Possible Marek's in one of my hens?

[laurenckk]

Hello there!

I have six barred rock hens, roughly all about 2 and a half to three years old, and I'm concerned that I've had an outbreak of Marek's disease. I had seven girls up until about a month ago when one of my girls, Janis, lost function of her legs out of the blue and was unable to walk. She was fine when I let them out that morning, but when I went to lock them up for the night she was unable to walk and had huddled up on the ground in the run, not being able to jump up into the coop. I didn't know what to do because it was so sudden - she was lethargic, unable to walk, very pale and had labored and shallow breathing. I figured there was really nothing I could do at that point and made her as comfortable as possible, lifting her into one of the nesting boxes and making sure she was in an as comfortable laying position as I could get her in without creating more pain. When I went to let them out the next morning, she had died.

Now, a month later, one of my girls is exhibiting the same symptoms. She's not able to jump down from her roost, just walking the length of it anxiously before I eventually pick her up and let her down. She's been able to get up and into the coop and roost without any problems so far, it's just the getting down in the morning that she's not able to do. This has been going on for about a week - and my sweet girl Janis had been exhibiting those same symptoms for the same amount of time before she died. The hen now, Boca, looks otherwise healthy besides not being able to jump down. She's eating, drinking, laying as far as I know, and her poop looks normal. She is beginning her Spring molt for the year as well as two or three of my other hens, all of which look healthy as can be.

I'm worried that the molting could make the others weak and get affected by this disease as well. Is this Marek's? Something else? Is there anything I can do to help the rest of my flock (5 others excluding Boca) not meet the same fate? I was thinking of doing a deep clean of the entire coop using a vinegar solution in the next couple of days, but besides that I truly have no idea what to do next.

Any advice would be greatly, greatly, appreciated.

 

[Mamatomany123]

The only way to know for sure if you have mareks would be to have a bird tested. I'm not sure if what you're describing is mareks or not but if it is then the entire flock is already infected.

 

[TreeStrepek]

I had Maraks disease. After 2 birds with your similar symptoms suffered I hired a vet. I’m sorry. It sounds like you are dealing with it.

 

[azygous]

If your flock has Marek's, it's deep in their cells, and cleaning the coop with vinegar would be like trying to stop your house from burning down with a spray bottle of water. But, it's not that likely to be Marek's as it usually hits for the first time when chickens are in their first year.

Your hen Janis may have died from what's called sudden death syndrome or hypocalcemia. This is a freaky sort of "perfect storm" where a hen reaches the limits of stored calcium. In the process of an egg getting to the shell gland for its calcium shell, it comes up short of stored calcium and sucks all available calcium from the blood stream, causing heart failure. Not being able to move the legs is one consequence of this.

This current hen may or may not have the same problem, but it wouldn't hurt to pop a calcium tablet into her beak for starters. If she responds by being able to move her legs again after a few hours, then it's likely the same thing that Janis had.

If it is, then correcting this in your flock may be challenging if they've been preconditioned for this by the type of care they received in their early months.

 

[laurenckk]

If your flock has Marek's, it's deep in their cells, and cleaning the coop with vinegar would be like trying to stop your house from burning down with a spray bottle of water. But, it's not that likely to be Marek's as it usually hits for the first time when chickens are in their first year.

Your hen Janis may have died from what's called sudden death syndrome or hypocalcemia. This is a freaky sort of "perfect storm" where a hen reaches the limits of stored calcium. In the process of an egg getting to the shell gland for its calcium shell, it comes up short of stored calcium and sucks all available calcium from the blood stream, causing heart failure. Not being able to move the legs is one consequence of this.

This current hen may or may not have the same problem, but it wouldn't hurt to pop a calcium tablet into her beak for starters. If she responds by being able to move her legs again after a few hours, then it's likely the same thing that Janis had.

If it is, then correcting this in your flock may be challenging if they've been preconditioned for this by the type of care they received in their early months.

Is this something that would take a couple weeks to cause death? With both Janis and now Boca there was a period of about a week, week and a half where their motion of their legs continuously got worse and worse until they couldn't use them anymore - which by that point death immediately followed which is why I was/am thinking Marek's.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
Only necropsies, or testing through your state veterinary path lab, will give you the answers you need.
Have you checked them for mites or lice? At night, with a flashlight, while they are roosting, look for tiny moving specks, especially around their vents, or anywhere on the skin.
And call your state lab about testing.
Mary

 

[Mamatomany123]

Is this something that would take a couple weeks to cause death? With both Janis and now Boca there was a period of about a week, week and a half where their motion of their legs continuously got worse and worse until they couldn't use them anymore - which by that point death immediately followed which is why I was/am thinking Marek's.

Mareks can take 1-2 weeks before killing a chicken.

 

[laurenckk]

I had Maraks disease. After 2 birds with your similar symptoms suffered I hired a vet. I’m sorry. It sounds like you are dealing with it.

Did your birds improve after you brought a vet in? Or was it more of a last-resort being humane type of visit? I'm sorry that you had it in your flock.

 

[laurenckk]

Mareks can take 1-2 weeks before killing a chicken.

Yes, that's what I thought too. I think that at this point Marek's is what I'm looking at. I feel pretty helpless, there's not much to be done at this point if it is. Thank you for the response.

 

[azygous]

We are all guessing here. There is no way to know what is causing this until a dead bird gets sent to a lab for necropsy.

All we can do, operating from our own experience, is to suggest things you might try that might help. If the things we suggest help, that can lead to a diagnosis.