HELP! Possible Marek's In Flock.

[RissyMcD]

Nambroth, have you had any with full paralysis that made a recovery? With angel's condition worsening by the day, I don't think she'll make it more than another week. I'm willing to try anything that gives her hope of survival at this point. But only because I just she's so bad and getting worse every day.

 

[Nambroth]

Sorry I'm editing my post, I'm trying to type on a phone and it's acting crazy on me!

So the answer to your question is yes, I have had a rooster recover from being paralyzed completely for over a month. The reason this is a complicated answer is that we are not 100% sure why he was paralyzed. All of his symptoms were consistent with Marek's disease, and he's been to the vet who is knowledgeable about Marek's disease several times. We thought for sure he was sick with it. But his PCR test for Marek's disease came back negative oddly enough. So I am currently investigating if there's a possibility for his PCR could have been a false negative if he did not have a complete infection at the time. I'm waiting to hear back from a few experts.

So in short, yes I have had one recover from complete paralysis, but again we don't know 100 for sure if it was Marek's disease. But he is walking again. We did therapy with him in the house for over a month by giving him extra B vitamin supplements, coconut oil to help him absorb them, and doing physical therapy with his legs. I'm a little bit crazy for putting so much time into him but I really like him, and it did work.

Unfortunately, if a bird has Marek's visceral form for sure, they usually don't live too long after paralysis. Despite this, some people DO have them survive-- it is not hopeless. Use your best judgment as to the quality of life of your bird and if it is suffering or not.

 

[BantamLover21]

BantamLover21, how many did you have in your flock total? Thanks for the tip about colloidal silver. I'll get some and try it! This sweet girl is the favorite of the entire flock.

At that time, I had about 15 birds total.

 

[schnebbles]

I have it too. It has taken all but 1 of my chicks from last summer. I hate it, it turns from sadness to major anger.

I'm trying to find a home for 4 of my chickens now b/c I need to move. No one is going to take them and I don't know what to do.

I have lost 7

 

[seminolewind]

I've lost count. Right now I have 34 chickens, 12 are older unvaccinated, and the rest are vaccinated. Two of my oldest birds died, and 2 more -I believe they have aspergillosis, which is from low immune system. I've had 1 Marek's vaccinated 8 week old spend 6 weeks in my bedroom and got better and walked again. The reason I kept her was because she always had a hearty appetite and did not lose weight. And she was vaccinated. So maybe that's why.

It's a cruel disease. We all feel helpless when they get symptomatic. Marek's has been around for over 100 years. It's great to try all the suggested herbs and stuff, but don't be too upset if it doesn't work . Scientists have been baffled for that 100 years.

 

[RissyMcD]

This is Angel 13 days after she first started limping. She can barely balance enough to eat and was ending up stuck in her poop. So I made her a sick bed hammock so she'll have ready access to food and water. I've got her on infant vitamin drops (without iron), B12, and a little colloidal silver now. Plus I switched her to showbird/gamebird feed...hoping the extra protein and higher quality of the food may help. Plus she's half game-bird so can't hurt, right?

 

[schnebbles]

gosh you sound like a breeder I got a silkie from! I hope Angel recovers. I've ended up tube feeding even. Never tried a hammock.

 

[Nambroth]

I did a hammock for a while with my sick, paralyzed rooster. It was really tough to do. I had to use a sawhorse to hang the cloth from, as he's huge, and his extremely heavily feathered legs and feet made it a nightmare to get him into it. I think with smaller, clean-legged birds, it would be easier. He is a large cochin and a very tall guy.

 

[RissyMcD]

I can imagine it would be tough with a bigger one! Especially with feathered legs! My bantam girl is easy to get in and out and making her hammock with some scrap fabric was simple. You must have loved that rooster a lot.

Here's Angel's journey so far for anyone who is interested.

