Mareks?

[Madison Lorenzen]

So I know there is no way to know for sure what happened without getting an autopsy. But I want to know what this sounds like.
About a year ago, we thought mareks entered our flock. We had a girl who slowly started getting paralysis in her legs to where she couldn’t walk and had the scissor-stance. She lived and continued eating and drinking for a week or more before passing away. A good few months late, another girl started getting paralysis in her legs as well. She only lived a couple days before passing. After that we had a girl who we believe died from fly strike. And then one more who just started acting sick and passed within 6 hours. The last one was about 2 months ago. We have one girl left. They’d all be 4 1/2, all the same age. We didn’t have any neighbors with chickens or anything so I don’t know how they would’ve contracted mareks. I read it could be a vitamin deficiency or something more minor, and I’m wondering what you chicken experts think. We are thinking about getting some more hens (probably won’t be able to incorporate with my one girl) but I don’t want to if it sounds like mareks. I’m not gonna kill her, all my chickens are pets and I love them. Please let me know what it sounds like to you. Thank you for reading.

 

[micstrachan]

Hi. I”m sorry about your losses. The two with scissor legs sound a bit like Marek’s, but there’s no way to know for sure without necropsy. Since you mentioned deficiency, what do/did you feed them?

 

[nightowl223]

So I know there is no way to know for sure what happened without getting an autopsy. But I want to know what this sounds like.
About a year ago, we thought mareks entered our flock. We had a girl who slowly started getting paralysis in her legs to where she couldn’t walk and had the scissor-stance. She lived and continued eating and drinking for a week or more before passing away. A good few months late, another girl started getting paralysis in her legs as well. She only lived a couple days before passing. After that we had a girl who we believe died from fly strike. And then one more who just started acting sick and passed within 6 hours. The last one was about 2 months ago. We have one girl left. They’d all be 4 1/2, all the same age. We didn’t have any neighbors with chickens or anything so I don’t know how they would’ve contracted mareks. I read it could be a vitamin deficiency or something more minor, and I’m wondering what you chicken experts think. We are thinking about getting some more hens (probably won’t be able to incorporate with my one girl) but I don’t want to if it sounds like mareks. I’m not gonna kill her, all my chickens are pets and I love them. Please let me know what it sounds like to you. Thank you for reading.

The 2 with the scizzoring legs do sound somewhat like Marek's, but there are other things that could cause the same symptoms, too. The fly strike, as you called it, wouldn't be related, and the one that you said "started acting sick and passed within 6 hours" could really have been anything, from a worm overload, to coccidosis, to one of the serious respiratory diseases, to an injury infection, to who-knows-what, since you didn't describe symptoms. It's hard to tell what, if any, of the deaths might be related to each other, except for those who shared symptoms.

As for getting more birds, keeping them separate (after the quarantine is over) may not help you. Marek's, coccidosis, and other disease-causing germs, can be carried in with wild songbirds, and in many places, diseases such as these are endemic in many areas. There's not much chance to avoid the germs in those areas, no matter how hard you try.

I had several paragraphs written, explaining how hard it is to keep germs away form your flock, and how I (and many others) breed for immunity rather than treating diseases and letting them stay in the breeding lines. I decided to delete them, so as not to frighten you off, LOL! Since you said your birds are pets, do you have a vet that will look at chickens? *Some* farm & livestock vets will, otherwise, you'll need an avian vet. And both kinds are hard to find. You said, "We are thinking about getting some more hens," so I would say, if you are concerned about Marek's specifically, you can find birds that have been vaccinated for Marek's. That's done when they're tiny chicks (generally Day 1), so you can't be absolutely certain they have been when nyou buy them as adults, but if you are told they were vaccinated for Marek's, and it's a reputable seller, you should be okay. Some smaller breeders, when they are hatching a lot of birds, will buy the Marek's vaccine and use it, too. The biggest difficulty with the vaccine is that it is sold in a high quantity mix package, and must be used within a short period of time once mixed, so if a breeder only has a few dozen babies hatching at a time, they likely won't purchase the vaccine. I know I don't. Then again, I hatch other species besides chickens, too, so even a completely full incubator may only have a dozen or so chicken eggs in it. ~shrug~

Anyway, as I was saying, if you look for hens who were vaccinated as chicks, you will have a much lower chance of them getting Marek's if the germs are there on your property. What you can also do is make sure they are getting well fed with a balanced diet from a layer feed mix, and having an extra container with oyster shell or crushed, baked eggshells for extra calcium they can access if they want it. Also make sure they have access to somewhere they can get grit naturally, or have a container of grit out where they can get it when they want it, too. Also keep them well ventilated in their coop (though no drafts where they roost), have enough room in the coop, and keep it well cleaned or have a healthy deep litter mix on the floor. Also, treats should be high protein [mealworms, nuts like BASS sunflower seeds, scrambled or boiled eggs, etc.] or otherwise full of nutrients [oatmeal topped with natural honey, plain yogurt with live cultures, etc.] and add goodies in their water every so often, like ACV with the mother or a water soluble vitamin/electrolyte mix (the kind I get is a little white jar sold by Durvet), especially when they are under extra stress or pressure, like when molting, or when there's a major weather change, or even if they got frighened by a potential predator attack. Winter treats in the afternoon can be chopped corn, as that helps them keep their body temperatures up in the bitter cold overnight. Check them over every so often for parasites like lice, and treat as needed. If they seem to be losing weight, have your vet do a fecal test for worms, and treat as needed.

So, there's the short version of what it takes to have happy, healthy chooks. If you choose to get more hens, I hope you have better luck with them than with your first batch! I really wouldn't worry too much about keeping them apart from your remaining hen, after you give the new ones the 30 day quarantine. I wish you happy, healthy chickens!

 

[Shadrach]

So I know there is no way to know for sure what happened without getting an autopsy. But I want to know what this sounds like.
About a year ago, we thought mareks entered our flock. We had a girl who slowly started getting paralysis in her legs to where she couldn’t walk and had the scissor-stance. She lived and continued eating and drinking for a week or more before passing away. A good few months late, another girl started getting paralysis in her legs as well. She only lived a couple days before passing. After that we had a girl who we believe died from fly strike. And then one more who just started acting sick and passed within 6 hours. The last one was about 2 months ago. We have one girl left. They’d all be 4 1/2, all the same age. We didn’t have any neighbors with chickens or anything so I don’t know how they would’ve contracted mareks. I read it could be a vitamin deficiency or something more minor, and I’m wondering what you chicken experts think. We are thinking about getting some more hens (probably won’t be able to incorporate with my one girl) but I don’t want to if it sounds like mareks. I’m not gonna kill her, all my chickens are pets and I love them. Please let me know what it sounds like to you. Thank you for reading.

It's sad you've lost your hens.
There are many symptoms that could be ascribed to Mareks. Not all paralysis is due to Mareks. Not all the varieties of Mareks are necessarily terminal.
The important point here is, nobody here can tell you with any degree of certainty whether your chickens have Mareks, or not. There are tests available, but my understanding is they can only find particular types of Mareks with such tests and their reliability is suspect.
In order to make certain, you need to have a necropsy carried out. There is no other alternative.
Until a necropsy is carried out and Mareks is or isn't confirmed then any new additions to your flock are put at risk.
The important point is, it doesn't matter what it sounds like, to me, or anyone else. This is something you need to know, not have various opinions about.
Until you know for certain my advice is to not get any more chickens.