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

[KAT Bird]

I had one with Marek's that would pant at night. She seemed to have a fever and I would wrap an ice pack in a towel and let her sit on it. It seemed to help. You could also give her baby aspirin (check the dosage), I believe others on here have done that. Are you trying Turmeric? "The Chicken Doctor" mentioned using it on a radio program and I read some studies on it. I am trying it with my birds now. I'll try to find the link to the radio program and post it. It was all about Marek's.

 

[fuzziecreatures]

6 months ago, a speckled Sussex pullet of ours died of visceral marek's (confirmed by necropsy). No other chickens have died or become ill.... what do I take away from this? Obviously it isn't a very virulent strain, but can I take care of someone else's chickens? Can I give away extra roos? With the disclaimer that I had a death 6 months ago.

What do you guys think? I'm stumped? When this first happened I thought my whole flock was going to die. I still don't know where it came from. It is almost spring so I need to start thinking about my coop cleaning of all the winter "feather dust" as it is EVERYWHERE!!! I used to just use the leaf blower to blow it all out, but since it can be airborne I guess I can't do that.

 

[Nambroth]

6 months ago, a speckled Sussex pullet of ours died of visceral marek's (confirmed by necropsy). No other chickens have died or become ill.... what do I take away from this? Obviously it isn't a very virulent strain, but can I take care of someone else's chickens? Can I give away extra roos? With the disclaimer that I had a death 6 months ago.

What do you guys think? I'm stumped? When this first happened I thought my whole flock was going to die. I still don't know where it came from. It is almost spring so I need to start thinking about my coop cleaning of all the winter "feather dust" as it is EVERYWHERE!!! I used to just use the leaf blower to blow it all out, but since it can be airborne I guess I can't do that.

What exactly did your necropsy report say? Can you get a copy of it, maybe?
The visceral tumors are a pretty straight giveaway, but it is important that the tumors alone can't show the difference between Marek's and Avian Lymphoid Leukosis. Usually only very experienced veterinary poultry examiners can tell the difference. Did a state lab do your necropsy, or a local vet?

Really, to be totally honest, Marek's does seem far more common than ALV, so the chances that it is Marek's is higher. But, I just wanted to mention ALV, just in case.

Anyhow, as to why your other birds didn't die-- it's possible they built up resistance. Where are they all from? Are they all from the same line, or are they hatchery birds, or?? There are SO many variables. Were any vaccinated?

A few things to consider:
1) Any chicken exposed to Marek's virus (it is inhaled, via dust/dander) will contract the virus, regardless of vaccination, and will shed it. According to a study I read, vaccinated birds shed the same amount of virus as unvaccinated birds. They will shed varying amounts of the virus until they die.
2) Marek's virus has been found to live outside of a host, in the environment ( coop, run, yard, etc) for a minimum of 1.5 years.

Given these two things, it would probably be irresponsible to give roosters away. If you do, just fully inform people that the roosters are probably carriers of Marek's virus and can infect any birds they come into contact with. That's the sad, unfortunate, and crummy truth.
I'm not sure what you mean by taking care of someone else's chickens. If you mean going to someone else's property and taking care of thier birds, you probably can, but I'd advise you to shower fist and get a set of shoes that you've never worn out to your chickens before. When I visit other people's flocks, I take a bottle of Odoban with me and spray my shoes well, as well, before getting out of the car. This might seem extreme but I am very dedicated to not needlessly spreading the disease if I can help it.

All this said, this disease can be confusing even for those of us that have been eyebrows-deep in research!! Please don't feel too discouraged. We are all supportive of each other here.

When I clean my coop, I use a shop vac with a drywall filter, and suck the dust out that way. I try to do it on a day that isn't too windy. I scoop and shovel out as much bedding as I can before I run the shop vac, so that the shop vac doesn't fill up immediately.
Another option is to clean out as much as you can without the leaf blower, then on a very dry day, wet the dust down and wipe it out manually. It's a drag to do it this way, trust me, but it's an option. Let the coop dry completely before putting fresh bedding in.

