New Layer didn't survive

[Plymouth Gonzo]

Hey everyone, lonnnnnng time BYC stalker first time poster.
Picked up 4 new chickens back in july to replace 3 that had been grabbed by a fox. The new ones were all approximately 12 weeks at the time so about 5 days ago I started to mix layer feed as the time seemed appropriate. One of the new girls (gold laced wydotte) seemed to be the most ready to lay. Of course one day after introducing layer feed I had a tiny little egg in the box. I can't say for sure it was the gold laced but I just have that feeling it was her. The next day she seemed a little off and then the following day it appears that she had gone blind in her left eye. She was walking into things and missing the mark. In the sun you could see in her left eye that it was greyed out, almost like a catarac. Another day went by and it appeared she could not see out of either eye and she had watery poop. Then she became real lethargic and i seperated her. I gave her poly visol and electrolytes and she progressively got worse. Finally she couldnt stand and today she passed.
Just curios if anyone has heard of a hen laying and then having something like this happening. I thought it was neurological but that wouldn't explain the the watery poo. Viral might be the only possibility but why the day after she lays her first. Right now all other hens showing no symptoms. Thoughts?

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you refrigerate her body, and contact your state vet to get a necropsy to look for possible Mareks disease or some other cause?

 

[Kiki]

I'm sorry for your loss.
Sounds like Marek's disease to me too.

 

[Plymouth Gonzo]

I thought about freezing her so just before I burried her I called the only number I could find. Granted it's labor day but the gentlemen I got on the phone was clueless if they could perform a necropsy. I just decided to bury and keep a close eye on my other birds. I agree though, Marek's is my number one thought. But, if that's what it is it's so crazy that all symptoms would set in the day after she laid he first egg. Thanks for the reply

 

[FrankieDoodle]

I'm so sorry

 

[bobbi-j]

Hey everyone, lonnnnnng time BYC stalker first time poster.
Picked up 4 new chickens back in july to replace 3 that had been grabbed by a fox. The new ones were all approximately 12 weeks at the time so about 5 days ago I started to mix layer feed as the time seemed appropriate. One of the new girls (gold laced wydotte) seemed to be the most ready to lay. Of course one day after introducing layer feed I had a tiny little egg in the box. I can't say for sure it was the gold laced but I just have that feeling it was her. The next day she seemed a little off and then the following day it appears that she had gone blind in her left eye. She was walking into things and missing the mark. In the sun you could see in her left eye that it was greyed out, almost like a catarac. Another day went by and it appeared she could not see out of either eye and she had watery poop. Then she became real lethargic and i seperated her. I gave her poly visol and electrolytes and she progressively got worse. Finally she couldnt stand and today she passed.
Just curios if anyone has heard of a hen laying and then having something like this happening. I thought it was neurological but that wouldn't explain the the watery poo. Viral might be the only possibility but why the day after she lays her first. Right now all other hens showing no symptoms. Thoughts?

I have no experience with Marek's disease, so won't comment on that. But I will say that if that's the case, it's likely just a timing thing, and not really anything to do with the fact that she just started laying.

 

[pennyJo1960]

sorry you had to come in on a sad note but glad you did..
Only way to really tell is get her necropsy done please

 

[Plymouth Gonzo]

More info; it's confirmed that she was vaccinated for marek's

 

[Kiki]

Effective vaccination in chickens will not ever prevent the chicken from becoming infected with Marek's virus. In fact, it can be assumed that any chicken exposed to the virus will become infected. Instead of preventing infection, the vaccine builds resistance within the immune system which in turn will prevent lymphoid tumors from forming. As these tumors (neoplasms) are the most fatal part of the disease, effective vaccination can save the chicken's life https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Plymouth Gonzo]

Good article on Marek's, thank you. So basically, unless all 6 of my other girls pass and I get an opportunity to eradicate my coop (which sounds impossible), I'm stuck with this thing forever. It's in the sand, run, the woods where my girls hang out, and it's there for possibly 5 years. I am not a "sky is falling type person" but this has me pretty shook up. The other girls "seem" fine but now with every funny looking poo I'm going to be presuming the worse.