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

[saltandpepper2]

Death of 1st bird this year due to mareks this year. Considering I had 14 new birds, not bad odds. It was my little sebright hen. Started with gasping, then she went lame, both symptoms went away, but she wouldn't gain weight.. Finally fell asleep and didn't wake up again. Glad the poor girl had a peaceful end.

 

[rebrascora]

That is sad but as you say not bad odds and a relatively peaceful passing.

I have had 24 broody reared chicks this summer all within the flock with no vaccine or special precautions and I have one that dropped a wing 2 weeks ago and is now a bit unsteady on her feet but still free ranging with he flock for part of the day and her brother that has a persistently poopy bot that I suspect may also be Marek's related. I have 5 older pullets that are just reaching point of lay, so quite a critical time for them and keeping fingers crossed but all look very well so far. And the older cockerels are all hale and hearty and soon to be dinner.
The remainder of the flock have been pretty stable all summer, so I definitely feel like things are a lot better than they could be and counting my blessings every day I don't find a lame or sick bird..

 

[ochochicas]

Sorry S&P, but I'm also glad she went peacefully.

My broody raised pullets are also at point of lay. One is laying already, still waiting on the others. They are vaccinated, however, so I think that may make a difference in how they survive.

 

[lalaland]

S&P, I'm so sorry too.

Seems point of lay is a stressful time, and so is molting - I lost one shortly after she finished molting last year, and this year one of her hatchmates is having a tough molt. She is doing that head shaking thing...not much weight. And here comes winter, too.

 

[chicknmania]

You know, I think there are so many things that cause look alike symptoms that it is very hard to pin point Mareks specifically...so for that reason I have chosen not to cull my one survivor from what I'm pretty sure was Mareks...we've had 7 cases of very similar symptoms over the past year and a half....ranging in age from 3 months to 7 years old. Mostly young rooster or cockerels, too, which is odd, though I've had my one survivor who had it when she was a pullet, and recovered after almost dying...she is now just a little over one year old. All my roosters and cockerels who have had it start the same way....extreme lameness, very hungry, acting basically normal at first except for the lameness, but then they gradually decline and die over a period of weeks. They are of course quarantined once they are ill, but by that time I'm sure it is way too late. None of ours have had any occular symptoms, at least so far. My pullet was different...she was not lame, but she had seizures, and was ill. Like others have said on here, ours free range, so it's really impossible to sterilize everywhere they have been...I just wonder if all the cases really are Marek's, Leukosis, or something else....

 

[rebrascora]

Well this seems to be the worst time of year for my flock for outbreaks. I'm pretty confident that the chicks I mentioned earlier have it but thankfully they have not declined further and seem to be holding their own and the POL pullets are not showing any signs yet although I'm almost paranoid each morning when I let them out that I'm going to see one hobbling.
Sadly an 18 month old legbar cockerel that has just come out of moult a few weeks ago, has suddenly had a second lameness bout about a year after his first. He completely recovered from his first attack within a week but this second one is more serious and he's struggling to get about at the moment and needing tlc. He hasn't been directly exposed to the chicks that are showing signs and nothing in his routine has changed, so I'm a bit surprised by his outbreak after all this time. If he had been just starting moult I might have expected it, but it seems strange to have happened after he has feathered in. I was even thinking of using him to replace my old legbar cockerel (flock leader) just last week. It's a shame because he has always been a well mannered boy and although he should have been scheduled for processing, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for him. It seems stupid to be giving him care and support when I am processing gorgeous strong healthy males!

 

[chicknmania]

Have you tried Hypericum Perforatum?

 

[chicknmania]

My pullet Peaches had Marek's, or at least I believe that is what it was.. She almost died, but after a lot of TLC, she made a full recovery and was fine for six months. Then she came down with a severe worm infestation, with Capillary worms, despite our deworming schedule, a couple of months ago. Again she almost died, but did finally recover...or so I thought. Her rooster is sick now with what I am almost sure is MS. He is very lame and raspy breathing. Maybe he has Marek's..idk. Now Peaches (my sweet pullet) is sick for a third time. I noticed her limping slightly a few days ago, then she began to go off her feed a bit...now she seems sick again. I think they must be passing it back and forth. The rest of the flock seems fine at this point. I am just so sad about her. Very hard not to get attached. But from what I learned, even if they recover from Marek's, their immune system suffers and is not very effective against anything.

 

[chicknmania]

Death of 1st bird this year due to mareks this year. Considering I had 14 new birds, not bad odds. It was my little sebright hen. Started with gasping, then she went lame, both symptoms went away, but she wouldn't gain weight.. Finally fell asleep and didn't wake up again. Glad the poor girl had a peaceful end.

 

[ochochicas]

Sorry to hear about your rooster. My sick roosters always have respiratory/circulatory problems and go down hill quickly. I had one get sick on a Thursday in May and he died on Friday. The hens seem to fight it out for a long while.

Is Peaches vaccinated? I have vaccinated pullet that came down with Marek's but then recovered. She is laying beautiful eggs now. I completely expected her to die (and know she's not 100% out of the woods) but I'm happy she made it to adult hood. It give us all some hope for the future.