Day 1: The first of this month Angel started limping a little. Seemed like maybe she was drunk or had hurt a foot.
Day 2: Fell off the roost 2-3 times at night (I have a baby monitor in coop so I heard it), before she finally gave up and went to bed on the hay.
Day 3: I started the entire flock on vitamins in their water to rule out deficiencies.
Day 5: One leg was curling under as she walked and other couldn't hold her weight on her other leg in order to hop. She could still occasionally stand, albeit wobbly, on both legs, but would easily fall over. Starting to look less like injury and more like Marek's.
Day 7: She spent most of her time hiding behind things in the coop. When outside, she sat on her haunches a lot. Knees bent while she grazed.
Day 11: Both legs were now curling as she tried to walk and she tripped a lot. She'd use her wings to balance and when I set her on a smooth surface she kept falling into the splits position...one leg in front and one in back.
Day 12: I made her a hammock since she could no longer walk to get food and avoid sitting in her own poo. She really likes the hammock (see video on my other post) as it gives her balance, comfort, safety, and easy access to food and water. She's separate from the others, living in a cage inside now.
Day 13: I've started her on colloidal silver. I mix 2 drops infant vitamins, 1/8 tsp b12, and 1/8 tsp colloidal silver with 2 tablespoons of water then pour it into a handful of showbird crumble to make a special "mush" for her. She loves it and gobbles it up! With nothing else to do all day she eats and drinks a lot. This is good as I can see she's pooping regularly and is getting nutrition. Hoping to see an improvement soon. I am taking her out for "physical therapy" daily and give her lots of cuddles and mealworms treats.

 

[Nambroth]

I can imagine it would be tough with a bigger one! Especially with feathered legs! My bantam girl is easy to get in and out and making her hammock with some scrap fabric was simple. You must have loved that rooster a lot.

Here's Angel's journey so far for anyone who is interested.

Day 1: The first of this month Angel started limping a little. Seemed like maybe she was drunk or had hurt a foot.
Day 2: Fell off the roost 2-3 times at night (I have a baby monitor in coop so I heard it), before she finally gave up and went to bed on the hay.
Day 3: I started the entire flock on vitamins in their water to rule out deficiencies.
Day 5: One leg was curling under as she walked and other couldn't hold her weight on her other leg in order to hop. She could still occasionally stand, albeit wobbly, on both legs, but would easily fall over. Starting to look less like injury and more like Marek's.
Day 7: She spent most of her time hiding behind things in the coop. When outside, she sat on her haunches a lot. Knees bent while she grazed.
Day 11: Both legs were now curling as she tried to walk and she tripped a lot. She'd use her wings to balance and when I set her on a smooth surface she kept falling into the splits position...one leg in front and one in back.
Day 12: I made her a hammock since she could no longer walk to get food and avoid sitting in her own poo. She really likes the hammock (see video on my other post) as it gives her balance, comfort, safety, and easy access to food and water. She's separate from the others, living in a cage inside now.
Day 13: I've started her on colloidal silver. I mix 2 drops infant vitamins, 1/8 tsp b12, and 1/8 tsp colloidal silver with 2 tablespoons of water then pour it into a handful of showbird crumble to make a special "mush" for her. She loves it and gobbles it up! With nothing else to do all day she eats and drinks a lot. This is good as I can see she's pooping regularly and is getting nutrition. Hoping to see an improvement soon. I am taking her out for "physical therapy" daily and give her lots of cuddles and mealworms treats.

Your timeline sounds almost identical to what I went through with my rooster this spring. The only difference is that I took him to the vet twice, to rule out physical injury (we too a lot of xrays) and then we ran a lot of blood tests on him and put him on a course of antibiotics as a last ditch effort. I posted with the timeline on a different thread and I can't seem to find it right now, but in case it gives you hope: After a week of limping, he had paralysis, and then couldn't stand at all after about 2 weeks-- this was in early February. We did various therapies with B vitamin, coconut oil, (the course of antibiotics during the worst of it), and physical therapy with him. It took a month before he could really stand again, but in April he was able to walk. Poorly, and stiffly, but he could walk. After a few more weeks of therapy to make sure he could do things like navigate the ramp into and out of the coop, we put him back outside. He's been out there since and seems very happy. He has days where he can not walk as well, and days where his gait is ALMOST normal. He may always have leg problems but for now he is alive and mobile!