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

[Nambroth]

When it comes to classical Marek's (paralysis and/or visceral form), it's hard to be 100% sure, as most people can't or won't get a blood test run to "confirm" the Marek's. If a bird had the blood test and it was confirmed Marek's, and it went on to survive, then yes I can say for sure that some birds can make it. Otherwise it is just some very careful guessing. I mean, some folks have confirmed Marek's in their flock, and if a bird shows symptoms of Marek's it is very, very likely that they are seeing Marek's disease even without the confirming blood test. If that bird went on to survive, it's anecdotal, yes, but with a pretty high percentage chance to be true.

Then there are cases like my rooster I'm dealing with right now. I have Marek's in my birds, for sure, as I lost a roo to it in 2013 and had every test run (PCR, lab tests, necropsy, etc) and they confirmed Marek's.
So now I have a new roo and he suddenly can't walk, and is displaying paralysis. I thought it was Marek's, for sure.
But, the PCR blood test came back negative. And it looks like he is going to survive, if things keep improving they way they are (he is up and walking, now!). So, what can I infer from this?
Maybe he never had Marek's symptoms, in which case if I hadn't tested, I would have made an educated guess and said "yes, my rooster had Marek's paralysis, and survived!"
Maybe the test was a false negative? I have been assured that it's extremely unlikely but who knows for sure?
I still don't really know what is going on with my roo. Neurological Marek's makes the most sense, but the blood test says otherwise. It's frustrating!

You can see where this can get confusing.
How many people have a bird get sick, and recover, and say "it recovered from Marek's!" and maybe it was never Marek's in the first place?
How many have had birds "mysteriously die" and actually have Marek's?
Who knows!?!

Now, all of the above is me talking about classical Marek's, with neural lesions (paralysis) and/or lymphomas. I know some of you have had birds with ocular Marek's (a bit easier to diagnose visually!) go on to live.

 

[BigECarter]

I have a diagnosis of "probable Marek's". Of my original flock, we lost 7 of 9, first one getting sick after we had them for 1 week. Of the chicks from MM, this is the first one to show symptoms (paralysis & lymphomas). She's around 20 weeks old, fully exposed to the probable Marek's at 5 or 6 weeks. She had cocci at 3 or 4 weeks of age, so maybe she was immunocompromised starting out. The other 8 are doing great.

I hate the not knowing, and how slow the disease can sometimes progress. I know that seems heartless, but really wish she had keeled over rather than this long slow decline. Hopefully she will turn the corner this week and will start improving.

 

[Nambroth]

Everything about this disease is frustrating and stupid. I agree. I feel that way often.
I also know what you mean about wishing they would pass right away. The not knowing is very hard-- I also prefer that they go quickly and in no pain if they are going to go. But I also hate giving up hope because, well, it's hard to know if they can recover or not.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

.... Mississippi State says some can survive. "Acute Marek's disease can be extremely rapid in its course, producing mortality in apparently healthy birds. However, in some cases the lesions may regress and clinically affected birds may make complete recoveries."

Mareks is a form of herpes virus and it acts similar to the Human HIV or AIDS virus by infecting the T cells. While some chickens with Mareks do become un-symptomatic (the same as some AIDS patients) and appear healthy, just like with human HIV patients no chicken is ever "cured." Those Mareks carrier chickens just go on to infect their healthy flock mates with Mareks disease. The Mareks virus is like the mechanic in the oil filter commercial, "Pay me now or pay me later."

 

[BigECarter]

Thanks. I should have said "survived" instead of cured. I have two survivors from my original flock that have never shown symptoms. I am ok with un-symptomatic.

 

[schnebbles]

I think Haunted and maybe Seminole have birds who have survived after showing symptoms.

Nambroth - I hope your boy gets to feeling good soon!!

BigE - I hope Ursala recovers too.

Mareks Sucks.

 

[Mommaw]

I am reading these notes as I think perhaps my two chickens had/have Marek's. Three weeks ago one chicken began to limp. Noticed she wasn't eating and began to be by herself (this was going on for a couple of weeks) (have never seen or had anything like this before) and I thought she must have hurt herself. I brought her inside, she died. Now three weeks later one of my white leghorns has started limping. She eats well and it wasn't until then that I thought oh no, is this what my grey fluff had? Went on the internet and am reading …no sores just weakness in the legs. How can I tell if it is Mareks disease for sure? My chickens are one years old and older and not vaccinated. I have new chicks in the house and am waiting til they are older to put outside ..now I wonder if I should. How do I tell to the best of knowledge without testing that I have this problem. Never had a problem before now and have had chickens for a couple of years now. Does anyone else have this problem too? Thanks for your input.

 

[Nambroth]

I am reading these notes as I think perhaps my two chickens had/have Marek's. Three weeks ago one chicken began to limp. Noticed she wasn't eating and began to be by herself (this was going on for a couple of weeks) (have never seen or had anything like this before) and I thought she must have hurt herself. I brought her inside, she died. Now three weeks later one of my white leghorns has started limping. She eats well and it wasn't until then that I thought oh no, is this what my grey fluff had? Went on the internet and am reading …no sores just weakness in the legs. How can I tell if it is Mareks disease for sure? My chickens are one years old and older and not vaccinated. I have new chicks in the house and am waiting til they are older to put outside ..now I wonder if I should. How do I tell to the best of knowledge without testing that I have this problem. Never had a problem before now and have had chickens for a couple of years now. Does anyone else have this problem too? Thanks for your input.

Unfortunately, unless you test, you won't know for sure. You can make an educated guess, and you can try to figure it out... trying to learn this disease and how it got into your flock can be a bit like trying to solve a mystery novel with no ending!

Have you ever brought any new birds into your flock, other than directly from a hatchery?
Have you ever visited anyone else with chickens, or gone to a show, swap meet, or fair where there were chickens?
Do any neighbors within a few miles have chickens?
Do wild birds come into your yard where your chickens also go?

If the answer to any of these is "Yes", they are all ways Marek's can come into a flock.

Check this out for more reading. It should answer most of your questions: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

If you'd like, you can take photos or video of your birds with symptoms, and we can try and offer opinions. They will only be opinions, though, and without testing won't be a guarantee.

Where do you live? Some states do low cost necropsy/testing if you are in the USA.

 

[seminolewind]

Thanks. I should have said "survived" instead of cured. I have two survivors from my original flock that have never shown symptoms. I am ok with un-symptomatic.

I don't promise any hope or cure. I've had 12 older birds survive it (resistant exposed carriers.). Few older ones died from it. It hit my midrange ones the worst. From 6 weeks to around 8 months, It also took a few that were under 2 years old. The rest are vaccinated.

Now I have all but 11 chickens in open pens with no coop, just a dog house to lay eggs in. And I've been using Frontier nutritional yeast because it has the most B vitamins in it. In this time I've had a roo suffer paralysis for 2 days, then come back to normal. I have 3 who have been "iffy" ones, appearing to waste down to green poo, then recover. That has only happened once before when a 2x vaccinated hen lived in my bedroom for 6 weeks and then recovered from paralysis, and nothing was given to her except food and water.

I will have to continue on this path and see what happens this spring. Maybe I've had so many in the last 6 years that I am bound to see a few recover. As Nambroth does, I may add coconut oil at some point.

 

[Mommaw]

I have no new chickens, however, the lady way across from me has chickens. No other way for contamination. Perhaps the wind blew the disease across the field? I live in Suffolk, VA. This is the 2nd time I've had chickens and I've never seen this before. Thank you for responding. I am sad that if this is it there is no cure or help other than Vit b?

Shar