I discovered how to help one of my chickens from falling over!!! I'd like ideas to improve upon it!

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I am not saying it does not have Maraks. More birds have Maraks than most people think.

I would not diagnose that as Maraks based solely on that pupil. Other things can affect a chickens eye. Injuries are common.

The only sure way to tell if it’s Maraks is a necropsy.

I don’t worry about Maraks anymore, my birds are all vaccinated. And I am almost bird free, my last 18 should be gone by fall.


https://www.birdhealth.com.au/causes-of-eye-and-respiratory-symptoms

https://ucanr.edu/sites/poultry/files/246963.pdf

Thank you for the links.
Though they don’t seem to disprove that a pinprick pupil with a gray ring around it is a symptom of Marek’s.
I understand that the only way to be sure is through a necropsy, but that’s the case with a lot of infectious poultry diseases, as is noted in the first link. However, as far as I am aware, the sudden development of what the hen pictured displays isn’t credited to anything else other than ocular Marek’s. I’m also basing my thoughts upon pictures I’ve seen of confirmed and unconfirmed ocular Marek’s that showed chickens with that same particular symptom.

I am pretty sure my own flock has Marek’s due to multiple unknown deaths in the past coupled with a rooster I had that became paralyzed and wasted away.

 

[duluthralphie]

Thank you for the links.
Though they don’t seem to disprove that a pinprick pupil with a gray ring around it is a symptom of Marek’s.
I understand that the only way to be sure is through a necropsy, but that’s the case with a lot of infectious poultry diseases, as is noted in the first link. However, as far as I am aware, the sudden development of what the hen pictured displays isn’t credited to anything else other than ocular Marek’s. I’m also basing my thoughts upon pictures I’ve seen of confirmed and unconfirmed ocular Marek’s that showed chickens with that same particular symptom.

I am pretty sure my own flock has Marek’s due to multiple unknown deaths in the past coupled with a rooster I had that became paralyzed and wasted away.

Sounds like it.
I took a bird to the state vet and watched the necropsy. It was worth it, I got some education and confirmed my suspicion.

Maraks is everywhere, travels easily by spores in the wind, on wild birds, feed sacks etc.

I had between 500-600 birds at the time, so it was scary.

As you said, it doesn’t disprove or prove anything, but it’s one of those things you have to be aware of.

 

[amyduck]

So I'm wondering, what about the PCR test that was suggested to me? Those aren't conclusive?
That said, I never did get the test although I did a short search to find a place that was in CA instead of Texas, but haven't found one. It can't be treated anyway, and I'm down to just one other chicken... I guess if I knew she didn't have it maybe I would look into another cause... however, going back over my previous replies, I never mentioned that she does have a lot of problems connecting with her food, she can rarely pick out one piece of food and get it on the first try, instead, she pecks at a spot 1/4-1/2 an inch away, so I usually have to give her several of whatever I'm feeding her so she gets something. So based on that, and the eye that is a little greyer, I pretty much figured it's Mareks.
BTW, she's managed to stay up even longer and walk farther today than yesterday - before falling on her side or into something or doing a faceplant!

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

So I'm wondering, what about the PCR test that was suggested to me? Those aren't conclusive?
That said, I never did get the test although I did a short search to find a place that was in CA instead of Texas, but haven't found one. It can't be treated anyway, and I'm down to just one other chicken... I guess if I knew she didn't have it maybe I would look into another cause... however, going back over my previous replies, I never mentioned that she does have a lot of problems connecting with her food, she can rarely pick out one piece of food and get it on the first try, instead, she pecks at a spot 1/4-1/2 an inch away, so I usually have to give her several of whatever I'm feeding her so she gets something. So based on that, and the eye that is a little greyer, I pretty much figured it's Mareks.
BTW, she's managed to stay up even longer and walk farther today than yesterday - before falling on her side or into something or doing a faceplant!

I’m glad that she’s doing better. The fact that she isn’t losing weight is a good sign.

 

[amyduck]

I’m glad that she’s doing better. The fact that she isn’t losing weight is a good sign.

Yes, we've had to be careful because she couldn't get to food or water on her own.

 

[Beckaryu]

Hi, I’m new to chickening but I couldn’t help myself and read the entire thread.
You are an amazing person to be taking such remarkable care of your girl
I had something come to mind when I read about the two magnets you used on her chest to keep her balanced - have you thought of using something like a magnet bracelet?
I’m also wondering about the theory behind magnetic jewelry and if that could have had an effect on your chicken? Here is an excerpt from one article I found.

Your body naturally has magnetic and electric fields. All your molecules have a small amount of magnetic energy in them. The thought behind magnetic field therapy is that certain problems happen because your magnetic fields are out of balance. If you put a magnetic field near your body, it's believed things will go back to normal.
Ions like calcium and potassium help your cells send signals. In tests, scientists have seen magnets change how these ions act. However, so far, there isn’t evidence that magnets have the same effect on cells when they’re in your body.”

what if the magnets you had on her helped even a little? Maybe I’m getting to “granola” here but...? Just a thought.

 

[amyduck]

Hi, I’m new to chickening but I couldn’t help myself and read the entire thread.
You are an amazing person to be taking such remarkable care of your girl
I had something come to mind when I read about the two magnets you used on her chest to keep her balanced - have you thought of using something like a magnet bracelet?
I’m also wondering about the theory behind magnetic jewelry and if that could have had an effect on your chicken? Here is an excerpt from one article I found.

Your body naturally has magnetic and electric fields. All your molecules have a small amount of magnetic energy in them. The thought behind magnetic field therapy is that certain problems happen because your magnetic fields are out of balance. If you put a magnetic field near your body, it's believed things will go back to normal.
Ions like calcium and potassium help your cells send signals. In tests, scientists have seen magnets change how these ions act. However, so far, there isn’t evidence that magnets have the same effect on cells when they’re in your body.”

what if the magnets you had on her helped even a little? Maybe I’m getting to “granola” here but...? Just a thought.

Yeah, I wondered if these very strong magnets might affect her in some way, even having them so close to her heart... but if it were to affect her who knows where the right place to put them would be, and what location might make it worse? It was over a year ago that I started to use the magnets but I think one of the reasons I changed to the metal washers was due to that doubt, besides that, she stuck to metal things
Now it doesn't seem to be an issue of balance, but rather because one of her legs is a lot weaker...