Marek's survival???Pic added while sick

[bantyshanty]

I had a bird that showed symptoms similar to yours. I medicated her with vitamins & hypericum homeopathic, and in 3 days she way walking around. She acted very healthy for a while.
She had a few relapses to partial paralysis, recovered each time and acted --nearly-normal. Once in a while she'd spin around once.
She never laid an egg, though the roosters liked her a lot.

At 9 months her health took a nose dive (figuratively & literally!) and I rushed her to the vet. The vet said she felt multiple tumors inside her,
and her heart was too slow. We had a necropsy done after euthanasia. It was Marek's. Of course.
I had given her vaccinations, twice, against Marek's after the initial episode.
I was very proud I had a survivor, until she died.
Every pullet of her age has been vaccinated with an initial dose & a booster, and they're all fine.
All my subsequent chicks have been vaccinated.

The best you can do is give her good nutrition & limit stress, and vaccinate the rest of your flock.
Even if it's not Marek's.
Mold infection can also take a while to take its toll, but if they have it, there's no way around it.
Be very careful of letting enclosed food get damp. Throw it --far--away.

Good luck

 

[luvchicks8]

To understand this completely If a chicken has mareks and shows paralasis (sp) and has the classic leg out in front and can't get up they never get up and 100% death rate . But if a chicken has milder symptoms they can fight it but are carriers for life. Is this correct?

 

[luvchicks8]

Today she is up and running???

 

[kla37]

I had my chickens vaccinated at hatch for Marek's, is that always effective? Do they need a booster shot later?

 

[luvchicks8]

Mine was vaccinated and now I don't know what is going on so I can't answer that.

 

[Jenski]

Quote:
Chickens can and do survive Marek's for a very long time. Many, many birds are carriers without noticeably early death. The inoculation does not prevent Marek's (none does), it prevents the rapid horizontal spread of the disease (to other birds through dander).

If you discuss this disease with professional breeders, you will find that while some of them might cull, others are in favor of breeding for Marek's resistance. There is a gene ("B21") found among certain resistant lines of birds that is linked to this resistance.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/203602.htm
http://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/2005/spring/mareks.htm
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/90/mareks-disease
http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/page9.htm


Sorry about your bird! While she may suffer from Marek's, at only 11 weeks there are several other things it might be. Just to be sure, can you provide more info? Is she kept indoors? How long have you had her? What are you feeding? How many chicks, and how much space?

 

[luvchicks8]

Quote:
Chickens can and do survive Marek's for a very long time. Many, many birds are carriers without noticeably early death. The inoculation does not prevent Marek's (none does), it prevents the rapid horizontal spread of the disease (to other birds through dander).

If you discuss this disease with professional breeders, you will find that while some of them might cull, others are in favor of breeding for Marek's resistance. There is a gene ("B21") found among certain resistant lines of birds that is linked to this resistance.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/203602.htm
http://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/2005/spring/mareks.htm
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/90/mareks-disease
http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/page9.htm


Sorry about your bird! While she may suffer from Marek's, at only 11 weeks there are several other things it might be. Just to be sure, can you provide more info? Is she kept indoors? How long have you had her? What are you feeding? How many chicks, and how much space?

Thanls for the info.

She is 11 weeks old and I have had her since she was 5 weeks. She had paperwork stating that these birds were all vaccinated and the older birds all were state tested as she shows them. I have contacted and been over to her farm to varify no sick birds even going into her basement to see babies. They were resently put outside into the coop about a week before she got sick. I have a 10x12 coop with 12 birds in it. Up until then she was inside in a 4x4 coop with 3 other birds that she was "mothering" as they were the same age and from the same breeder but were much smaller do to the fact that they are seramas. The Seramas are growing and doing fine so far no signs of illness.

 

[CamsCluckinChicks]

Hi all! I just wanted to jump in here, having a somewhat similar experience this past summer. I was around chickens my entire childhood as both my Great-Grandparents & my Grandparents had farms & raised chickens. However, I was never a part of the care & maintenance - just a granddaughter enjoying the chickens & collecting eggs. LOL!

The majority of my birds came from My Pet Chicken and were vaccinated before leaving the hatchery. I'm also ordering from McMurray this spring - same deal. Well, I received a Bantam Partridge Cochin chick from a neighbor (she's healthy), picked up a few chicks from TSC/Big R (do NOT do this!!)... Never brought chicks in from swap meets, etc.

I thought Marek's was 'isolated' and in my ignorance did not realize how wide spread & 'common' it is!! I have Silkie's. Ordered from the hatchery. They do not receive Marek's because of their size. I should have researched this better...I don't know what I thought...but something probably along the lines of, "Oh, Silkies must not be susceptible."

