Not Mareks..but EVERY symptom..heeelp

[joellen1]

Hi there. We have two hens. they are about 7 months old.
Doughnut, our white one, seems to have some neurological issues. when you hand feed her treats she seems to "miss the mark" like she cant see it well...and now, her tail is down..she can barely walk...etc.

We took her to the vet, he did stool sample and thought for sure it was Mareks..but all the tests came back negative.
He says he is stumped.

for some reason for about 2 days she seemed to almost be ok...then bam, right back into not being able to do things.

she will drink and eat...and the other chicken is fine. we have only had these two chickens..so I am not sure what one could have come in contact with that the other didn't.

if anyone had experience with this let me know. I don't want to put her down if we can fix or help her..but I don't want her to have no quality to her life...

Thanks
JO

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm not a vet but most vets have no poultry experience. I would think a fecal sample is not the way to show existence of Marek's virus.
http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Health_standards/tahm/2.03.13_MAREK_DIS.pdf

I think he's stumped because he doesn't know what he's doing. The organs have to be analyzed.

Diagnosis of the disease cannot be made by detection using serological or virological tests. Marek’s disease is diagnosed by clinical signs and by the presence of gross and microscopic lesions. The presence of the virus, without clinical signs, can be demonstrated by isolation of the virus or by agar gel precipitation of the viral antigen in feather tips or serum antibody.

I don't know what state/country you are in but if it were me, your best approach is to take your sickest bird to the nearest government or vet school poultry lab for humane euthanasia and complete necropsy.
After all, Marek's has no cure so sacrificing a bird to find out what's up with your flock is the way to go.

 

[joellen1]

thank you so much for your reply!

I did take him to a vet that is an Avian specialist. He took stool samples and he drew blood and it was sent to some place...I think it was in Indianna, a lab/university that does these specific tests.


When we brought her in, we thought she was egg bound..she couldn't walk...then a few days later...she was walking and even running a bit...then..a few days later..back to being sick again.
He said he was stumped and that he was going to call a specialist he knows at OSU to see if he had any input but that was on Weds and I haven't heard back.

so they cant test for it? Like I said, I only have two chickens...that's all we have ever had..they are our first two from the same hatchery...Im worried now from what Ive been reading that my other chicken will get it..but she seems to be doing fantastic (knock on wood )

Ugh.....

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Marek's is everywhere. Birds are resistant or they aren't I'm sorry you only have two birds and one is not doing well.
7 months is the right age to succumb.

Avian vets are uncommon. Avian vets with poultry experience are as rare as hen's teeth.

 

[joellen1]

Well C.C. I was really hoping Doughnut was the exception...but no. I just got off the phone with her VET. He did talk to the specialist in Cols and she did say pretty much the same thing..that you can test for it..but even if its negative they can still have it due to barriers. So every symptom she has is Mareks...

I suppose we will put her down this weekend. I am assuming Big Red..our other Chicken is immune..because again...she is doing fine...at least I hope she is. She is going to be so sad when she is alone. We will get 2 more chicks..but with this Mareks being in the coop...even after raising the chicks in the brooder for 6-8 weeks Im afraid for them.

I know we got the vaccine for the two we have now...but again, I am so new to this...I feel just horrible.

Thanks again for your help.
Jo.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Vaccination is normally effective if given as day olds or in-ovo. So if yours were vaccinated in a timely manner, the problem could be something else.
If you're going to cull her, it would be best to take her to the state poultry lab. They'll euthanize and do a complete necropsy so you'll know for sure what's up.
Find your state on the following list and contact them. Some states are free. At any rate, it will be cheaper than a vet.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf