Possible Mareks Disease... Could use some help/info

[Eggcessive]

It's kind of scary when you think you might have something like Mareks in your flock. Many people just sit back and raise their chickens, and treat them however they can. Not all get it, and those that get it may not be that ill. From your reading you will find that there are several types of Mareks. Some will have the neurological symptoms, and others will later develop tumors. Some may become blind. You need to calm down and educate yourself. One thing you could do is find out about having a necropsy done on your sick bird--call the state vet and ask questions about if they can put her down, and if not, how you can ship the body to them or drive it to them. They need to test for Mareks, and that may take several weeks to get a final report back. It may not be Mareks at all, but just avitamin deficiency. Here is the state vet info: http://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-48096---,00.html

 

[ebuxton]

Thanks. I am not even remotely close to considering a necropsy at this point. Right now I just have a bird that has difficulty walking and/or standing. No other symptoms. That is why I was hoping someone with first-hand knowledge could tell me if she should have any other symptoms at this point. It might just be that one of the rooster's got rough with her. If it wasn't the weekend, I'd have taken her to the vet so I could find out.

 

[mithious]

Thanks. I am not even remotely close to considering a necropsy at this point. Right now I just have a bird that has difficulty walking and/or standing. No other symptoms. That is why I was hoping someone with first-hand knowledge could tell me if she should have any other symptoms at this point. It might just be that one of the rooster's got rough with her. If it wasn't the weekend, I'd have taken her to the vet so I could find out.

Yes, sometimes, partial paralization sp? can be the only sign of mareks. sometimes the bird will continue to go down hill and eventually die, and rarely, they will make a partial or full recovery, but if they DO recover, will become a carrier.

It could also be other things though. Eggcessive is right about the necropsy though. If you do lose your bird, the right thing to do, is to have one and find out for sure if your bird has mareks, as this disease is dream killing and horrible and can be passed so easily to other chicken keepers! Mareks is passed by the chickens dander, so is everywhere you have been because you tend your birds and you would have to be in a hazmat suit to not get the dander on you and spread it.

Best of luck with your bird and I hope she gets better!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

I wasn't saying that you need to euthanize your hen at this point, but just to find out what is involved. If something happens it would be nice to know how to go about it before hand. As you know by not being able to get her seen by a vet, these things always happen on a weekend or holiday, so having a plan is good. Having a Mareks flock if it is that, is something that would shock anyone, but eventually those people have learned how to handle it. Have you started any vitamins yet? It doesn't sound that important, but many leg issues are due to deficiencies. Here is another link to vitamin deficiencies: http://www.poulvet.com/poultry/articles/lameness_nutrition.php

 

[mithious]

What Eggcessive said is true. To have a necropsy, it needs to be done ASAP. after the bird is deceased. If you can't get it done that day, it must be refridgerated until you can get it to your state lab. The costs are usually pretty inexpensive though the state lab.extension, vs the vets and most vets don't know enough about chickens to do one anyway.

If you do lose your bird, you will also need a special container to send the bird in, can be purchased through the state lab usually, or delivered in person, but kept in a cooler on ice.

So preparing before is the right thing to do as Eggcessive said in order to be able to have the necropsy results be accurate. Plus, I figure, I can never have too much information, just in case

I truly hope this is something simple, fixable and all will turn out ok for you and your bird, but just incase, why not take a few moments and check out the link and be prepared? That is what I have been doing and also tons of research, so if something comes up, I have a better grip on what it might be, and how to handle it. I even keep a notebook for the chickens!

Best wishes and sorry things are so hard right now!

Wish they could atleast tell us what they feel like...would make things so much easier!!!!

 

[Chickensrthbest]

My hen was exactly like what your saying she would eat drink, but could not move one leg she lived for 2 weeks with the disease, then she started getting other things from sitting all the time and with her getting worse I decided to put her down . I don't know what it was. The vet said it was Mereks. None of my other birds got because they were supposively vaccinated at the factory. I would make sure that the other chickens don't have the same symptoms otherwise as long as she is happy see if she will over come it.

 

[mithious]

My hen was exactly like what your saying she would eat drink, but could not move one leg she lived for 2 weeks with the disease, then she started getting other things from sitting all the time and with her getting worse I decided to put her down . I don't know what it was. The vet said it was Mereks. None of my other birds got because they were supposively vaccinated at the factory. I would make sure that the other chickens don't have the same symptoms otherwise as long as she is happy see if she will over come it.

I just wanted to correct one thing, birds that are vaccinated for mareks can still get the disease, they just usually don't get sick from it, but can become carriers. All the vaccine does, is stop them from developing the tumors that kill them, it does not keep them from contracting the disease.

There are vaccinated flocks that have mareks but do not know, because their flocks are vaccinated. This is a common misconception with the mareks vaccine as most vaccines stop a virus, but not the mareks one. Mareks is a herpes virus.

 

[Chickensrthbest]

Thanks! I did not know that the vaccine did that as this is my first flock and I was trying to help.

 

[ebuxton]

Well, I am still unsure if it is Mareks. Today was a good day. I took her outside for some fresh air and she seemed to perk up immediately. She hobbled around checking things out for awhile. None of the flock are having any symptoms of anything. She can still walk, when she wants to, and she can even roost. I don't know if any of that would be possible with Mareks. As of right now, I am thinking it might be just an injured leg. It doesn't appear to be paralysis. Especially that she is not falling over when she walks or sits.I will show you how she looks... Here she is roosting on a tote I was going to use for her "sick bed." I also wanted to say that no, I have not been giving her any vitamins. I would think that if it was from some sort of vitamin deficiency, it would be among more of them. My birds all eat exceptionally well. They free-range, have good pellets, and are given fruits and vegetables twice a day. I also offer grit and calcium even though I did read that the calcium is not required unless they are already laying. I change their water a minimum of twice a day, and I even give them frozen berries when it is hot out. They eat better than I do! My birds are so spoiled that they even have a night light in their coop. If something were to happen to her, then of course I would have a necropsy done. (I am a nursing student so I know the need for definitive answers.) Right now, I am trying to remain positive. She is such a good girl! Thanks for all of the advice. I will try to get ahold of a vet tomorrow. I am also including a picture of my Polish enjoying a corn and fruit frozen treat. They loved the colorful platter! Lol

 

[Havrah]

U need to check out this thread ASAP https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/135247/st-johns-wort/0_50
there is a homepathic treatment for mareks really miraculous it saved my little girls life. I recently had an outbreak of mareks lost more than 4 of my girls found to have mareks upon necropsy I became desparate to find anything that would help especially when my fav little hen started showing symptoms I found this thread and others went to the health food store started tx immediately within a couple days saw improvement after a week couldn't even tell the difference between her and my healthiest bird. Even the dr at the state heath dept was amazed that something actually reversed the mareks symptoms it might be worth a try the directions are listed in detail on the thread. Hope it's not mareks but if it is this might do the trick also used as a pain med. good luck.