Mareks???

[JJA]

OK, some background.

I hatched 4 eggs successfully in a standard, small incubator 5 weeks ago, and have kept them in an indoors pen with chick crumb and water, a brooder (removed last week) and sawdust bedding. They are bantams (breed unknown, but 3 look similar - black with white/grey tummies) and one with the same colouring but curly feathers.
Anyway, all 4 have been thriving beautifully - healthy, lively, eating and drinking well.
Just 2 days ago I noticed one laying oddly. All of them seemed to be happily sunbathing (you know how they look!) but one didn't look right - seemed uncomfortable if you know what I mean. I reached in and picked her up without any battle. She was able to stand in my hand, but seemed a bit weak. I kept an eye on her through the rest of the afternoon and she seemed 'wobbly', frequently flopping over.
So - action I've taken...
I removed her and she is now living in a box in my kitchen. She can't now stand unaided, but occassionally manages to shuffle around to reach food and/or water. It seems that it is affecting both legs and both wings, but other than that she looks really healthy - healthy poos! She is drinking and eating and her eyes are clear and alert.
I completely cleaned out the pen for the others and disinfected.

So what do you think? From research I've done, and looking at other pictures, it seems to be Mareks but I can't see how she got infected?
What would you do? I am thinking of keeping her as she is still happy and healthy and seeing if she is one of the lucky few who recover...

 

[chooks4life]

I removed her and she is now living in a box in my kitchen.

I know that's the general advice given, to remove them, but if the others aren't attacking her I wouldn't remove her myself, some chooks fret when separated and won't recover under that stress.

She can't now stand unaided, but occassionally manages to shuffle around to reach food and/or water. It seems that it is affecting both legs and both wings, but other than that she looks really healthy - healthy poos! She is drinking and eating and her eyes are clear and alert. I completely cleaned out the pen for the others and disinfected. So what do you think? From research I've done, and looking at other pictures, it seems to be Mareks but I can't see how she got infected?

Do they have dirt in their pen? Do you have outside chooks? Either of those could have served as a source of infection.

It's spread by dander so even having an infected flock within 50 miles can bring the disease to you via wind, wild birds, vehicles, animals, etc.

What would you do? I am thinking of keeping her as she is still happy and healthy and seeing if she is one of the lucky few who recover...

Well, without knowing for sure what is wrong it's kinda hard to say, but I would just give her some extra care for a bit and put her back out with the others when she's ready for it. A multi vitamin and mineral --- and preferably also probiotic --- supplement for poultry (even yoghurt can do the probiotic part) can really make a difference with a lot of chooks that are unwell.

If she has Marek's, they will too; whatever exposed her to it couldn't have targeted her alone. She would just be the most susceptible and so began showing symptoms sooner.

But there are so many things that cause the same symptoms, it's worth considering them first. Diet is a common issue in chickens and can cause many of the same symptoms but is easily treated in most cases by proper supplementation.

While many feeds are labeled 'complete' many chickens still suffer deficiency diseases on them, and chicks bred from hens kept on such diets tend to have exacerbated problems too. Someone was dealing with similar problems in their rooster recently and I will copy paste what I posted to them... (For the record it looks like their rooster did have Marek's, unfortunately he died and we're waiting on the lab results to know for sure, but he had tumors so it's a fairly safe bet it seems).
Quote:

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/p..._poultry/mineral_deficiencies_in_poultry.html

This is a very handy chart, if you scroll down it a fair way you will find a chart to help diagnose what it is:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

This one contains a similar but simpler chart for diagnosing deficiencies:

http://poultrydiseases.net/online/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=52

This covers paralysis causes in general:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/936777/the-paralysis-thread

If you think it's Marek's you can try this.... It's only experimental, and anecdotal, but somewhere around the page 50 or so mark I found and posted some research stating why Hypericum Perforatum can work for these problems and similar ones. If you choose to try it please let us know how it goes.
Quote:
Best wishes.

 

[JJA]

Thank you so much for your response.

The main reason I think it can't be Mareks is because I got the chicks as eggs and hatched indoors, and they've been kept indoors, in a completely new environment - no other chicken ever! But the symptoms seem unmistastakable. Oh Well! I'll have a read through the articles you have kindly posted links to and see what I think...

Thanks again.

 

[chooks4life]

Fair enough, there's many possible routes of contamination, and many things it could be.

You're welcome and I hope you find your solution.

Best wishes.