Marek’s?

[Frankiegirl]

Sorry about your lost chickens. Very sad! But all diseases are not Marek, because this disease is very progressive. Sometimes I read this forum and all the problems are Marek. You also have this strange issue give antibiotics for every little thing. Sorry, didn´t want to offend. If there is Marek, everyone gets sick and I doubt if the chicken will live for 2 weeks at all. I had a rooster 2 years ago who one day lay down and his legs were no longer working. Suddenly his outer toes were crooked. We euthanized him and sent him for an autopsy. I also suspected Marek, but no- result genetic problem. He was cochin rooster and after that I don't like breeds whose legs I can't see. My concern was huge and I read in several languages about Marek. Marek can be no visible, but unfortunately it is not possible that the whole flock is like immune. My recommendation and experience is- more attention to chickens who are pecked. In 3 months I have lost 2 chickens because I didn't have time. I usually feed the last ones myself. We are at risk for bird flu and the chickens are all inside all spring. Both of my chickens died because they didn't dare come to the floor to eat. They hurriedly grabbed the wheat and did not eat the little stones. Both chickens were stressed, did not lay well and had diarrhea. After lethargy they lived only two days. This was one example, but long-term stress is deadly to any birds. Sorry my english.

Thank you for adding your information all the way from Estonia! This is what I love about this site...it allows people from all over the world to unite and help each other. Losing a member of the flock is never easy. My birds are my “pets with benefits”...EGGS

My girl has been on and off with with a bad leg for months now and your post along with @Chickenslol are giving me some hope that it might be something else.

I am sorry your chickens passed away. That is never easy, but I appreciate your sharing your stories to help others.

And lastly, @Morgank...your English is PERFECT! Thank you all

 

[Morgank]

Thank you for adding your information all the way from Estonia! This is what I love about this site...it allows people from all over the world to unite and help each other. Losing a member of the flock is never easy. My birds are my “pets with benefits”...EGGS

My girl has been on and off with with a bad leg for months now and your post along with @Chickenslol are giving me some hope that it might be something else.

I am sorry your chickens passed away. That is never easy, but I appreciate your sharing your stories to help others.

And lastly, @Morgank...your English is PERFECT! Thank you all

Thank you! You made ma day today! No matter from which contingent, chickens are still chickens. I always try to help. Not everything is perfect in Europe, but also in here is old chicken farming experience. I myself am a girl in the capital, but my deep roots are in the country. Tell me about your chicken bad leg and everything.

 

[Frankiegirl]

I love these little birds. I got my first flock of 5 ladies during covid. The one I mention with the bad leg is one of the original Fab 5 I call them. I dont think her issue is mareks now that I have had time to observe her. She is favoring her leg and now will not put any weight on it. She hops around and hasn’t lost her apetite so I am hopeful. There is only one vet in town that sees chickens so I think I might take her to the vet school at Michigan STate University to check her out. It has been ongoing since January and I’d like to get it figured out.

Just got 4 more chicks last week and they are delightful. Hope all is well and tell me about Estonia!

 

[Eggcessive]

I love these little birds. I got my first flock of 5 ladies during covid. The one I mention with the bad leg is one of the original Fab 5 I call them. I dont think her issue is mareks now that I have had time to observe her. She is favoring her leg and now will not put any weight on it. She hops around and hasn’t lost her apetite so I am hopeful. There is only one vet in town that sees chickens so I think I might take her to the vet school at Michigan STate University to check her out. It has been ongoing since January and I’d like to get it figured out.

Just got 4 more chicks last week and they are delightful. Hope all is well and tell me about Estonia!

Back in your original thread in January, there was a link about RAL laboratory in TX where you could contact them and receive the items needed to take a blood sample from trimming a toenail, and send it in to test for Mareks. Initially it costs about $20, and in total is about $38. I am glad that she is still thriving and getting around well enough. It would be good to just rule out Mareks, so that you won’t worry about others. Let us know how she gets along. Here is the link for RAL testing:
http://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf

 

[Frankiegirl]

Back in your original thread in January, there was a link about RAL laboratory in TX where you could contact them and receive the items needed to take a blood sample from trimming a toenail, and send it in to test for Mareks. Initially it costs about $20, and in total is about $38. I am glad that she is still thriving and getting around well enough. It would be good to just rule out Mareks, so that you won’t worry about others. Let us know how she gets along. Here is the link for RAL testing:
http://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf

WOW this is really good information. Thank you @Eggcessive for your help on this. I will definitely take action on it this week. So glad to have pros like you and others to help us relatively to the chicken world. I always had dogs and hope to again some day. These ladies saved my sanity over Covid so I owe it them to do all I can to give them their best possible life. Thank you for your follow up and knowledge. Have a terrific day.

 

[Morgank]

I love these little birds. I got my first flock of 5 ladies during covid. The one I mention with the bad leg is one of the original Fab 5 I call them. I dont think her issue is mareks now that I have had time to observe her. She is favoring her leg and now will not put any weight on it. She hops around and hasn’t lost her apetite so I am hopeful. There is only one vet in town that sees chickens so I think I might take her to the vet school at Michigan STate University to check her out. It has been ongoing since January and I’d like to get it figured out.

Just got 4 more chicks last week and they are delightful. Hope all is well and tell me about Estonia!

Hi! I sat with chickens for the first 2 years at each of my free moments. In fact, I disrupted their lives. Now I'll take it a little calm. If someone says that chickens are easy to raise, no, that's not true. We have one of the original chickens, the Sulmthaler, flew off the top shelf, yesterday. The leg is injured and appears to be at the joint. Today I dealt with her leg and I think It never ends. There is always a problem with the chickens or roosters.
I am not a green person or a vegetarian, but our chickens can't get chemistry. We live in the countryside and grow our own herbs. Our chickens also eat herbs in winter (frozen), we don't buy any chickens. All the chicks hatch here. We do not use antibiotics at all, also we dont use no special chicken worm treatment.
About my country- Estonia. This is a fairytale land! Not quite Santa's land, but we're in the North, near Santa Claus. But our culture is similar to Ireland.

 

[sezua]

I love these little birds. I got my first flock of 5 ladies during covid. The one I mention with the bad leg is one of the original Fab 5 I call them. I dont think her issue is mareks now that I have had time to observe her. She is favoring her leg and now will not put any weight on it. She hops around and hasn’t lost her apetite so I am hopeful. There is only one vet in town that sees chickens so I think I might take her to the vet school at Michigan STate University to check her out. It has been ongoing since January and I’d like to get it figured out.

Just got 4 more chicks last week and they are delightful. Hope all is well and tell me about Estonia!

Mareks is more common then a lot of people realize. I have researched and discovered it’s in 80% of flocks worldwide. I have had mareks (necropsy tested) in my flock for 7+ years. I have some that are silent carriers that have lived with it for 5 years but they eventually succumb to it. It flares up at certain times of the year and the internal tumors can grow fast or slow. There are so many symptoms it causes you don’t know what your dealing with. It also invites secondary diseases since it’s hard on their immune system and we lose them to different things but in the end it‘s because of mareks. I hope you were able to determine what it was you were dealing with.