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

[lalaland]

mightymax, sorry to hear about your chicken. I'm guessing he didn't make it since you havent posted.


am waiting on necropsy results for a little legbar rooster. He took ill Tuesday, and now, Sunday, I'm eyeing a little icelandic hen who seems just a bit off. Hopefully I'm imagining it, but....

 

[seminolewind]

I hope we get an update. I'm waiting for a necropsy, too.

 

[mightymax]

So Sad to report that I had to put Aloe down yesterday. He wasn't eating or drinking anything. And believe me, I tried just about everything, even wet cat food. which he used to like to get a sneak bite of when he thought I wasn't looking. The poor little fellow couldn't even stand anymore, using the sides of his crate as support. He had, in my opinion, absolutely no quality of life left and although he was only a year and a few days old, I feel certain that while he was under my care he had everything he could have ever wanted and then some. I didn't post because as I said, I just euthanized him yesterday.
Thanks for all your well thoughts and wishes and sympathy and support.
I couldn't have done it or made it through my Marek's euthanizations without all of you!

Thanks Again !!!
-kim-

 

[lalaland]

Kim, I am so sorry, and I am glad you can take comfort knowing you gave him everything you could to give him a wonderful life.

 

[seminolewind]

Kim, I am so sorry, and I am glad you can take comfort knowing you gave him everything you could to give him a wonderful life.

Me too!

 

[lalaland]

ok, so the path lab prelim finding is mareks. I asked about a PCR and doc found this out for me:
One PCR test available at University of Texas requires chicken blood collected in EDTA (noncoagulated) to be tested for Marek's disease virus nuclei acid. this test is approx. $30 per sample and would be conducted on birds that are still alive.

A second test, available at University of Georgia, is conducted on tissue or blood. I called the lab and the technician believes they can test brain that has been previously fixed in preservative, but she will have to confirm. This test is approximately $110.

Please keep in mind that both of these tests only indicate that birds have been exposed to the MD virus and do not prove that MD is the primary disease. Many birds can test positive for MD with such tests because the virus is ubiquitous, but many exposed birds do not develop clinical signs or lesions because they have been vaccinated.

Please consider the options and let me know how you would like to proceed. I am glad you asked me about this because I did not know the test was now offered by diagnostic labs. I never have the opportunity to pursue this route in small flocks because the owners do not want to incur the added expense (plus a positive PCR test is not a definitive diagnosis).

I just heard a commotion in the flock and went out and found rooster beaking a 5 year old astrolorp hen. Picked her up, she is bleeding from head and incredibly light - I see her eyes, both of them, have changed to grey. Her crop is empty and should be full at this time in the morning.

Guess rooster figured out she was sick and was going to cull her for me.

Eye color,....she has mareks, doesn't she?

 

[casportpony]

Eye color is usually Marek's... Take pictures and email them to the pathologist you're working with. If you can, post them here, too.

-Kathy

 

[Nambroth]

The eye color is a pretty bad sign. Does she seem like she can see? What happens when you offer her a favored treat, something that she usually would never turn down?

 

[lalaland]

I can cook up egg for her. I threw some scratch in the carrier with her, she ignored it.

I was thinking best to just cull? Seems overall advice is to quickly cull those with symptoms?

 

[mightymax]

My roo, Aloe's eyes turned a sort of opaque grey several months before he passed. He eventually lost sight in both his eyes and I had to be sure to feed him separately and from a large dog bowl so I was certain that he got his share of food. I also went back to crumbles instead of pellets. It just seemed like he could eat them better. I'm sorry that you are going through this too. At least here on this site there seem to be many good people that can commiserate and help you get through it, like they've done for me. Good luck and I'll keep you in my thoughts.
-kim-