• giveaway ENDS SOON! Cutest Baby Fowl Photo Contest: Win a Brinsea Maxi 24 EX Connect CLICK HERE!

Please Help, Confirmed Marek's and Mycoplasma

bhawk-23

Crowing
Premium Feather Member
5 Years
Apr 12, 2020
1,245
1,725
306
East Central Illinois
So the necropsy came back and my flock has Marek's and Mycoplasma. We've already had to euthanized 2 sick birds. One had to go to the state for AI testing (negative) and the other was sent for a full necropsy report.
That report was not good. My girl was suffering much longer than the last 24 hrs.

Knowing this, we have decided to send a couple more in who seem to be not doing as well.
So I've been watching behaviors, listening to breathing and for sneezing, checking crops at night on the roost and poop in the morning.
I have a silkie hen who is the only one still sneezing after the tylosin treatment. She is active, foraging, dust bathing, full crop and good poops. She acts fine outside of the random sneezing.

We have a bantam who was looking really rough when I came back from vacation. She is lowest in order and was really stressed after the bad experience. She has lost a lot of feathers and weight. But after some time inside, extra food and a longer dose of tylosin she has appears to be doing better, at times. She is definitely not 100%.
GridArt_20220608_175642109.jpg
GridArt_20220608_175431877.jpg


One hen is slowly isolating. She is ok at one point and then not herself another. Also, her crop was nearly empty last night so I'll check that again.tonight. She has started scratching at her head today and had an abnormal poop this afternoon. Her eyes look different to me but hubs doesn't see it. She seems to be heading in the same direction but I have no faith in myself anymore.
GridArt_20220608_174915891.jpg
GridArt_20220608_174825739.jpg


The roo has slowly been declining. His crop has been smaller at night, a random sneeze, once or twice he sounded raspy, scratching at his head more and now his poop output is reduced. His crow is also a little weaker and he seems to struggle at the end. I'm sure he would hide it the best and that worries me.

Becky appears completely normal. But the Dr told me to watch for darkening of combs which would mean lack of oxygen. The brahma sent for necropsy had the most lesions on her lungs. So now I keep looking at Becky's dark spots on her comb second guessing her oxygen levels. She has had these spots since coming into lay and is a year old now. She seems to be her normal self and was actually one of the only birds to have not shown symptoms of the mycoplasma when symptoms first showed up in Feb/Mar.
GridArt_20220608_173559633.jpg
GridArt_20220608_171228015.jpg


If someone can please offer some advice in how they would assess their chickens to be able to get the most information I will really appreciate it.
Thank you.

Edited post: We will be bringing 2 in. This is a decision based upon the findings in the necropsy. My hen was much sicker than I could have imagined. The Dr thinks there is a very good chance more of my chickens are sick with how much damage there was in a healthy weight hen with little symptoms. I'm sure some people will disagree, but I truly feel they are sicker than I am understanding. The Dr is not charging for the full necropsies of these ones so this isn't a benefit to him.
 
Last edited:
Regarding necropsies, I dont think they actually test for Mareks. I think they just take your money and send out a copy pasted document that says "this is typical of a chicken with Mareks disease" to try to fool you. I cant wait to read the responses to this. You can submit a blood sample for testing your live birds, it is more reliable.

Regarding mycoplasma, my flock has it, but they dont have any symptoms of it. I dont know how long you have had your flock, but they get accustomed to it with time. A healthy diet, clean waters, and knowledge of parasite treatment will trump any vet, doctor, or state agencies copy pasted opinion on your chickens.
 
Since Mareks and Mycoplasma are now confirmed present in your flock, all flock members are assumed to be carriers even if they never show symptoms. Maybe I'm misunderstanding your post, but I can't think of any reason to submit two more birds that are currently symptom-free for necropsy testing.
The 1 that was necropsied actually died from sepsis and suffocation I believe. She had leasions, damaged organs and a host of other issues. That was devastating to me. I check on my flock throughout the day. And after the stress of the sitter I was outside multiple times watching to see who was free ranging, dust bathing, eating, laying, counting them etc. To know I missed something so serious until 24 hrs before euthanizing is a horrific feeling.
I would definitely not say my whole flock is healthy and out of the woods yet. But I am now wondering just how sick they are. After discussing it with the Dr who necropsied I have chosen to test a couple more. If more have the amount of lesions and/or internal damaged she had I can then be more educated on how to proceed.
Regarding necropsies, I dont think they actually test for Mareks. I think they just take your money and send out a copy pasted document that says "this is typical of a chicken with Mareks disease" to try to fool you. I cant wait to read the responses to this. You can submit a blood sample for testing your live birds, it is more reliable.

