Hen w/ Eye Injury

[Eggcessive]

Mareks can show up at any time since it is common all over the world. I have never seen it in my flock, but I have an almost 8 year old vaccinated hen who is showing symptoms of the neural form of Mareks. We have had many migrating aggressive starlings the last 2 years, and it has been impossible to keep them out of my coop and run, so it may have been brought in by them.

You might try letting your hen out in the coop today or when the wound has scabbed, to see how they are treating her. She may get along well inside the coop and run near her food and water, but if they continue to pick on her, she may have to live in the pen. Sorry about this new possible illness, but hopefully no one else will have any symptoms.

 

[azygous]

Learning you may have an avian virus in your flock can be devastating. When I learned I had LL (lymphotic leucosis) in my flock, it was like a doomsday hammer hitting me. Since then I've learned that many chickens are able to develop resistance to these viruses and live out normal lives with optimum care to bolster their immune systems. I have one hen who is going on eleven years old. She has had a slow growing tumor over her eye for half her life and she's still leading a normal, active life as queen of the flock.

If there's one ray of hope in this turn of events it's that Marek's does have a vaccine. While it won't cure Marek's, you can have new baby chicks vaccinated at the hatchery when you order them. After a few weeks of bringing them home and keeping them segregated while their bodies develop antigens, you can then introduce them into your flock. While the vaccine won't prevent the virus from taking up residence in their bodies, it will prevent Marek's tumors.

If, however, Marek's is confirmed, no chicken must leave your flock and be rehomed or sold as that will spread the virus to others. You will have an occasional chicken become symptomatic from time to time. But your flock should mostly have normal lives.

 

[BaltimoreWoolCo]

a doomsday hammer hitting me.

That sounds about right. It hasn't been a great 24 hours. But I do appreciate all of the advice and information. We really love our chickens so this has been hard. I assumed that they can't leave our place - not that we would ever get rid of any of them - but it is useful to have that confirmed.

We made a 4x8 pen in the run today and let Carmelita spend an hour or so in it this afternoon. When the flock went in we carried her into the coop and put her on the roosting bar, next to the rooster. We waited for a while but no one messed with her and we're hoping we can continue to do this each night. That being said, we'll take it day by day and give her the best care possible. Maybe she can eventually go back with the flock but we have plans in case that can't happen. And we'll have the vet look at her tomorrow, of course. Thanks again for the help and advice!

 

[MissChick@dee]

Good luck to you and Carmelita. Please update us and let us know what the vet has to say. Best wishes

 

[azygous]

Looking forward to hearing what the vet says.

I love the name Carmelita. It really suits her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad that you will see the vet, and looking forward to what they have to say. Sorry that you are possibly dealing with possible Mareks.

 

[BaltimoreWoolCo]

Our vet has been and gone. He'll be back sometime in the next day or two to do the blood draw for Marek's testing. He definitely wants to get a result on that. In the meantime, his opinion is that the eye is injured and trauma can make the pupil contract into that shape sometimes. We're treating her with opt. antibiotics and giving her a drop of atropine to help the pupil dilate and recover. So, the jury is still out. We'll see. Fingers are crossed but I'm afraid to hope too much.

 

[Eggcessive]

Most people find that the best way to get a diagnosis for Mareks is to do a necropsy on a bird after it dies. I am not sure how accurate a blood test would be. There are labs around the country that may do blood tests or do a test on a feather shaft, but since that type of testing is not widely done, you might get a negative result, but it still could be false. Things in lab work are always changing, and your vet may be confident that it may be accurate. We learn here from people like you who deal with vets and state labs. You may be able to discuss this with a pathologist at your state vets’s office, just to question how accurate the test is. I don’t want to act like I know more than your vet, but am glad that you are getting some help with your chicken. Keep us posted.

 

[BaltimoreWoolCo]

Just a quick update on Carmelita, my Aruacana with the eye injury that looked like ocular Marek's. The vet had her feathers tested at Cornell and we just got the negative result yesterday. He (the vet) has maintained all along that she was pecked in the eye and we have been treating accordingly. The pupil and eye show no real changes, though she definitely uses the eye more now and the eye responds to stimulus (light, medication, close motion, etc) more than it did when the problem started. She eats and lays and is generally a happy girl.

Carmelita was the last remaining hen from my sister's flock and she's coming up on 6 years old. Apparently my sister did have her vaccinated by the hatchery when she was a day old. We know that symptoms can develop in vaccinated hens and that false negatives are possible. So, we will still adhere to good biosecurity practices, none of my chickens will leave our little farm, and any chicks we get in future will absolutely be vaccinated.

Thanks again for all of the help and advice!

 

[Eggcessive]

Thank you for that detailed update, and good to hear that testing on the feathers was negative for Mareks. Also good that she has some sight in the eye.