This past spring, again please keep in mind this was total ignorance & will NEVER be repeated, my Silkie's hatched some eggs. 10 to be exact. 4 were purebred Polish, 2 were Sumatra/Polish mixes & 4 were Silkie/Polish mixes. 1 purebred Polish, 1 Sumatra/Polish & 2 Silkie/Polish died after getting caught underneath the coop. We just built the coop this year & have since corrected these problems. About a month after the last chick hatched, I received 19 chicks from My Pet Chicken. After they were about 3 or 4 days old, I put them in with my surrogate Silkies & single Bantam Cochin - they love 'adopting' practically anything!! I received the Marek's vaccine for every chick it was available & was feeding medicated chick grower/starter. This is my 4th order of chicks, so I was feeling rather confident about how to care for them. Since fixing the coop issues, I decided it would be safe. And it was. For about 5 days. Then, my chick order started dying off - first off - the only Bantam Cochin Frizzle I ordered. Shortly after, 1 of my 2 Speckled Sussex and 2 Silkie's (all from the hatchery). I freaked out, assumed it was Cocci - I HATE cocci!! I put the hatchery chicks back into the brooder & treated them with Corid. I ended up losing 1 more Silkie. I had ordered 2 black Silkie's - 1 boy, 1 girl. Now I have to wait to find out what's left!! So, operating under the 'assumption' it was a Cocci outbreak (what a tard I am, huh??), I didn't remove the hatched remaining chicks. For those unaware, Coccidiosis attacks, literally, Silkie chickens. My Silkie's now live in a raised Crib with composite decking as flooring, have their very own 'yard', get fresh hay (I like hay as opposed to straw because it's softer) added daily with a complete clean at least monthly. I also add medicated chick feed to all of my layer feed, along with food grade Diatomaceus Earth & a little cracked corn. They also all receive fruits, veggies, grass clippings, weeds, etc. No more cocci.

Right before he was to turn 3 months, the other Sumatra/Polish - we called him Junior - started having coordination problems & his eyes, 1st one, then the other, swelled shut & his head was rolling backwards...he also seemed to be paralyzed. Did more research, found out about Marek's. Ugh!! I only lost 4 of 19 from my hatchery order because they were vaccinated meaning there is only a 5% chance they'll contract Marek's (according to the Chicken Health Handbook). We ended up culling Junior because he was suffering so horribly.

Don't worry - I'm buying Marek's vaccine for spring hatches.

After the ordered chicks were over a month old, I put them back in with the Silkies - which had since been moved into their own Crib within the Coop (described above). Where they are concerned, everything has been going great. Of course, at this point, having already been directly exposed & vaccinated, they are either carriers or immune. But, 1 of my 2 remaining Silkie/Polish mixes 'escaped' & got back in with the Polish for a few hours...the next day, she had a swollen eye and seemed to be having coordination issues. I believe it was complete coincidence she became ill after being in with the Polish - although I do think the stress of the situation may have brought the symptoms on stronger. I immediately put her in our 'garage hospital' & started babying her. Her eyes swelled, never completely shut, then reopened. She refused to eat for a couple days, then started ravishing everything in sight. Both legs & 1 wing were obviously useless, she now has full use of one leg & the wing, but the other leg isn't fully functional. She has continued to feather out & is quite a striking bird. Very alert, wide eyes - interested in everything, especially tomatoes & watermelon. LOL!

A good friend of mine has been wanting a chicken. Literally, ONE chicken. I have been telling her that isn't a great idea due to their high social needs. However, she has continued to insist (she lives in town). So, I sent Li'l Peeps (still with 1 bum leg) home with her in a large parrot cage. Li'l Peeps is now residing in her living room & being spoiled rotten!! While I'm aware, and so is my friend, Li'l Peeps will probably have a reduced life span & may never lay eggs - may always need to be pampered, etc. - what life she does have left woud make any chicken jealous!!

Some birds, like Silkie's & Seabright's are more susceptible to Marek's...while others like Leghorn's & Wyandotte's are less susceptible. It seems the smaller the chicken, the more difficulty they have. Which probably explains why my Black Jersey Giant, who lives with the Silkie's (long story) and has never been vaccinated, has never shown any signs of illness. Also why my Layer Crib has nothing but healthy, fat, egg-laying machines...they're a bunch of big, fat, happy hens (and one roo - lol). There are 16 hens, plus the roo, that have never been vaccinated...bought from TSC/Big R & had no idea what I was doing. There are also 20 hens in there that have been vaccinated. I'm adding more - vaccinated, of course.

