It's Marek's. How long does she have?

[krissyweso]

I was wondering if any of you who've had chickens with Marek's could enlighten me:

1. How long since first seeing signs of paralysis do you see it start to spread to other extremities (it has just been her right foot for three weeks)?

2. How long since first seeing signs of paralysis does Marek's usually kill the chicken?

3. If a chicken does survive Marek's, do they get their motor abilities back or will her foot be paralyzed forever?

I can't seem to find these answers anywhere.

Thank you in advance!!

 

[Nashv755]

From what I've read Marek's causes tumors to grow in the spine, that's what causes the paralysis. It's kinda like ALS for chicken but it's contagious to the rest of the flock because it can be spread by chicken dandruff. I dispatched the 2 that I had after I figured out what it was.

 

[Nashv755]

Mine started limping and within 3 days couldn't walk and was trying to move around on their wing.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

There's many types of Mareks. Some cause paralysis, some cause tumors in the organ tract, some cause brain lesions. Without knowing what type of Mareks she has, it's hard to say.

 

[springvalley123]

I'm not sure who, but someone on here has treated Mareks with acyclovir or valacyclovir, since it's similar to herpes viruses. Another thing that helps keep this type of virus at bay (in cats and humans at least), is lysine. Also, ivermectin comes to mind as having broad, general antiviral properties, but I don't know what form. Maybe talk to the avian vet about these possibilities?

 

[Myrshine]

Before assuming that it's Marek's Disease because of the limping, I suggest getting actual testing done. If you're in the US, you can contact your State of Agriculture veterinarian and ask if they do live testing. If not, I suggest using one of these animal laboratories online that I'll add links for below.

Did any of your vets do any PCR or blood testing to confirm that it is indeed Marek's Disease? There are many other causes and diseases that can cause a simple leg limp. She could have very well sprained or pulled a muscle. Obviously there is no broken bones as she has already had an x-ray done. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause similar symptoms to Marek's Disease as well as other diseases called Mycoplasma Synoviae (MS), Avian Leukosis Virus (ALV) or another not well known disease called Reticuloendotheliosis Virus.

Here are the links to the online laboratories that you can choose from— doesn't matter which one as they are both amazing!

Research Associates Laboratory (RAL) / Vet DNA
Zoologix

I hope this helps you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The only way to know for sure if it's Marek's or not is to have testing done.
Do you have a video of your pullet's actions? Upload video to youtube and provide a link.
Some folks cull symptomatic birds to lessen the spread of shedding. Others offer supportive care of vitamins (B-Complex) to see if they improve.
Some birds may "recover" show improvement, others may not. It's a complicated disease from my understanding of reading/research, there's no perfect answers.
Read these 2 articles, they may help you with some of your questions. I'll tag in @microchick to chime in as well.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-i-learned-to-deal-with-mareks-disease.76944/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[krissyweso]

Mine started limping and within 3 days couldn't walk and was trying to move around on their wing.

Thank you for the info! It's so hard to find other people's first hand experiences where it isn't a working farm where they just cull them off the bat.

She's my pet chicken that I sit on the couch and watch TV with... Not just another animal, so I want to try to help her get over this, if there's any way possible.

The vet says that he thinks she might survive it because she hasn't progressed much at all. I've actually seen some (but very little) movent in her foot that used to not move at all.

 

[krissyweso]

The only way to know for sure if it's Marek's or not is to have testing done.
Do you have a video of your pullet's actions? Upload video to youtube and provide a link.
Some folks cull symptomatic birds to lessen the spread of shedding. Others offer supportive care of vitamins (B-Complex) to see if they improve.
Some birds may "recover" show improvement, others may not. It's a complicated disease from my understanding of reading/research, there's no perfect answers.
Read these 2 articles, they may help you with some of your questions. I'll tag in @microchick to chime in as well.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-i-learned-to-deal-with-mareks-disease.76944/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Yea I read both of those a few weeks ago. Still doesn't provide me the answers I'm looking for, unfortunately. I'm looking more for first hand experiences from people who really tried to rehab. It seems like most written experiences are from people with working farms or who are willing to cull entire flocks, which I am not.

 

[krissyweso]

Before assuming that it's Marek's Disease because of the limping, I suggest getting actual testing done. If you're in the US, you can contact your State of Agriculture veterinarian and ask if they do live testing. If not, I suggest using one of these animal laboratories online that I'll add links for below.

Did any of your vets do any PCR or blood testing to confirm that it is indeed Marek's Disease? There are many other causes and diseases that can cause a simple leg limp. She could have very well sprained or pulled a muscle. Obviously there is no broken bones as she has already had an x-ray done. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause similar symptoms to Marek's Disease as well as other diseases called Mycoplasma Synoviae (MS), Avian Leukosis Virus (ALV) or another not well known disease called Reticuloendotheliosis Virus.

Here are the links to the online laboratories that you can choose from— doesn't matter which one as they are both amazing!

Research Associates Laboratory (RAL) / Vet DNA
Zoologix

I hope this helps you!

I'm not just assuming. I've done a lot of my own research, and, as I say in the post, she's been seen by a doctor the times, had x-rays, etc. It's the only reasonable explanation at this point. The dept of Ag here only does post mortem testing.

Also I've been giving her an complex vitamin for 3 weeks, she's got no swelling,

I just want to know from people with first hand experience with Mareks how fast it progressed and if they can regain their mobility. Do you have first hand experience with any of that?