did not. I felt that it depended on what the virus attacked first.

 

[Gallina8]

I'm not sure it is Marek's, it could be, but this secondary, if that's what it is, it needs to be addressed. Again, look up peritonitus in poultry and find the symptoms. In felines, it also affects their nervous system, causing all kinds of uncontrolable shaking, etc.. It may do the same thing in a chicken. If so, you could reverse it for a while with the penicillin, or in the case of a chicken, maybe even cure it. I just don't have the answers to that.

Hey Haunted. Nope. Not [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]peritonitis. She just laid another egg today! Also, she's not swollen. Just a little black ad blue-looking in the soft of her belly.[/FONT]

 

[casportpony]

Hey Haunted. Nope. Not [COLOR=333333]peritonitis. She just laid another egg today! Also, she's not swollen. Just a little black ad blue-looking in the soft of her belly. [/COLOR]

FWIW, I read somewhere, so it must be true , that bruising in the belly of chicks is a sign of sepsis. Glad she laid another egg... Have you read haunted's thread about the goose?

 

[Gallina8]

Here are some pictures of her "bruises". They're not outright black and blues... just a blue-er looking shade. I also took some shots of her neck. The feathers are not growing back there... they seem to be everywhere else.

Neck:


Neck from above:


Her rear end:


The other side of her rear end:


Her neck again, from above:


Neck spot:


Her rear from afar: IS that black and blue?? Or is she just skinny?

 

[seminolewind]

I don't know what that is. She's still laying? Wow.

 

[Zrcalo]

I'm having this exact same problem with one of my young frizzles. Except absolutely /no/ apparent signs of illness.

Here's what happened with my chicken...

She somehow broke her toe, and wasnt walking on it. She healed up a month ago but would still "limp" about a few days ago I noticed she was walking on her hocks instead of her feet. her feet were shaking and she had them up in the air. She can still move all her toes and her legs but acts like she's in pain. She doesnt respond when I touch her legs or toes, and she tries to hobble around /everywhere/ and is /very/ alert and eating.

I was mostly leaving her alone until she was attacked by our pet duck today so I took her inside.
I have absolutely /no/ idea what it is. She's not laying on her side, but she refuses to stand on her legs. She looks healthy otherwise and is showing no signs of mereks.

????????? Could she be injured??
Could your bird be injured??

I just have no idea what it could be. And this was the only thing I've read that had similarities.

 

[Haunted55]

I'm of two minds here...sometimes you can see this blueish coloring on a bird and it means nothing. It could be the organs showing through the skin because the fat layer has been depleted because of not eating or the food taken in not being utilized properly. Where your bird has had nerve involvement, i went a bit further and found the following;

Infectious Tenosynovitis
Synonyms: viral arthritis, tenosynovitis, teno, reovirus enteritis, reovirus septicemia, malabsorption
syndrome, helicopter disease
Species affected: turkeys and chickens
Clinical signs: Several serotypes of the reovirus have been identified. Some localize in the joints (tenosynovitis)
while others target respiratory or intestinal tissues (septicemic form) (see Table 2).
The principal sign of tenosynovitis is lameness with swelling of the tendon sheaths of the
shank and area extending above the hock (see Table 2). Affected birds are lame, sit on
their hocks, and are reluctant to move. Rupture of the tendon can occur in older roaster
birds, resulting in permanent lameness of the affected leg. If more than two joints are
affected, the entire carcass will be condemned.
Infection can also play a part in broiler stunting, the result of malabsorption syndrome. In
chicks, malabsorption due to viral enteritis is called “helicopter disease” because feathering
is affected. Wing feathers protrude at various angles. A reovirus is believed to play
only a secondary role in this syndrome.
In commercial layer flocks, increased mortality may be the first sign of the septicemia​

form (see Table 2). Egg production will decrease by about two to three times the

mortality rate. For example, a mortality rate of 5 percent will be accompanied by a 10-15
percent drop in egg production. In the septicemic form, joint involvement is present but
less pronounced. Affected birds become cyanotic (blue) and dehydrated. The tips of the
comb turn purplish. The entire comb darkens as the disease progresses (see Table 2).
Transmission: The infection spreads rapidly through broiler flocks, but less rapidly in caged layers. Spread
is by respiratory and digestive tract routes. The virus is shed in the feces.
Treatment: There is no satisfactory treatment available. With hens, tetracycline, molasses, and oyster
shell therapy is helpful.​

Prevention: A vaccine is available for use in endemic areas or on endemic farms.

PS47
Common Poultry Diseases 1​

G.D. Butcher, J.P. Jacob, and F.B. Mather2