 

[BigECarter]

Ursula is still with is. Still panting - seems like she pants more when she is interested/concerned about something, like a cat strolling by. Other than the panting, she seems to be feeling fine. She even stood for 5 seconds today. Maybe one leg is getting better, or maybe it was a fluke.

I have dissolved a vitamin B tablet and a baby aspirin in 4 cups of water for her drinking water. I started putting a pinch if turmeric in her daily egg. Still worried about her becoming egg bound. Three of her flock mates started laying this week.

 

[KAT Bird]

Ursula is still with is. Still panting - seems like she pants more when she is interested/concerned about something, like a cat strolling by. Other than the panting, she seems to be feeling fine. She even stood for 5 seconds today. Maybe one leg is getting better, or maybe it was a fluke.

I have dissolved a vitamin B tablet and a baby aspirin in 4 cups of water for her drinking water. I started putting a pinch if turmeric in her daily egg. Still worried about her becoming egg bound. Three of her flock mates started laying this week.

She looks good. My girls lost all the color in their combs when they were sick. It's encouraging to see her's so nice and red. I sure hope she pulls through.

 

[BigECarter]

With our first flock, we lost the pullets before they got to laying age. The two cockerels had a much slower decline, living with Marek's for months. We culled when they became paralyzed.

Ursula has kept her energy despite the paralysis. Her comb has reddened up as she continues to mature, and her appetite is great. It's uncharted territory for us, with the better Marek's vaccine from Murray McMurray. Worst thing would be that she beats the Marek's but the paralysis is permanent. She's a pain to take care of, lol. We should change her name to Shahrazad - as long as she coos at us, we give her another day.

 

[Nambroth]

With our first flock, we lost the pullets before they got to laying age. The two cockerels had a much slower decline, living with Marek's for months. We culled when they became paralyzed.

Ursula has kept her energy despite the paralysis. Her comb has reddened up as she continues to mature, and her appetite is great. It's uncharted territory for us, with the better Marek's vaccine from Murray McMurray. Worst thing would be that she beats the Marek's but the paralysis is permanent. She's a pain to take care of, lol. We should change her name to Shahrazad - as long as she coos at us, we give her another day.

If she only gets the neural lesions, and not the visceral tumors, she might be okay. Nerve damage is a sloooowww healing process. I know, because I am pretty sure that's what I am dealing with in my roo right now. He's been in the house for about two months now. I can't keep him in a crate or basket because there isn't one large enough-- he's immense. I have him on a mat of towels that I wash every other day, and he stays on them for the most part. At night I have him in the biggest rubbermaid tote we could find.. one of those 60? gallon suckers. He makes it look tiny.

Anyhow the B complex is one of the best vitamin supplements to give for nerve recovery and repair. I offer both Super B tablets (cut up) every other day, with nutritional yeast on the other days. I also offer coconut oil as the medium chain fats are supposed to help in absorption. I don't know if it honestly helps, to be totally blunt, but since it cannot hurt him I do offer it anyhow. I have it on hand as it's what we cook with so it's not a big deal for me to offer it.

My roo is recovering, but it's slow, slow, slow. He is still stiff and his gait isn't quite right, but he can stand, walk, and run short distances on his own now. He was completely without the use of his legs at the end of January.

He seems to pant sometimes, too, when he is excited, or when he has exerted himself (by walking a little etc).

 

[KAT Bird]

Today we lost Little Squeaky. This came suddenly. She was fine this weekend but this morning she was in the corner of the coop on the floor. She was weak, though still had use of her wings and legs. Labored breathing but not opened beaked. I took her to the vet and she died while he was examining her. He did an x-Ray and she had fluid in her lungs and air sacs. After she passed, fluid was running from her beak. He is going to do a necropsy and hopefully I will know more. She didn't follow the previous symptoms of the Marek's disease in her flock mates but then nothing is typical with Marek's

 

[Nambroth]

Aw, I am so sorry. RIP, Squeaky.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry for your loss...

-Kathy