Lameness/weakness in flock

[Outpost JWB]

I would imagine they had it when you got them. The symptoms don't always show for awhile. I will try to PM a couple other members to help you. Sorry. I am not real experienced with Mareks.

 

[seminolewind]

The only way to know for sure is to send a deceased bird for a necropsy. Anything else is layman opinion-which is not bad but lacks a microscope, petrie dishes and a pcr test equipment.

Just remember , aside from a lab, any thing with Marek's is maybe, possibly, might be, looks like, etc. No for sures. When you go to a livestock store, sometimes you have to look under goats or cattle to get the stuff you need. Chicken vitamin pack are cheap- less than 5 bucks for a packet that treats 50 gallons, literally a pinch per gallon.

Centrum- crush and put a pinch in a gallon of water (how scientific!). Any store that has vitamins carries generic multi B vitamins. Like Walmart .

 

[Eggcessive]

Hey guys, small update - but not such a good one

I was looking over all my chickens and I found this on one of my Ameraucana Roos. He has it in both eyes (except on his left eye it goes out towards his beak instead of down) but I only took the pic of one side.

I read that chickens with Mareks can get this key-hole eye shape. Does this mean that my Ameraucanas had it before I got them? Non of them ever showed signs except this guy

His eyes could have what is called a coloboma which is a birth defect, and common in humans and other animals. It is not necessarily ocular Mareks.

 

[Iziayia]

Okay thanks,

I don't plan on culling any of my chickens now, if one ends up in really terrible condition/doesn't get better I'll have to euthanize it, at that point I'll send it in for a necropsy (to a university that does partnership with our uni for chicken research).

For now I'll proceed with a nutritional boost / supplement. I'll also start taking precautions I guess, vaccinating new animals/chicks, and quarantining them - probably even keep them separate. I'm not quite sure yet. I won't be adding any new animals until next year anyway, but I figure it's a good idea to start planning 'just in case'.

 

[Iziayia]

His eyes could have what is called a coloboma which is a birth defect, and common in humans and other animals. It is not necessarily ocular Mareks.

I really hope that's the case and this is all just one huge coincidence! But precautions are always safe to take.

 

[Outpost JWB]

Definitely!

Also there is a thread on BYC called "Not an emergency...Marek's in flock. It has some very good information on there as well as some very informative members. Eggcessive & Seminolewind are on there

. Hope that helps. Hang in there! Educating yourself about it is the best thing you can do right now. And like Seminolewind said, we don't know for sure if it is Marek's unless a necropsy is done.

 

[darkbrahmamama]

I had a 10 month old hen pass about 9 months ago. She had always acted a little "off" when compared to the others. She'd keep her neck tucked in as a chick, it looked like she didn't have a neck even though she did. She stayed by herself a lot. Not as eager to go out with the others. But she ate, drank, & walked around fine. Then one morning I went to do morning chores & she was walking like she was drunk. She'd take a few steps, use her wings to balance herself, fall forward ..... by the end of the day she passed. I honestly think that she had a vitamin deficiency. None of the other birds acted the way that she did. Due to my ignorance (lack of knowledge) I didn't get any vitamins or anything for her. Hopefully the only thing wrong with your birds is a vitamin deficiency, & it's not something more serious. Good luck! I hope that you don't have to have a necropsy done.

 

[Eggcessive]

Below are some pictures from Cornell University of normal and Mareks eyes. Take a look at the 3 links in post 10 of this thread for pictures and articles on coloboma: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/845701/ocular-mareks-any-doubt

Normal eye in the center

Normal eye on the left

 

[Nambroth]

The only way to know for sure is to send a deceased bird for a necropsy. Anything else is layman opinion-which is not bad but lacks a microscope, petrie dishes and a pcr test equipment.

Just remember , aside from a lab, any thing with Marek's is maybe, possibly, might be, looks like, etc. No for sures. When you go to a livestock store, sometimes you have to look under goats or cattle to get the stuff you need. Chicken vitamin pack are cheap- less than 5 bucks for a packet that treats 50 gallons, literally a pinch per gallon.

Centrum- crush and put a pinch in a gallon of water (how scientific!). Any store that has vitamins carries generic multi B vitamins. Like Walmart .

Yep-- pretty much this.

 

[seminolewind]

I had a 10 month old hen pass about 9 months ago. She had always acted a little "off" when compared to the others. She'd keep her neck tucked in as a chick, it looked like she didn't have a neck even though she did. She stayed by herself a lot. Not as eager to go out with the others. But she ate, drank, & walked around fine. Then one morning I went to do morning chores & she was walking like she was drunk. She'd take a few steps, use her wings to balance herself, fall forward ..... by the end of the day she passed. I honestly think that she had a vitamin deficiency. None of the other birds acted the way that she did. Due to my ignorance (lack of knowledge) I didn't get any vitamins or anything for her. Hopefully the only thing wrong with your birds is a vitamin deficiency, & it's not something more serious. Good luck! I hope that you don't have to have a necropsy done.

I would definitely look into possible bad things she could have eaten, like moldy or a dead mouse. Most of the time, a Marek's symptomatic bird does not die that fast. If she was a little off since birth, it may have been genetic. As for lack of knowledge, no one ever knows everything. Learning is for life.