Poor girl has no balance..help/advice would be much appreciated

[MelissaCh]

My husband and I are new to this and bought 3 chicks in February that were 7-8 weeks old. Our Buff Orpington did not make it. After about 3 months, she very quickly progressed from a limp to not being able to walk and not eating or drinking. My husband put her out of her misery after a few days. Our 2 Speckled Sussex were both fine until about 6 weeks ago. One of them started losing her balance when she would lean over to eat off the ground. She compensated for this by just squatting down when she ate so she wouldn't fall over. She had been the same for the last 6 weeks up until a few days ago. I've found her several times the last couple days stuck on her side and unable to get herself up. If I help her up she eventually gets herself going and walks around. She is eating, drinking, and even laying eggs. I'm a bit puzzled and hoping you guys might be able to help. Do you think this is Marek's? Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[Gcleare]

Hi Melissa. It sounds like Marek's, sorry to say. I lost 9 birds to it one year, and now only buy vaccinated chicks. Your coop is infested now, so any new birds should be vaccinated, or they too will catch it and die.

 

[coach723]

Your best option would be to have the next bird you lose with these symptoms necropsied, then you will know for sure what you are dealing with. If it is Mareks you can research and see what you want to do moving forward, if it is not Mareks you can do likewise. It's better to know for sure what you are dealing with since there are many things that can present with similar symptoms. I'm sorry for your loss. If you choose to get a necropsy done, refrigerate the body, don't freeze it. There are very good threads on here on how to pack for shipping.
Here are some links to necropsy resources, you can also call your local dept. of agriculture office and ask them: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[sourland]

It does sound like Mareks disease.

 

[chickens really]

Yes.....Also vaccination does not really protect them....Read up on Mereks vaccine....

 

[MelissaCh]

Since these are our first chickens, would they have had to be infected with Marek's when we bought them? None of our immediate neighbors have chickens, so how would they have gotten infected?
Thanks so much for all of the replies. I feel so lost as to what to do. If this girl dies, that only leaves us with 1 bird. Could she survive by herself? I can't bring in any new birds, right?

 

[chickens really]

Wild Birds carry the disease.....That's how it spreads or on your clothes....Tires...Yes, no point in bringing more Birds....

 

[sbhkma]

Here's a LOT of info about Marek's for you to review: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Gcleare]

Apparently if the birds are older when they're exposed, they can sometimes resist it. Our older birds were fine, but they were vaccinated as babies. The ones with Marek's seem to die at about 6-9 months. Afterwards we cleaned the coop and brought in new chicks the next spring, with all fresh bedding, and made sure the chicks were vaccinated. Haven't had a problem with it again since then, and that was about ten years ago.

 

[MelissaCh]

So it would be possible to have chickens again, as long as they are vaccinated? Is there a chance that our currently healthy girl will survive? Should we cull both birds and start fresh next year with vaccinated birds? We bought these birds from a local farm and I don't think they were vaccinated.