Not an Emergency...Marek's in the Flock

[Haunted55]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/792030/is-my-silkie-dying

Well...I had to bring it up here. Putting 2 and 2 together and the timeline of unsteady or inability to walk....sure sounds like Marek's to me. I feel really bad for this person, 1 female and a bunch of roos and the female is the one showing symptoms first. Wow. Maybe it is vitamin related but not so sure even though I did say it couldn't hurt and may help. What is it with Silkies, their eye color and Marek's? I've run across a few things that say dark eyed birds are most likely to be carriers or victims but not sure I really get it. Why would the chemical make up of the brain be different because of eye color?

 

[Nambroth]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/792030/is-my-silkie-dying

Well...I had to bring it up here. Putting 2 and 2 together and the timeline of unsteady or inability to walk....sure sounds like Marek's to me. I feel really bad for this person, 1 female and a bunch of roos and the female is the one showing symptoms first. Wow. Maybe it is vitamin related but not so sure even though I did say it couldn't hurt and may help. What is it with Silkies, their eye color and Marek's? I've run across a few things that say dark eyed birds are most likely to be carriers or victims but not sure I really get it. Why would the chemical make up of the brain be different because of eye color?

Poor silkies seem especially prone to Marek's, but also head injury that can result in a myriad of problems. Wry neck being one, but if struck hard enough on a vaulted skull, can cause paralysis problems too, due to the brain not being protected in the vaulted area.
I am certainly no expert, but it's possible that eye color is tied to certain genetics that make a chicken more vulnerable or susceptible to certain things. I am especially suspicious of retrovirus markers in the genetic of a bird-- not a bird carrying an active virus, but retrovriruses actually insert themselves into the DNA of their hosts and can show up as markers for several generations even if the bird never presents symptoms or sheds actively. I am concerned that perhaps some breeds are more likely to have this genetic 'history', if you will, and the co-infections may make things worse.
Here's a paper that sort of explains my thinking. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11332471

This may be completely false, but some breeds seem to have a lot less genetic diversity than others, and possibly it may account for some of these related problems.

 

[Haunted55]

Nambroth, thank-you. I have something I found that goes hand in hand with this and will post it later, No time right now.

 

[seminolewind]

I agree. I also tend to 'see' Marek's everywhere, but I am very careful to keep those thoughts to myself unless there is an obvious sign present.

With any illness though, keepers should be cautious until they know what is going on. Bio-security cautious-- no birds out, just in case.

Sometimes it's very good to see "Marek's", and it's good to err on the side of not suggesting it upfront, or if you are sure, call it a possibility, and always suggest ruling out other stuff like vitamin definciency, etc. And a flock history. I find I "see' a lot of Marek's as well, and we all know that it could be other stuff, and a necropsy or blood test is really the way to tell for sure. I think it's good that some of us are more aware of it, and say why they think so.

 

[seminolewind]

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True! People should rule out all they can even when Marek's is thought.

 

[seminolewind]

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I have pulled weeds between my shed and his chicken pen. My binoculars I think are worse than my zoom lens, so I'll use that next.

 

[pysankigirl]

Okay...SO I got the results back from Texas A&M and she is negative for Mareks (!!!!!) what else could this be? I am thrilled, of course, but puzzled, too. I have been giving her vitamins...what else can cause partial leg paralysis?

 

[Haunted55]

Okay...SO I got the results back from Texas A&M and she is negative for Mareks (!!!!!) what else could this be? I am thrilled, of course, but puzzled, too. I have been giving her vitamins...what else can cause partial leg paralysis?

Injury, there are a bunch of bacterial and viral infections that can do it as well. I am so happy for you, now we can find out what is going on.

 

[Haunted55]

I have pulled weeds between my shed and his chicken pen. My binoculars I think are worse than my zoom lens, so I'll use that next.

You go girl!

 

[Haunted55]

In regards to my posting about the free use of the "M" word....I started a thread with some ideas about what it could be instead of Marek's. I haven't been able to do more than post the first one in this thread, BYC is giving me fits with trying to post anything right now. I wanted to do a short history of what happened with my birds last year, up to present. I hope you all will think about contributing as well. I had hoped to have a place people could go to, one thread, where they could get some information about the other illnesses as well as some of the things we have seen in our own birds that do have Marek's.