Is this Marek's?

[HeidiGetsChicks]

I have a 2 month old rooster who's showing signs of weak legs and balance issues. Can still walk, but very hesitant to do so and seems uncomfortable standing, resting down on his hocks.

I've carefully inspected his feet multiple times over and cannot find anything wrong. His legs, nothing seems broken, no flinching anywhere as I feel them.

I noticed he seemed off yesterday, standing in an odd tail down position, hesitant to walk, but he perked right up when I brought in food so I figured he was fine. Today he's struggling so much with balance he can't drink unless I bring water down to his level while "sitting" on his hocks.

Is this most likely Marek's? Do I isolate him right away or assume the rest of the flock has already been exposed? We were planning to cull him soon anyway, but were hoping to eat him, would these symptoms indicate he's not safe to eat?

I am exactly 2 months into my journey of raising chickens and I hear Marek's is bad, so I'm trying to wrap my head around what a good protocol is moving forward.

 

[Sussex19]

The only way to know for sure is to get him tested. As you were thinking of culling him anyway, instead of eat him you could send him to a lab for testing.

The is other things that an cause similar symptoms, like vitamin deficiencies, but I'm not sure what the treatment for that is, so wait and see what other people say.

If it is Mareks, there is little point in isolating him, as by now they would all have it. Mareks is not harmful to humans, you can still eat all the eggs and meat, although I avoid eating those which are showing symptoms. ( I have done necropsies on chickens that died from it, and didn't like what I saw, because it causes organ shutdown in my experience)
As long as they are just carriers in good health, I have no hesitation at all, and they taste very good, the same as any other chicken.

 

[Eggcessive]

What are you feeding him? I would try some human vitamin super b complex that contains riboflavin. It is fairly expensive at Walmart and other pharmacies. give him 1/4 to 1/2 tablet daily crushed into food or a little water and see if that helps.

 

[Kiki]

What exactly are you feeding him?

 

[HeidiGetsChicks]

What are you feeding him?

What exactly are you feeding him?

Earth First chick starter/grower feed (always available), lots of greens from the yard, veggie/fruit scraps.

Just added a second water with NutriDrench in it today because he can't reach the other water.

 

[Kiki]

Earth First chick starter/grower feed (always available), lots of greens from the yard, veggie/fruit scraps.

Just added a second water with NutriDrench in it today because he can't reach the other water.

I'd stop feeding everything but the chick starter feed... immediately.

 

[HeidiGetsChicks]

I'd stop feeding everything but the chick starter feed... immediately.

Is 2 months too young for chickens to eat greens and scraps? When is it okay?

When my family raised chickens when I was a kid it was without any chicken feed at all (in a remote area of West Africa) so I'm new to this concept of chickens being sensitive about their feed.

 

[Sussex19]

There are two different schools of thought about feeding chickens.
One is that anything other then chicken feed are treats, and to many treats are bad for their health. The other is that chicken food is to processed, and a better health comes from a more natural diet.
The first is more fool proof, and as your cockerel maybe be having vitamin deficiencies it would be worth a try cutting out anything else that could be adding to the problem.
Other then that, you need to make up your own mind as to what way you want to go with, but imo the best is half way in-between.
Making a balanced diet all on your own is very hard! (harder then it used to be, because chickens used to be a part of a big farm, with a lot more spilled food and stuff from other animals, so they could balance out themselves, and also modern chicken breeds need better food because they lay more eggs)

 

[Kiki]

Is 2 months too young for chickens to eat greens and scraps? When is it okay?

When my family raised chickens when I was a kid it was without any chicken feed at all (in a remote area of West Africa) so I'm new to this concept of chickens being sensitive about their feed.

Well it's not as simple as it used to be hundreds of years ago.

The chicken feed is made to be a complete and balanced meal with all the nutrition the bird needs. When you start feeding all these other things you are taking away from the bird getting a balanced diet with all the vitamins and minerals it needs.

 

[HeidiGetsChicks]

Well it's not as simple as it used to be hundreds of years ago.

The chicken feed is made to be a complete and balanced meal with all the nutrition the bird needs. When you start feeding all these other things you are taking away from the bird getting a balanced diet with all the vitamins and minerals it needs.

Well I'm not hundreds of years old, that's for sure. My family raised chickens on what they could forage for themselves and whatever table scraps we gave them, no daytime predator protection, and no internet to ask these sorts of questions on. For us, yes it was that simple, the hens raised their own chicks and it was survival of the fittest for whomever could escape the hawks and falcons.

Now as an adult living in the US and being responsible for my own chickens for the first time I realize things are different, that's why I'm asking all the dumb questions to understand the "why" of it. I don't have an attachment to the way things were done hundreds of years ago, but since that literally *is* my prior frame of reference I might mention it from time to time so that those informing me can get a sense of where the gaps in my knowledge might be.

I appreciate the response!