Maraks....??

[Sussex19]

Thank you everyone for all the really helpful replies!
I have skimmed though it all, and will come back to it tomorrow as I have had a bit of a long day.
One last question, while other things can cause an eye to go cloudy, can anything else cause the pupil to not respond to light? It seems to just stay the same, even when I shine a torch into it.

 

[igorsMistress]

The only way to know to know if it’s Marek’s is to get testing done. Anything else is speculation. There are a few viral tumor diseases that chickens can pass around and they generally have similar symptoms.

If you have a dead chicken you can send off the refrigerated carcass to your state veterinary lab, or any lab in any state that does necropsies, for testing. RAL seems to be a popular lab around BYC but I haven’t had an opportunity to peruse their site yet,’so I’m unfamiliar with their procedures. However folks talk about sending swabs so it doesn’t seem like sending them a body is necessary.

Good luck!

 

[microchick]

A peck to the eye can cause an injury. I have a rooster with a eye that has a fixed dilated pupil. He does fine. I figure he got into it with another rooster and bingo.

Look up anterior uveitis, also along with iritis.

 

[Sussex19]

A peck to the eye can cause an injury. I have a rooster with a eye that has a fixed dilated pupil. He does fine. I figure he got into it with another rooster and bingo.

Look up anterior uveitis, also along with iritis.

Thanks!
It looks like there certainly could be other causes of it, and when I look at my flock and see how healthy they look over all, I do find it hard to believe that there's MD in it.
It has been over a year and a half since the pair of birds that would have had to have been the carriers (if it is MD) were introduced, so I would have thought I would be seeing more symptoms by now.
Time will tell, I guess.

 

[Sussex19]

@microchick and @coach723 here are some updated pics. I can't see much difference, but then I have been seeing it each day so its hard to tell, so I was wondering if you guys could have another look.

Good eye

and the bad eye

I think the bad one looks like it has a bit more pressure in it, sort of bulging very slightly.
I was wondering, is there anything genetic that could cause this?
Just because her sister has wry tail, and neither of them have a very good body shape. I think the 'breeder' we got them from was doing quite lot of inbreeding, and just generally not very good genetics.
I feel like it may be quite painful, and due to her leg shape she sometimes can't seem to get around the best. (and this isn't possible leg paralysis, just poor conformation)
I'm half thinking it may be best to put her down, but at other times she really seems to enjoy life. Any thoughts on this?

 

[microchick]

I would speculate that her left eye definitely has some sort of inflammation in it. The color and shape of the pupil isn't good at all. The big question is whether or not you are looking at Marek's disease.

Possibly. But the only way you are going to know for certain is with a necropsy. How is her weight doing? Is she skinny as in skin over bones? Does she have any breast muscle at all or do you only feel breast bone when you check her?

Personally I don't put birds down for just being symptomatic. If you are dealing with Marek's then the genie is out of the bottle and your whole flock is exposed. I do not cull until they start showing more pronounced symptoms. Profound weight loss, weakness, loss of interest in food, seizures, self isolation, signs of suffering, inability to get around, etc. Then I put them down. But that is the way that I do things and you may think differently. As the old saying goes, your flock, your rules.

If you worry about her spreading Marek's if that is the case true that when they are profoundly sick with the disease they shed more dander due to stress, but like I said, if she does indeed have MD then she is shedding it all the time anyway and so is every bird you have.

It's a no win scenario.

 

[Sussex19]

How is her weight doing? Is she skinny as in skin over bones? Does she have any breast muscle at all or do you only feel breast bone when you check her?

I'll do a more thorough check later, but I think its not bad. Just a little thinner than the others.

Personally I don't put birds down for just being symptomatic. If you are dealing with Marek's then the genie is out of the bottle and your whole flock is exposed. I do not cull until they start showing more pronounced symptoms. Profound weight loss, weakness, loss of interest in food, seizures, self isolation, signs of suffering, inability to get around, etc. Then I put them down. But that is the way that I do things and you may think differently. As the old saying goes, your flock, your rules.

If you worry about her spreading Marek's if that is the case true that when they are profoundly sick with the disease they shed more dander due to stress, but like I said, if she does indeed have MD then she is shedding it all the time anyway and so is every bird you have.

Yeah I'm not worried about spreading it to the others, heck if its, the others must have given it to her in the first place.
She does sometimes hang back from the group, and doesn't always seem the most keen for snacks and treats.
But in the evenings, her crop is normally full.
I try to keep my chickens more as livestock, but there is a fair few that have crossed the line into being more like pets. This BO is in that category, so I'll just keep monitoring her for now, I think.

There is some good news though, in the moment I've got heaps of young chicks and teenage birds up to around 19 weeks, and none of them have shown any signs of anything Mareks related.

 

[microchick]

That's wonderful news!

I say that my birds let me know when it's time. I've had pullets with ocular Marek's who plug along for a year or so, will be fine one morning, the next I go out and find them laying on their sides unable to get up due to stroke or some other neuro involvement due to MD. I won't let them suffer from that point on. Also when I see them with catastrophic weight loss, I end it for them. It's just the most humane thing to do for them and the last gift of love I can show them to let them go peacefully.

If you do lose a bird or have to cull, please do consider having a necropsy done. Not much you can do if it comes back positive but you will know where you stand with your flock.

 

[Sussex19]

I say that my birds let me know when it's time. I've had pullets with ocular Marek's who plug along for a year or so, will be fine one morning, the next I go out and find them laying on their sides unable to get up due to stroke or some other neuro involvement due to MD. I won't let them suffer from that point on. Also when I see them with catastrophic weight loss, I end it for them. It's just the most humane thing to do for them and the last gift of love I can show them to let them go peacefully.

I agree with you, and to be honest I think I'm quite good at knowing when to let go, as I have been around a lot of animals growing up. Not chickens though, which was why I wasn't quite sure whats what with them.

If you do lose a bird or have to cull, please do consider having a necropsy done. Not much you can do if it comes back positive but you will know where you stand with your flock.

Cost is a bit prohibitive, as my dad thinks the cost of testing could be used just as well for feed and things.
Not sure really...its a bit out of my hands in the moment.