Regarding mycoplasma, my flock has it, but they dont have any symptoms of it. I dont know how long you have had your flock, but they get accustomed to it with time. A healthy diet, clean waters, and knowledge of parasite treatment will trump any vet, doctor, or state agencies copy pasted opinion on your chickens.
If I had paid for the "backyard flock" necropsy I do believe that is what I would have received. When I brought her in though the Dr came out and asked all kinds of questions, needed detailed info and was extremely thorough. I decided to do the detailed necropsy where they test all organs, blood, viruses, bacteria and really dig in to what issues they had. He then called me to discuss all the results and a way to move forward. He also took the time to discuss what to look for based on what the Brahma had wrong. He also said according to her condition that if I am seeing any symptoms to euthanize. I won't be able to fix what was wrong. This is why I've chosen to test a couple more who seem to be worse of than the others.
It was more expensive but definitely worth it. If not just for the education I received. The tests were all conclusive. I think this was to kind of necropsy one for large scale production type farms🤷

You give me hope to think this can all be controlled in the future. I hope to get there one day, but we are definitely not out of the woods yet. Thank you.
 
I'm confused. You already know what your flock has/ been exposed to. Killing one just to do another necropsy will not gain anything. The way I see it, you have 2 choices. Euthanize everybody right now, clean and disinfect your premises, wait an appropriate amount of time, and start over again, OR euthanize any bird obviously suffering, and let the rest live their life, and keep a closed flock. Chickens, like all birds, hide their illness until they are really sick. It's unlikely that you missed it in the first bird, and unlikely that killing a "healthy looking," or slightly off bird will gain you anything more. I'm sorry that you are going through this, it can be upsetting to lose them.
 
I’m sorry to hear this news and that you have more difficult decisions to make, but also happy you now have some confirmed answers so you can start to move forward. It sounds like a nearly impossible task to make those types of selections but you have to do what you believe is right for the overall health of your flock. You know your chickens better than anyone else and you just have to trust your judgement. At the end of the day, remember this is a disease and not something your care caused. You obviously care a lot about them, and I know you will get through this.
 
Last edited:
The 1 that was necropsied actually died from sepsis and suffocation I believe. She had leasions, damaged organs and a host of other issues. That was devastating to me.
So in other words, the one that was necropsied essentially died from Mareks Disease. But I'm still unclear how having two more birds necropsied that are not currently showing obvious symptoms will help you with future medical decisions. Also, it's common for dying birds (of any species) to hide their illness until death is near, so please release any guilt you feel over that issue.

I imagine you would feel better hearing from some of the medical experts on this forum, so i'm tagging @azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @coach723 to see what they have to say, and if they confirm what you've already been told.
 
I'm confused. You already know what your flock has/ been exposed to. Killing one just to do another necropsy will not gain anything. The way I see it, you have 2 choices. Euthanize everybody right now, clean and disinfect your premises, wait an appropriate amount of time, and start over again, OR euthanize any bird obviously suffering, and let the rest live their life, and keep a closed flock. Chickens, like all birds, hide their illness until they are really sick. It's unlikely that you missed it in the first bird, and unlikely that killing a "healthy looking," or slightly off bird will gain you anything more. I'm sorry that you are going through this, it can be upsetting to lose them.
Our flock is closed. I am hoping this can help me understand the extent of everything. If slightly sick ones have the damage she had it will help me make final decisions.
I’m sorry to hear this news and that you have more difficult decisions to make, but also happy you now have some confirmed answers so you can start to move forward. It sounds like a nearly impossible task to make those types of selections but you have to do what you believe is right for the overall health of your flock. You know your chickens better than anyone else and you just have to trust your judgement. At the end of the day, remember this is a disease and not something your care caused. You obviously care a lot about them, and I know you will get through this.
Thank you. I completely blame myself for her suffering like that. I'm trying to let it go and just make the best decision for the flock as a whole.
 
Regarding necropsies, I dont think they actually test for Mareks. I think they just take your money and send out a copy pasted document that says "this is typical of a chicken with Mareks disease" to try to fool you. I cant wait to read the responses to this. You can submit a blood sample for testing your live birds, it is more reliable.

Regarding mycoplasma, my flock has it, but they dont have any symptoms of it. I dont know how long you have had your flock, but they get accustomed to it with time. A healthy diet, clean waters, and knowledge of parasite treatment will trump any vet, doctor, or state agencies copy pasted opinion on your chickens.

This comment has given me so much hope. Thank you! Can you please tell me what blood test can be used for Marek’s?
 
I'm sorry to hear the sad news.

Neither Marek's nor Mycoplasma are really a death sentence.
Yes, some do end up having to cull the sickest of their birds to release them from their suffering, but many folks learn to manage symptoms as they appear.

If you do have MG in your flock, then look into giving Denagard (Tiamulin) for 3 days each month as a maintenance to help control symptoms. There's a lot of older threads here on BYC discussing Tiamulin, so look them up and study them over.

Lot of people here on BYC with Marek's too. Again, culling very sick individual birds may be needed, but you would have to make that determination.

Do provide fresh food, fresh water, grit, limit treats to no more than 10% of daily intake, etc. Check for lice/mites and get a fecal float to see if periodic deworming is needed, if not then I would deworm twice a year. Check to make sure crops are emptying.
Any symptoms you see, start offering extra supportive care to give them a boost.

Keep a closed flock or if you do add new birds, then know that they will be exposed. Your flock is carriers. Some would recommend getting vaccinated birds - again, that's up to you, do your research on that as well.

I'm sure it's been heartbreaking to go through all this. I hope in time things begin to get better as you start to manage symptoms.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom