lose of balance, appetite, open mouth breathing

[Cellomama2]

I tried to get a few more pics but my kids were outside with me so I could only do so much while trying to keep them away. I did open the intestines and ran them a little but didn't find anything out of the ordinary. I also opened what I was assuming was the stomach, which was very hard, and didn't find anything is looking in there either. I will work on getting a scale small enough to weigh the organs since Dandelion's legs are completely splayed now.

Not that I know exactly what I'm looking for yet but I was really hoping to find some big tumor or a bunch of black tissue or something. I will be looking into that diy necropsy though asap.

 

[Cellomama2]

Thank you all very much by the way. This of course isn't what I was expecting with raising chickens, not that anyone does, but I've been on other forums in the past where people just rip you apart for the tiniest thing and I haven't seen that in any posts I've read here (Which lately has been quite a few) even when opinions differ. It just really makes it much easier to deal with all this.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm just so sad that you are going through this. You are doing your best for these birds and really are to be congratulated on that and also investigating further after their death, especially when you have small children to look after. The more knowledge you gain from each case, the better able you are to look after the others and make appropriate decisions.
I know that horrible helpless feeling, but sadly it is not possible to heal every illness and Marek's is one of those where there is no set pattern to it or treatment that will fix it. Each case, responds and/or progresses differently. All you can do is support them whilst they fight it and end it for them when their quality of life is not sustainable.... I have been battling it for 3 years now and I understand your heartache. A few do make miraculous recoveries from attacks, but will be prone to more severe attacks in the future, sometimes months or even a year or more later. There are just no hard and fast rules about it. It is a similar virus to the cold sore virus in humans.... you just don't know who has it until they have an outbreak and what triggers an outbreak in one may not trigger it in another. Unfortunately the means of transmission is much less contained than the direct contact needed with our cold sore virus... dander dust from infected birds is inhaled by others with Marek's. Some will be resistant and not get the disease and some will contract it but may not show symptoms for several months.

Are these other photos of Sassy too. The liver does look an unhealthy colour now that you can see more of it, but from what I can see of the heart and lungs, there is nothing seriously abnormal. I would have expected the lungs to be more bright red than they are, but that may be as a result of your means of euthanasia. It would have been helpful for them to have been removed so that they could be viewed in isolation as there may be tumours on the other side, but nothing obvious. It may just be that she was battling a respiratory infection as a result of a compromised immune system, rather than tumours causing respiratory distress.
I'm not going to suggest you try to examine the sciatic nerves on Dandelion if she doesn't make it because I have not had success in identifying and isolating the nerves myself.... but it can be a key factor in confirming Marek's particularly in those with classic leg paralysis as Sassy and Dandelion were/are exhibiting. I've also found tumours in muscles of some birds with Marek's

Anyway, I am still trying to find the video tutorials on doing a necropsy. When I do find them, don't be put off by the extensive nature of them.... pick and choose which parts are going to be appropriate to your bird from the symptoms it displayed, rather than feel you have to spend hours doing a full professional examination. Personally I don't weigh organs because if it is abnormally large I will recognise that, but of course that comes with experience. If you have butchered a few chickens, you get to know what is abnormal.

I'm sorry I can't give you any definitive cause of death from your necropsy photos but my diagnosis from the symptoms, number of birds displaying them, juvenile age of the birds affected and history of having acquired young birds from an independent breeder, all point very significantly towards Marek's.

What I can say is that you are going through a really bad patch right now, but in my experience it has probably peaked and will level out a bit....hopefully.

 

[azygous]

I believe we should proceed from here on the reasonable assumption you have Marek's in your flock. It would be nice to have a definite diagnosis, but it won't change the facts that you can expect more of your flock to show symptoms from time to time and you will need to adopt bio-safety protocols so that this virus doesn't spread to other flocks.

I recommended weighing the organs just to provide more information for those here who can help you determine what they mean. When my cockerel was necropsied, his liver weighed two pounds. That's a big clue, pardon the pun.

I think I mentioned I have a similar virus infecting my flock. I have two dozen chickens at present, and almost all are asymptomatic for now. This is also what you can expect. From time to time, one will begin to show signs of having poor respiration or trouble walking. I then monitor that individual and as long as they are mostly happy, I do nothing. When they stop being able to walk normally or get onto the perch at night or they are struggling to breathe, then I euthanize.

When I import baby chicks into the flock or have a broody hatch eggs, I know they will be infected. There is no cure or vaccination for lymphotic leucosis as there is for Marek's. Most develop resistance and live normal lives, laying, etc. You will be able to vaccinate new chicks to help them develop resistance to Marek's, but they will still carry the disease. This means, more than anything, you will have a closed flock. You will not be able to take any chicken out of it to show or trade or sell or rehome.

Life will return to a "new normal" after you get used to the idea of living with this. It's not the end of everything.