Please tell me this isn't Mareck's

[FlyingNunFarm]

When I called the lab I specifically asked about false positives. He said it's there or it isn't. No false answers.

The blood can be as small as a few drops. I trimmed a toe nail to short and dropped it onto a coffee filter. Put it in a ziplock bag and mailed it.

My understanding from what the lab told me is that a lot of things look alike on necropsy. And Mareks is the cancer of webMD in the chicken world.

I do recommend calling them. Then you can form your own opinion. The test is $20.

 

[Shlamoof]

Just a quick update: I'm headed to the store tomorrow to get some poultry cell, but until I can do that I have been giving vitamin e and some extra protein. I'm still giving activated charcoal and molasses. My barred can now stand in her crate with minimal assistance and seems to be doing much better. The Easter Egger is a bit worse, like how my barred was yesterday, but my barred bounced back, so I'm hopeful for full recoveries.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

If you're wanting to boost vitamins and minerals Poly-vi-sol w/o iron is the quickest way. Usually in the baby department. Generic is just fine.

 

[SeaHen]

Just a note of encouragement: Last week I found one of my hens lying motionless on the barn floor, still breathing but unable to hold her head erect or stand on her own. Around the same time my daughter noticed one of the roosters walking around with his head hanging forward. My initial fear was that they had a viral or or neurological disorder but now I'm considering brain or spinal trauma as the hen had a small open abrasion on her head and the rooster had fresh blood on his comb - no other outward signs of injury. We're grasping at straws but wondering if the hen was attacked by a small predator that the rooster tangled with and managed to chase off. On the other hand, it's possible these problems are unrelated to each other. To cut to the chase, both birds are slowly improving after days of supportive care; the hen can take a few uncoordinated steps before flopping over and is able to rebalance herself in a setting position, and the rooster is holding his head up a bit higher. Both are eating and drinking and I'm hopeful they will recover fully with time. Another weird experience was that last year we were given a True Blue Whiting pullet by a neighbor who had found her lying on her barn floor, seemingly paralyzed. There were no obvious injuries but she literally couldn't stand or use her legs at all. We hand nursed this bird for 2 months, dreading the expectation that we would ultimately have to put her down, but one day without any warning she literally threw herself out of the box we had built for her and started running around the room! She hasn't stopped running since. Some things will remain a mystery.

 

[Shlamoof]

Just a note of encouragement: Last week I found one of my hens lying motionless on the barn floor, still breathing but unable to hold her head erect or stand on her own. Around the same time my daughter noticed one of the roosters walking around with his head hanging forward. My initial fear was that they had a viral or or neurological disorder but now I'm considering brain or spinal trauma as the hen had a small open abrasion on her head and the rooster had fresh blood on his comb - no other outward signs of injury. We're grasping at straws but wondering if the hen was attacked by a small predator that the rooster tangled with and managed to chase off. On the other hand, it's possible these problems are unrelated to each other. To cut to the chase, both birds are slowly improving after days of supportive care; the hen can take a few uncoordinated steps before flopping over and is able to rebalance herself in a setting position, and the rooster is holding his head up a bit higher. Both are eating and drinking and I'm hopeful they will recover fully with time. Another weird experience was that last year we were given a True Blue Whiting pullet by a neighbor who had found her lying on her barn floor, seemingly paralyzed. There were no obvious injuries but she literally couldn't stand or use her legs at all. We hand nursed this bird for 2 months, dreading the expectation that we would ultimately have to put her down, but one day without any warning she literally threw herself out of the box we had built for her and started running around the room! She hasn't stopped running since. Some things will remain a mystery.

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing I'd love to see mine jump out of the crate. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they do.

 

[Shlamoof]

Just an update, after giving them baby vitamins for a few days, the barred is standing and clumbsily walking, which is better than when we originally found her. The Easter Egger looks more alert and active, though still won't stand. I guess it was just a vitamin deficiency, which is a huge relief. We usually give Purina, so I'm not sure why they were deficient, but I'm going to throw in lots of extra goodies from now on as well. Thanks, guys!

 

[PNWskye]

When I called the lab I specifically asked about false positives. He said it's there or it isn't. No false answers.

The blood can be as small as a few drops. I trimmed a toe nail to short and dropped it onto a coffee filter. Put it in a ziplock bag and mailed it.

My understanding from what the lab told me is that a lot of things look alike on necropsy. And Mareks is the cancer of webMD in the chicken world.

I do recommend calling them. Then you can form your own opinion. The test is $20.

I want to update the post to include info I found out today. RAL (Ressarch Associates Laboratory) is quite responsive on Facebook, and they no longer accept the blood droplets on a paper in a ziplock bag mailed to them. You get blood test vials or swabs ordered/mailed to you first, and then, send in the test form that requests mareks be tested for $20.

 

[ILoveDaffy]

Poor thing!

 

[Docdetective]

Just want to add that if it isn’t mareks, she might have the same thing a pullet of mine went through. She didn’t have Mereks but she couldn’t walk Thor two months, until one day she just got up and started tryi bf to walk again! If your pullet doesn’t have Mereks, feel free to message or tag me and I can tell you about my experience and what I did to help her.