Jessncolton
In the Brooder
- Feb 20, 2026
- 3
- 10
- 11
Hello, I have a little bit of a wild story about my first experience of chickens.
In October, I picked up 4 to 5 week old bantam chicks from a local lady. About a week after I brought them home, one chick started limping on one leg and then slowly lost the use of it, she was presenting with splayed leg symptoms so I put little boots on her with the band between the legs and she was actually able to hobble around for a little while. Slowly her symptoms got worse and she had full paralysis in both legs (when I say full paralysis. I mean that she was unable to support her body weight but she could move her legs. I used poultry cell, nutridrench and egg yolk. Eventually she passed away.
A couple of weeks after this, I had just moved the pullets outside + another hen presented with the same exact symptoms. She lived almost two months with supportive care.
One week after she passed, another hen presented with similar symptoms, it's worth noting that this hen is incredibly short, she was the first hatched and shorter than the rest of them. She presented with favoring one leg on Dec 26th and is still alive today. She's very chatty, hungry and drinks well. I give her poultry cell, egg yolks, oregano, chicken feed, occasional sweet potato as a treat. When she lost function of both legs, she stayed that way for two weeks and now is starting to try and use her legs again, not so much put pressure (I believe she has muscle atrophy) but she can kick around and when I lightly support her, she can almost stand. Up until this point I had been convinced this is Mareks disease because that's the only thing I can find online. We have no poultry veterinarians within 3 hours of us or I would have gotten a necropsy done on one of the others.
Since she is seeming to recover, I'm wondering if this could be something else? The rest of my chickens are totally fine living their best lives. I had a rooster that got a sneeze for a couple of weeks but it cleared up with doxy tylan.
The real problem is, I just purchased more chicks from a local feed store. I confirmed twice that they were vaccinated for Marek's and was told yes both times, imagine my shock. When 2 days after bringing them home they called me and said they were mistaken and that they're not vaccinated. I'm so upset, stressed and don't know what to do. On one hand, We haven't even been able to confirm that this is Mareks disease. From all the information I can find on the internet, I'm hoping that if I can strengthen their immune systems before ever introducing them to the other chickens that they should be okay. I know this is a bit of a messy situation and I'm really just hoping for guidance, not criticism. I love my chickens deeply and have cared for them the best that I can. Should I try to return the chicks?
In October, I picked up 4 to 5 week old bantam chicks from a local lady. About a week after I brought them home, one chick started limping on one leg and then slowly lost the use of it, she was presenting with splayed leg symptoms so I put little boots on her with the band between the legs and she was actually able to hobble around for a little while. Slowly her symptoms got worse and she had full paralysis in both legs (when I say full paralysis. I mean that she was unable to support her body weight but she could move her legs. I used poultry cell, nutridrench and egg yolk. Eventually she passed away.
A couple of weeks after this, I had just moved the pullets outside + another hen presented with the same exact symptoms. She lived almost two months with supportive care.
One week after she passed, another hen presented with similar symptoms, it's worth noting that this hen is incredibly short, she was the first hatched and shorter than the rest of them. She presented with favoring one leg on Dec 26th and is still alive today. She's very chatty, hungry and drinks well. I give her poultry cell, egg yolks, oregano, chicken feed, occasional sweet potato as a treat. When she lost function of both legs, she stayed that way for two weeks and now is starting to try and use her legs again, not so much put pressure (I believe she has muscle atrophy) but she can kick around and when I lightly support her, she can almost stand. Up until this point I had been convinced this is Mareks disease because that's the only thing I can find online. We have no poultry veterinarians within 3 hours of us or I would have gotten a necropsy done on one of the others.
Since she is seeming to recover, I'm wondering if this could be something else? The rest of my chickens are totally fine living their best lives. I had a rooster that got a sneeze for a couple of weeks but it cleared up with doxy tylan.
The real problem is, I just purchased more chicks from a local feed store. I confirmed twice that they were vaccinated for Marek's and was told yes both times, imagine my shock. When 2 days after bringing them home they called me and said they were mistaken and that they're not vaccinated. I'm so upset, stressed and don't know what to do. On one hand, We haven't even been able to confirm that this is Mareks disease. From all the information I can find on the internet, I'm hoping that if I can strengthen their immune systems before ever introducing them to the other chickens that they should be okay. I know this is a bit of a messy situation and I'm really just hoping for guidance, not criticism. I love my chickens deeply and have cared for them the best that I can. Should I try to return the chicks?
