Lymphoma

[Tarani]

My 7 1/2 month-old Speckled Sussex, Hazel, has just been diagnosed with lymphoma. She was vaccinated for Marek's by the hatchery, so I don't think it's from that. She has tumors on her neck and inside the cloaca; the vet suspects she has more internally. Over the past few weeks, she's had good days and bad days; some days she forages normally, eating worms and grass. Other days, she just wants to sit by herself and sleep. I took her to the vet on Friday, and he flushed her crop out; it was sour and distended. She was also underweight. He felt the lumps on her neck, and thought they were either tumors or enlarged lymph nodes. He biopsied one and it came back positive for lymphoma. I have her indoors, feeding her a liquid diet, although mainly what she wants to do is drink water. The vet says there's nothing I can do for her; her tumors will likely continue to grow until she can no longer breathe. Before I have her euthanized, I wanted to see if anyone had ever encountered anything like this. I also want to make sure my other girls are protected; they all came from the same hatchery at the same time, and are all vaccinated for Marek's and Coccidiosis. None of them have any symptoms of anything wrong (thank goodness); they're all full of energy and acting normally.

 

[Eggcessive]

What state are you in? Most state vet pathologists will do a necropy when you lose her, to try and diagnose her lymphoma. Lymphoid leukosis virus or Mareks can be very similar, and lately, some threads here have noted that it can be hard to positively diagnose those. A Mareks PCR test can be done to look for that. The vaccine does not always protect against Mareks. It takes 2 full weeks without any exposure to achieve immunity after the vaccine. Here is a list of state vets to contact for a necropsy after death:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

@azygous is a BYCmember who has dealt with lymphoid leukosis in her flock for many years. She may chime in or you can look at some of her threads, and she is very knowledgeable. I am very sorry that you are dealing with this, and hopefully your hen will not suffer. I would make her comfortable and try to keep her eating and drinking, although crop disorder can be a hard to deal with issue with many chicken conditions.
This lab in Texas has home testing kits ($40-50) available on blood from a trimmed toenail for a PCR blood test for Mareks if interested:
https://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf

 

[Tarani]

What state are you in? Most state vet pathologists will do a necropy when you lose her, to try and diagnose her lymphoma. Lymphoid leukosis virus or Mareks can be very similar, and lately, some threads here have noted that it can be hard to positively diagnose those. A Mareks PCR test can be done to look for that. The vaccine does not always protect against Mareks. It takes 2 full weeks without any exposure to achieve immunity after the vaccine. Here is a list of state vets to contact for a necropsy after death:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

@azygous is a BYCmember who has dealt with lymphoid leukosis in her flock for many years. She may chime in or you can look at some of her threads, and she is very knowledgeable. I am very sorry that you are dealing with this, and hopefully your hen will not suffer. I would make her comfortable and try to keep her eating and drinking, although crop disorder can be a hard to deal with issue with many chicken conditions.
This lab in Texas has home testing kits ($40-50) available on blood from a trimmed toenail for a PCR blood test for Mareks if interested:
https://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf

I'm in Georgia. I will definitely do a necropsy, although I'm very doubtful that it's Marek's. I'm not sure how they would ever have been exposed to it; there have never been chickens on this property until they arrived and I don't come into contact with any other flocks. The hatchery shipped them directly to me when they were one-day-old chicks. From research, it looks like it might be from the avian leukosis virus or the one caused by mosquitoes (whose name I can't remember just now). She also doesn't have any of the other typical signs of Marek's (paralysis, raised follicles, grey iris, etc.). It will definitely be worth testing for every possibility, though. I don't want any of my other girls to have to go through this.