Mareks disease in a vaccinated hen?

[rmkemerson]

It sure looks like Mareks. I'll give the broad spectrum antibiotic a try and cross my fingers. Thanks for your help.

Do you know anything I can use to clean the coop with that is an antiviral - just in case. I know it won't stop all the exposure if it's Marek's but at least it will minimize it. Or maybe it'll just help me feel like I can do something!

 

[cocosandy]

I would use Oxine. You mix it with water and put it in a spray bottle. its a very good cleanerand is usda approved for use in poultry houses. You can also put a little amount in their water to keep down slime and bacteria....google it and see....
mareks is spread by dander and dust so be aware that oxine wont stop it but you can mist it on the perches and in the boxes and let it sit...
I am looking into a recipe for old fashioned whitewash, which had antibacterial qualities and was applied and reapplied in the old days. I somehow think that it would be good on the perches and nestboxes.

 

[rmkemerson]

I'm two days into treating the hen with antibiotics. She just sits in her box and lets me give her water with a dropper. I don't know that she would drink otherwise. She's not eating but otherwise acts fine. It's a little strange that she is showing no other physical signs of distress. She can't walk, doesn't even try since she's comfy when propped up on rolled towels. She's not eaten in a couple of days and only poops once a day now. Is this how the end looks with this disease?

No other birds appear sick although I read that the incubation period could be 5 weeks. Ugh! More waiting and watching.

 

[Morgan7782]

I lost a year old Easter Egger (feed store ameraucana) to Mareks, she was from Belt, and vaccinated. The vaccine is only like 60-80 percent "workable" excuse the wrong word. There is no cure or treatment for Mareks, I would euthanize her and bring her to a local ag department (STATE) and have her necropsied. I did this with my EE hen, and it was Mareks. I have 3 other hens who are so far fine, laying every day, ect.

I took EVERYTHING out of the coop, and disinfected everything. Sorry this is happening, been there my friend.

 

[cocosandy]

The end with Mareks is actually terrible...they get worse and worse and thenare pretty much laying in the own poop and unable to get food or water if you dont help them.
She should be eating and maybe you should give her some meat baby food or yogurt and oatmeal. Mareks birds usually keep eating and drinking as long as you provide them with little bowls of each.
Mareks is spread by dander and your other birds have already been exposed, so dont worry too much, but keep her separate as possible. Its just that the vaccine doesnt work all the time.
This may be something else...I still would try denaguard and then sulmet just to see if its a mycoplasma or something like that.
antibiotics wont help unless this is an infection. If you think its an infection, you may want to try injectible tylan 50 ...
so sorry....its terrible...if she seems OK then keep her for a while, but you can usually send them to the state lab still alive and they use the most humane way of killing them to necropsy.
are you sure that her legs and feet are OK?
Is it possibly bumblefoot?...just wondering....look it up on the search here....see if she has any small or large black callus on the bottom of her foot or feet.
Melina

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
It does sound like it could be Marek's. The vaccine only prevents the tumors from growing. There are other strains of Marek's that the vaccine is not going to work on. The paralysis may or may not be caused by tumors. I've been dealing with this for 2 years now. Mine have seem to have gotten the neuro type, paralysis, and not eating. I think that they stop eating because it affects the nerves to the digestive system, and the food doesn't move down.

They can become symptomatic from 2-3 weeks and on. Mine were all 8 weeks to 8 months old.

 

[beachbirdie]

Is there an update on the hen?

I would definitely invest in a necropsy if you can at all afford it. Are you near an ag department or school? Maybe there is an agricultural extension office who could direct you to a good pathologist?

I would suspect something like lymphoid leukosis more than Marek's in an adult bird. Both cause tumors.

I had a bird that we thought died from Marek's, and a vet even told us that was the case. Yesterday I spoke with a veterinary pathologist at my local vet school (I just lost another hen this week to disease) and he is the one who told me that what we thought was Marek's was probably lymphoid leukosis. He said it's easy to confuse the two. When he finished the necropsy on my hen that died this week, he found a cancer that occurs in association with the leukosis virus, so that would affirm his disagreement with the other vet.

It is so hard to figure out what's going on with a sick chicken, all the diseases can be so similar! And you don't know they are sick until they are so sick you can't often help them.