Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

If you’ve seen me around this forum, you might know that I’ve had a rough go with our first flock. Despite meticulous biosecurity, our flock of 7 is now 5 due to PCR diagnosed Lymphoid Leukosis in 2 of our living hens. The second deceased hen was recently necropsied and cause of death is…likely Marek’s. I talked with the pathologist for awhile about this. Evidently ALV most commonly impacts B-cells, versus T-cell activity in Marek’s. Marek’s also more commonly impacts nerve cells unlike Leukosis. Necropsy of the most recently deceased hen is extremely indicative of Marek’s. I mean…what are the odds. They’re vaccinated for Marek’s. They’re 1.5 years old. I just don’t get it. I’m not going to cull the flock, I’ll euthanize if they’re suffering. I’m just so defeated by this. Hoping it’s one or the other versus both, but I honestly don’t know how to process the sadness of all of this.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry that you are dealing with this, but kudos that you got testing and necropsies done. Could it be possible that the 2 new birds you added this past year were carriers of Mareks? If there has ever been a case of Mareks in a flock, even vaccinated birds are considered carriers, even if they have never shown symptoms. Older birds can show symptoms within 3 weeks or longer after exposure.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

So sorry that you are dealing with this, but kudos that you got testing and necropsies done. Could it be possible that the 2 new birds you added this past year were carriers of Mareks? If there has ever been a case of Mareks in a flock, even vaccinated birds are considered carriers, even if they have never shown symptoms. Older birds can show symptoms within 3 weeks or longer after exposure.

Thank you. The 2 new hens were added in May of last year. We lost the first in December and second a couple of weeks back. We quarantined, but know Marek’s doesn’t necessarily respect that. They are both Silkies, a breed notoriously susceptible to Marek’s, but are completely fine at almost a year old. The odds of our original vaccinated flock contracting and succumbing to Marek‘s at almost 2 years old seems so unlikely. They also started showing some symptoms here and there earlier than they met the new girls. Just so strange.

 

[bmxspeedqueen]

Thank you. The 2 new hens were added in May of last year. We lost the first in December and second a couple of weeks back. We quarantined, but know Marek’s doesn’t necessarily respect that. They are both Silkies, a breed notoriously susceptible to Marek’s, but are completely fine at almost a year old. The odds of our original vaccinated flock contracting and succumbing to Marek‘s at almost 2 years old seems so unlikely. They also started showing some symptoms here and there earlier than they met the new girls. Just so strange.

Did you do PCR testing or just necropsy? Im hearing of lots of incorrect mareks diagnosis by visual presentations. There is a lab in texas RAL Labs that offers overnite PCR testing where u can test for Mareks or RE also and get a definitative diagnosis. Unfortunately, these 3 viruses presebt similiarly and even the same virus presents differentky based on the strain and how it was transmitted.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

Did you do PCR testing or just necropsy? Im hearing of lots of incorrect mareks diagnosis by visual presentations. There is a lab in texas RAL Labs that offers overnite PCR testing where u can test for Mareks or RE also and get a definitative diagnosis. Unfortunately, these 3 viruses presebt similiarly and even the same virus presents differentky based on the strain and how it was transmitted.

I think RAL was the one that our vet used for PCR testing for Marek's and Leukosis on two of our live birds. They were both positive for Leukosis and negative for Marek's, but we recently lost one of the two to Marek's--only a month or so after testing. I had a necropsy done on her and they sampled + sent to a lab in Georgia. She died of Marek's based on the specific cell activity, but was positive for both.

 

[slurlinem]

Did you do PCR testing or just necropsy? Im hearing of lots of incorrect mareks diagnosis by visual presentations. There is a lab in texas RAL Labs that offers overnite PCR testing where u can test for Mareks or RE also and get a definitative diagnosis. Unfortunately, these 3 viruses presebt similiarly and even the same virus presents differentky based on the strain and how it was transmitted.

What is RE? Thank you.

 

[slurlinem]

If you’ve seen me around this forum, you might know that I’ve had a rough go with our first flock. Despite meticulous biosecurity, our flock of 7 is now 5 due to PCR diagnosed Lymphoid Leukosis in 2 of our living hens. The second deceased hen was recently necropsied and cause of death is…likely Marek’s. I talked with the pathologist for awhile about this. Evidently ALV most commonly impacts B-cells, versus T-cell activity in Marek’s. Marek’s also more commonly impacts nerve cells unlike Leukosis. Necropsy of the most recently deceased hen is extremely indicative of Marek’s. I mean…what are the odds. They’re vaccinated for Marek’s. They’re 1.5 years old. I just don’t get it. I’m not going to cull the flock, I’ll euthanize if they’re suffering. I’m just so defeated by this. Hoping it’s one or the other versus both, but I honestly don’t know how to process the sadness of all of this.

Interesting information. I’m trying to sort my own situation out. What is AVL? Is that another term for Lymphoid Leukosis? Thank you.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

Interesting information. I’m trying to sort my own situation out. What is AVL? Is that another term for Lymphoid Leukosis? Thank you.

ALV is the acronym for Avian Leukosis Virus. Happy to chat about your situation if you’d like, with the caveat I’m not a vet, but have seen a few losses from it.