Marek's---good article

[NancyNurseCxMama]

I believe I am dealing with this now in one of my chicks. It's heartbreaking. At this point we are looking at euthanasia, which we were going to do ourselves.
But we found a vet who treats chickens and will euthanize and also do a necropsy. We really want a definitive answer on what devastated our little 8-week-old Rocky. The other six chicks look wonderful and are having a ball in their new coop and run while poor Rocky fades in her little brooder box.
Typing this through tears.....
Here is an article that helped me understand Marek's and I thought some here might be helped by it too.
http://www.birdhealth.com.au/mareks-disease

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Great article. Thanks for sharing it, it has some really great information.

I see a Mareks bird here and there, so I know what you are dealing with. We generally cull to remove an infected bird from the flock. I didn't know about it causing crop issues, it might explain what happened with my little barnevelder hen last year.

Sorry you are dealing with it.

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

Great article. Thanks for sharing it, it has some really great information.

I see a Mareks bird here and there, so I know what you are dealing with. We generally cull to remove an infected bird from the flock. I didn't know about it causing crop issues, it might explain what happened with my little barnevelder hen last year.

Sorry you are dealing with it.

A question---do you vaccinate your chicks now? I was lucky enough to speak to a vet from Cornell University Veterinary School who is a specialist in poultry and she told me to only get vaccinated chicks from now on if I wanted new birds. I know some are against vaccinating and mine were not vaccinated.
Sorry about your little Barnvelder---how sad.
Yes, the article really explored Marek's and I learned quite a bit. Never thought I would be dealing with something like this so soon, it really is awful to watch.
Thanks for your kind words.

 

[Eggcessive]

You may want to have the state vet or a poultry lab to test for Mareks, just to confirm the disease. A regular vet cannot do that, since the testing is done on feather shafts or testing of tumor tissue. But your vet may know where to send it for testing. They can look for signs of tumor on the internal organs. Sorry that you are dealing with possible Mareks. There are other food articles as well, and the article by Nambroth, "The Great Big Giant Mareks Faq," is pretty detailed article with compiled information from many sources, plus the personal experience of the author. There are many illnesses that can look like Mareks, such as dehydration, coccidiosis, botulism, mold poisoning, and vitamin deficiencies. Trying various treatments, vitamins, and giving supportive care for a bit just in case the chick might recover. Take care.

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

@Eggcessive ---thank you.
When I spoke to the vet at Cornell she emphasized the need for histopathology and said the vet doing the necropsy should be able to do it but if not we can send Rocky to Cornell by mail.
I've tried the multi-vits, riboflavin, vit E and selenium and nothing seemed to make any difference.
Heartbreaking....

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

A question---do you vaccinate your chicks now? I was lucky enough to speak to a vet from Cornell University Veterinary School who is a specialist in poultry and she told me to only get vaccinated chicks from now on if I wanted new birds. I know some are against vaccinating and mine were not vaccinated.
Sorry about your little Barnvelder---how sad.
Yes, the article really explored Marek's and I learned quite a bit. Never thought I would be dealing with something like this so soon, it really is awful to watch.
Thanks for your kind words.

I do not vaccinate. From my understanding vaccinated birds are always carriers. I prefer to breed for resistance, and cull any that show symptoms. It's a personal decision, and neither is right or wrong, it's just depends on your husbandry approach.