Marek' s disease

[Katejc]

In younger birds, illness usually presents as neurological. Stumbling, balance and mobility. A lot of people will immediately tell you it is Mareks because of the age and symptoms. If none of your other birds are sick or get sick, it is not Mareks. Separate the chicken, give it vitamins, food, water, keep it warm and see if you can get some poultry antibiotic. There really is no way to know what the chicken has and chickens can take a long time to recover. I had a Silkie with wry neck that took 4 weeks in the house syringe feeding, but is fully recovered. Also, chickens that are struck with a bacterial infection but recover may have life long balance or neurological symptoms but can still live a happy life. My experience is that on this forum people are a bit Marek-Happy and will give you that as an answer for almost anything. Make sure your coop is clean and well ventilated and free from moisture. Birds are more susceptible to breathing in bacteria during this time due to spending longer hours in the coop due to shortened daylight hours.

 

[Mtnboomer]

So sorry for your loss. Cleaning and keeping your current hens comfortable and stress free is never a waste of time! A lot of Mareks strains mostly cause immune suppression, making the infected birds very susceptible to disease during times of stress. A lot of people think there is a lot to do with viral loads, as well, so cleaning ultimately cannot hurt.

Are all of your hens 5 months old? Are they laying eggs yet? What was the progression of issues that you noticed?

Of course its not. Keeping the coop in regular order is part of maintaining the animals health which is why we all do it. I wasn't suggesting to just give up on the surviving birds. But expecting to get rid of the virus by cleaning the coop is 99.9% impossible. IF it is MD, the other birds already have it and are continuing to shed and forever will. The virus can survive for yrs in some little nook or cranny waiting for its next host.

 

[Mtnboomer]

In younger birds, illness usually presents as neurological. Stumbling, balance and mobility. A lot of people will immediately tell you it is Mareks because of the age and symptoms. If none of your other birds are sick or get sick, it is not Mareks. Separate the chicken, give it vitamins, food, water, keep it warm and see if you can get some poultry antibiotic. There really is no way to know what the chicken has and chickens can take a long time to recover. I had a Silkie with wry neck that took 4 weeks in the house syringe feeding, but is fully recovered. Also, chickens that are struck with a bacterial infection but recover may have life long balance or neurological symptoms but can still live a happy life. My experience is that on this forum people are a bit Marek-Happy and will give you that as an answer for almost anything. Make sure your coop is clean and well ventilated and free from moisture. Birds are more susceptible to breathing in bacteria during this time due to spending longer hours in the coop due to shortened daylight hours.

Not all MD positive birds are symptomatic. Its possible to necropsy a 4yr old bird that is filled with tumors (results of MD) that showed no visible signs of ailment until death.

ISo just because the other birds dont get sick or die is no guarantee against MD. The ONLY way to know for sure is with a professional necropsy. If you dont have one performed, its understandable because they can be expensive, but then you must assume the worst. This is why MD is so widespread.
I have MD in my flock and lose 1-2 a year from it out of 40 hatched.

I agree that there are many causes of chicken deaths and many present themselves in similar ways, which is why any unknown cause of death should be necropsied to eliminate highly contagious possibilities.

Ok, off my soapbox about necropsies......for now

 

[jolenesdad]

Not all MD positive birds are symptomatic. Its possible to necropsy a 4yr old bird that is filled with tumors (results of MD) that showed no visible signs of ailment until death.

ISo just because the other birds dont get sick or die is no guarantee against MD. The ONLY way to know for sure is with a professional necropsy. If you dont have one performed, its understandable because they can be expensive, but then you must assume the worst. This is why MD is so widespread.
I have MD in my flock and lose 1-2 a year from it out of 40 hatched.

I agree that there are many causes of chicken deaths and many present themselves in similar ways, which is why any unknown cause of death should be necropsied to eliminate highly contagious possibilities.

Ok, off my soapbox about necropsies......for now

Sorry, I wasn’t meaning anything against your comment, I was just offering support to the OP for their efforts, because like you said, consider it good husbandry whether or not you’re able to affect the status of Mareks infections. I’m not far enough into Mareks myself to have an opinion on the anecdotal evidence, but I do certainly see plenty of folks believe that by removing sick birds and cleaning when they leave, they’re able to limit severe infections. I do wonder if it’s more likely they just have a low virulence in their strain...

since you stepped off, I’ll step on.

OP....If you lose another make sure you use a state lab that will save tissues for histology. The biggest mistake I see a lot of people do is a necropsy with an avian vet for lots of money that doesn’t turn up any diagnosis from a visual inspection of the bird.

for example, at Texas A&M, a necropsy, PCR test, and histology is 160.00. A necropsy alone at an avian vet may cost just as much to end up inconclusive.

a definitive diagnosis is important if you do lose another bird so you can make the decisions for your situation on how to move forward!

 

[Mtnboomer]

Sorry, I wasn’t meaning anything against your comment, I was just offering support to the OP for their efforts, because like you said, consider it good husbandry whether or not you’re able to affect the status of Mareks infections. I’m not far enough into Mareks myself to have an opinion on the anecdotal evidence, but I do certainly see plenty of folks believe that by removing sick birds and cleaning when they leave, they’re able to limit severe infections. I do wonder if it’s more likely they just have a low virulence in their strain...

since you stepped off, I’ll step on.

OP....If you lose another make sure you use a state lab that will save tissues for histology. The biggest mistake I see a lot of people do is a necropsy with an avian vet for lots of money that doesn’t turn up any diagnosis from a visual inspection of the bird.

for example, at Texas A&M, a necropsy, PCR test, and histology is 160.00. A necropsy alone at an avian vet may cost just as much to end up inconclusive.

a definitive diagnosis is important if you do lose another bird so you can make the decisions for your situation on how to move forward!

I took no offense. That's the problem with reading comments. Tone can be so easily misunderstood.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Sorry, I wasn’t meaning anything against your comment, I was just offering support to the OP for their efforts, because like you said, consider it good husbandry whether or not you’re able to affect the status of Mareks infections. I’m not far enough into Mareks myself to have an opinion on the anecdotal evidence, but I do certainly see plenty of folks believe that by removing sick birds and cleaning when they leave, they’re able to limit severe infections. I do wonder if it’s more likely they just have a low virulence in their strain...

since you stepped off, I’ll step on.

OP....If you lose another make sure you use a state lab that will save tissues for histology. The biggest mistake I see a lot of people do is a necropsy with an avian vet for lots of money that doesn’t turn up any diagnosis from a visual inspection of the bird.

for example, at Texas A&M, a necropsy, PCR test, and histology is 160.00. A necropsy alone at an avian vet may cost just as much to end up inconclusive.

a definitive diagnosis is important if you do lose another bird so you can make the decisions for your situation on how to move forward!

Be sure to take it to a state diagnostic lab, veterinary school that also has a full animal hospital, or pvt veterinary pathologist. Key word being "pathologist." These options can be as affordable as $50 depending on your location but are usually $100-150.
A typical vet, even an avian vet, does not have the equipment for a thorough necropsy. So you either get an indeterminate cause of death "likely to be _____" kind of thing or they will send samples off to the pathologist for further investigation. This adds costs which they pass on to you, rightly so, but you save the step and send direct.