HELP what do I do?

[Smileybans]

No im not worried about the vaccine!...., I am worried that my chicken has Mareks her legs are paralyzed.. I have been giving her vitamins and I have seen some improvement... some of my flock has been vaccinated and others not.... if this is Mareks will the others get it especially my unvaccinated ones? I adore my chickens....

Lameness is a symptom of so many chicken illnesses but I know mareks is the one people think of first. It’s probably the scariest. Keep going with the vitamins as suggested but maybe get a fecal as well. Coccidiosis can cause lameness and so can worms.

 

[nurselynnb]

if it is coccodosis how is that treated?.... and will DME work for worms?..

 

[Smileybans]

if it is coccodosis how is that treated?.... and will DME work for worms?..

Corrid is the most common treatment for coccidiosis but there’s others out there that are used for pigeons. Corrid can’t be used with vitamins but a sulpha can and is my go to for coccidiosis treatment.
I’m unsure what DME is but I use valbazen to deworm or dewormer deluxe.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a paralyzed leghorn about 24 weeks old I have been treating with B vitamins she had been vaccinated for Marek's but I found out my 21 week Orpingtons were not.... if it is Marek's they have been exposed will the vaccine help at this point?

1-super b complex vitamin E vitamin D, Calcium.... but she is eating better now and moving her legs.... still cant stand on them she is flapping her wings like she wants to fly and talking to me.... this has been 6 days of dosing. and her tail is moving some.... it had not previously... since I see some improvement does this rule out Mareks? Or is that still on the table...

Has this pullet ever laid any eggs?

Can you please post photos of her and her poop?
How long have you had her?
What do you feed, including treats?

Marek's is a possibility, even if birds are vaccinated. The vaccine may help prevent the formation of tumors, but it does not stop birds from infection from the virus.

I would give her the B-Complex, see that she's eating well. If you wish to give Vitamin E for a week, it shouldn't hurt her. Give 400IU Vitamin E daily.

Are you sure she was not injured somehow? The tail not moving is interesting, but it could still be a symptoms of Marek's, the disease presents in so many different ways.

No one can rule in/out Marek's without testing, if you lose her, having a necropsy through your state lab would give you the best information.

The mareks vaccine is a live vaccine but doesn’t spread to unvaccinated birds. I talked to my vet about this since half of my flock is vaccinated, birds bought offline, and half aren’t, the ones hatched here. The vet said that the vaccine will help lessen the symptoms of mareks in vaccinated birds and can even prolong their life. But the vaccinated ones can’t spread the disease just because they got the vaccine. They still have to be exposed to it from an outside source.

The vaccine can help control the formation of tumors, but it does not prevent infection from the virus. The vaccine may suppress clinical symptoms. It does not prevent shedding.
There's been a LOT of threads over the years with folks having sick vaccinated birds, necropsy revealed a main cause of decline was Marek's. And to be fair, unvaccinated birds have become sick and died as well.

However, if one already has Marek's within their flock, then vaccinating chicks might be beneficial, but it is crucial that vaccinated chicks not be exposed (need to be completely quarantined) for a minimum of 2wks. This would be hard to do in a backyard setting.


The best thing that anyone can do is research on their own and decide for themselves whether vaccination is the right choice for their flock(s). There are a lot of studies published and available, it just takes a lot of time to wade through them.

Dust or dander from infected chickens is particularly effective in transmission. Once the virus is introduced into a chicken flock, regardless of vaccination status, infection spreads quickly from bird to bird. Infected chickens continue to be carriers for long periods and act as sources of infectious virus. Shedding of infectious virus can be reduced, but not prevented, by prior vaccination. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/neoplasms/marek-s-disease-in-poultry


All MDV vaccines only prevent clinical symptoms, but do not prevent virus replication and shedding in the vaccinated host. While reduced shedding from vaccinated birds has been reported [87,88], these ‘imperfect’ vaccines still allow virus spread and evolution in the field, and are associated with the emergence of field strains with increased virulence https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7139298/

These results show that currently available Rispens CVI988 vaccine virus is shed in significant quantities from vaccinated chickens and transmits effectively between chickens. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23901761/


https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17622613/

 

[nurselynnb]

She was shipped to me 1 day old from a Hatchery she is about 6 mos, she is an exchequer leghorn, she came with 3 sisters...(they were vaccinated) then 2 weeks later I got Orpingtons from another Hatchery (unvaccinated). She has not wanted to eat much she picks at the layer feed.... she will eat prepared Malto-meal or Oatmeal but when she wants. Her poop ranges from green/white early on, to Brown loose and now lighter brown/white. She has been using her wings and flapping which she coudnt early on.... Shes been in my house for a week. I tried putting her on her feet and now she can on occasion using her wings balance squatting for a few seconds.... she has been purring a lot seems content ... not in pain. I found an egg in the coop that had to be from one of the 4 exchequers.... it could have been hers?? but they had not started laying until recently....a couple of times she drew up her legs like she was in pain when I was gently cleaning her behind touching her tail... I have checked and feel no eggs stuck tho.

 

[nurselynnb]

here is a pix of her poop you requested.... it can look different day by day...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She has not wanted to eat much she picks at the layer feed.... she will eat prepared Malto-meal or Oatmeal but when she wants. Her poop ranges from green/white early on, to Brown loose and now lighter brown/white.

There's a lot of urates in her poop.

I'd work on hydration and focus on her eating her normal feed. Layer feed can be soaked to make a mash to the consistency of oatmeal - see if she will eat the nutritionally balanced poultry feed instead of Oatmeal or Malto-Meal which are sorely lacking in protein and nutrition for a hen.

Bits of scrambled egg, tuna or meat can also be offered to give her a boost in protein. As always, you can feed adult chickens Chick Starter or an All Flock Feed as well.

Is there a way to take a sample of her poop to your vet for a fecal float to see if worms are part of the problem?

 

[nurselynnb]

can worms cause paralysis?.... she will hardly drink...I have been making wet feed and offering dry.... she refuses most of the time... any ideas how to get more liquid in her? also I notice on occasion when I lift her her legs draw up and curls her feet like she has pain but I can manipulate her legs with no sign of pain??

 

[Wyorp Rock]

can worms cause paralysis?.... she will hardly drink...I have been making wet feed and offering dry.... she refuses most of the time... any ideas how to get more liquid in her? also I notice on occasion when I lift her her legs draw up and curls her feet like she has pain but I can manipulate her legs with no sign of pain??

Possible, but not likely.

Since this has been going on for a while, I would lean toward this being Marek's disease.

 

[Morrigan]

Did the paralysis come on gradually, or all of sudden?

Has she ever laid an egg?