I will not cull my entire flock - most were vaccinated against Marek's. I am now aware I have Marek's among my bantam's. I still believe they are safe to put chicks with, as long as the chicks are a couple weeks old & have had their vaccination against Marek's - which means any future 'Bantam' orders will receive the vaccination when they arrive. Also, any chick hatches will be immediately vaccinated & moved to our brooder for a few days so the vaccine has time to take hold. My Layer Crib is full of fat, healthy chickens and my Polish look good as well. Actually, all of my chickens look nice & fat, alert, bright-eyed, active, normal poo. I'm breeding for Marek's resistance at this point. It seems very senseless to me to kill my chickens (were not talking about a few - closer to 50!) & start over - especially considering the disease itself will live in that Coop indefinitely, regardless of sanitation measures. It's the nature of Marek's. Not to mention I have a big egg production factory just a couple miles down the road & 2 neighbors within a mile that raise chickens. Marek's is going to be around. The only way I'll beat it, is to continue to build resistance in my Coop. According to the Chicken Health Handbook, 5% of vaccinated birds will be affected, 50% without vaccination. I'll keep my 5% chances, thank you very much.

Oh - and one other thing - while I obviously have Marek's within my Bantam flock, they all have continued to lay eggs regularly & are fat, fully feathered and active. And, with the exception of the one Speckled Sussex, I lost no birds that have been given the vaccine. Only Bantam's from the hatchery where Marek's isn't available for them & Bantam mixed chicks hatched here fell ill. So, in my opinion, you can save a Marek's diseased bird with patience, love & time. You also can keep your remaining flock & add to it - just be positive they've been vaccinated, try to only add chicks from hatcheries...and never add the purchased chicks until a few days have passed so you know the vaccine has had time to do its job. It's possible out of 100 vaccinated birds, you could lose as many as 5. I'll take those odds. Especially considering my 'production' birds (Red Stars, Black Stars, Sex Links, ex-battery hens) have murdered (not kidding) as many birds as I've lost to Marek's!!

You mentioned poultry lice also. This can actually kill a bird - especially a young bird, making it anemic, unable to keep hydrated, etc. We have a bird lover's paradise where we are - song birds everywhere!! I liberally sprinkle DE in their coop & nest boxes before adding hay/litter and I also mix it liberally with their feed. I rarely see any evidence of parasites. However, if I do, that bird gets a serious DE bath immediately. I have poultry flight netting over my runs, but am seriously considering going back to poultry wire for the top (which is what the sides & 'dividers' are)...too many of the smaller birds - song sparrows, finches, junco's, even bluebirds, are able to get in their yards through the larger openings of the poultry netting. I love song birds, but they carry a lot of parasites & disease. I can't keep them away from my ducks, but I've decided to up the anty on my chickens - it's going to be a fortress by the time I'm done!! LOL!

It's horrible that we have to learn by mistakes how to care for our beloved birds. It especially makes me angry & sad that I've caused some to die because of my ignorance. I think I'm going to write a book on the 'reality of poultry raising'...no more of these 'scientific' books that don't really tell you what happens. LOL!

Your chick looks quite a bit like Li'l Peeps & Peeps (still going strong in the Coop). This is Li'l Peeps, with her paralyzed leg behind her...and her adorable mohawk compliments of her Polish father. LOL!

This picture was taken almost a week ago - she has changed more since. Now she has even more full feathering, lots of feather starts (can't think of what that's called at the moment - lol) and has gained weight/grown. Peeps, her sister, is 5-toed like her Silkie mama, but also has the beautiful mohawk from her father. And the turqoise ear flaps - well, those could be mama or papa's!! LOL!

Good luck with chick!! Don't give up!! Regardless of what's wrong, keep researching...you never know what you might come across!!

 

[Jarsheart]

My hens have the symptoms of Mareks, but they are two years old. They were not vacinated. Could they have Mareks ? Can't find the answer anywhere, please help.

 

[Frannabelle]

I lost 2 of my bantams to Mareks. The one I lost a little over a month ago was put down by my vet, who also did a necropsy on her. She was mostly sure it was Mareks, although Lymphoid Leukosis was also possible. She said most likely it was Mareks though because of her young age. My hen's symptoms were weakness, flopping, paralysis.

According to my vet,(my vet is a poultry vet) Mareks disease vaccination is only preventative of tumors (I did not vaccinate my flock).While the vaccination prevents tumor formation, it does not prevent infection by the virus. The Marek's virus is transmitted by air within the poultry house. It is in the feather dander, chicken house dust, feces and saliva. Infected birds carry the virus in their blood for life and are a source of infection for susceptible birds.

The virus is prevalent in wild birds and spreads from them. Also the vaccination is only about 80% effective against tumor formation.
She told me it's safe to vaccinate new chicks when I start hatching next spring.

I cleaned my coop out, bleached it etc. and so far no one else is sick. She said it may not affect my other birds at all. Time will tell. I have no way to keep wild birds out of their pen either, so hopefully this is the last of it. I won't ever again have non-vaccinated birds, but according to her, it's not 100%