Possible Marek’s despite vaccine

[amarsano]

I have, now 4, birds that are lame in one leg. They were all vaccinated for Marek’s. They hatched in May of this year. They were separated from the rest of our flock until 2 weeks ago. That’s when the first one came up lame with no other symptoms. We initially figured it was an injury, until another pullet came up lame the next day. 5 days later a rooster, from a hatchery, came up limping. Today, another cock started limping. The second pullet who was lame was severe initially, but is doing much better now. Our first girl, Cloud, is deteriorating. She now has rales. She is sleeping a lot, but did eat a small amount this morning. Three of the four are our barnyard mix. Cloud is an Americana/Japanese mix. she weighs 485 g. I administered oxytetracicline and Tylan today by IM. We know we have MG in our adult flock. So, do you think this is Marek’s with secondary complications or MG/MS? Or something else? Looking for advice as I am not hopeful she will survive the night.

 

[LaFleche]

The only way to know for sure what you are dealing with, is to have her necropsied by your state vet lab

Sadly, as there exist a multitude of different strains, the vaccination does not prevent the birds from getting infected by the Marek virus. It just slows the development of tumors.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28038868/

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I have, now 4, birds that are lame in one leg. They were all vaccinated for Marek’s.

Sorry you are facing this.

Marek's vaccine does NOT prevent the disease.. it only hides the symptoms.. IF given and set up properly.. According to this very informative article.. lameness can even be a side effect/symptom of MS/MG.. It also list other things that may have similar symptoms..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Unfortunately.. I'm not in the save them all category.. Don't think I'd add more birds to an ms/mg infected flock before depopulating and starting over, instead of setting myself up for a lifetime of keeping unwell birds (that also easily spreads to other flocks).. I'm sure you already have more knowledge about it than I do, but this was a decent article..

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/ahw/animal_health/documents/backyardpoultry/Mycoplasma Factsheet.pdf

 

[amarsano]

Sorry you are facing this.

Marek's vaccine does NOT prevent the disease.. it only hides the symptoms.. IF given and set up properly.. According to this very informative article.. lameness can even be a side effect/symptom of MS/MG.. It also list other things that may have similar symptoms..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Unfortunately.. I'm not in the save them all category.. Don't think I'd add more birds to an ms/mg infected flock before depopulating and starting over, instead of setting myself up for a lifetime of keeping unwell birds (that also easily spreads to other flocks).. I'm sure you already have more knowledge about it than I do, but this was a decent article..

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/ahw/animal_health/documents/backyardpoultry/Mycoplasma Factsheet.pdf

I knew it was a leaky vaccine, so I was not entirely surprised this could be an issue. We have had very minor issues with MG. It came in with a tractor supply chick. Unfortunately, I didn’t know as much as I know now. This is the first time I’ve had a major issue. I am surprised that none of my older flock has shown any symptoms. So, I’m questioning what it really is. We have battled a lot; we had dry fowl pox earlier this year. I allow mine to “free range” on a quarter of an acre of 8 ft fenced property, thus I can’t protect them from everything.

 

[amarsano]

The only way to know for sure what you are dealing with, is to have her necropsied by your state vet lab

Sadly, as there exist a multitude of different strains, the vaccination does not prevent the birds from getting infected by the Marek virus. It just slows the development of tumors.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28038868/

Thanks so much! I know that there is no true prevention but, I’ve been trying. I suppose we will see if she makes it. If she doesn’t, I’ll do the necropsy.

 

[LaFleche]

Quite a lot of diseases present with similar symptoms, I hope it is not Marek's!

 

[amarsano]

Sadly, we have lost two so far. I now have nine showing symptoms. Two are presenting with the classic Marek’s eye. These are my “old” birds. The other 7 are from my youngsters. All limping to various degrees. This is killing me as I watch my flock being decimated despite vaccination.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you tried to get a necropsy by your state vet to look for the symptoms of Mareks? Can you post any pictures of the eyes? Sorry for your losses. It seemed a little sudden for so many to come down with lameness, so I was a little skeptical of Mareks. Have you seen paralysis of one or both legs, curled under toes, any twisted or sunken neck? Here is a list with the New Hampshire state lab to contact for necropsies:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html