Pullets legs don't work

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I just got the report back Friday from the Ohio Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab on two 20 wk old pullets that confirmed Marek's. Just FYI, check with the lab before you send off your chicken. Some states require a vet to prescribe the lab work. I only found out that was the case for Ohio when I showed up at the lab with my chicken. Fortunately we straightened it out with my vet while I was there. The initial lab work took a week, and the state ordered additional tests based on what they found. The final results took over 3 weeks due to a test requiring the brain tissue to be frozen for awhile. All of the communication had to go through the vet, which added time to the equation. I understand why they do it, just added another layer. Ohio is gradually taking the over-the-counter meds out of feed stores and requiring vets to prescribe them and routing the labwork through them makes sense...also keeps the lab techs from dealing with the public on the diagnosis. Necropsy cost was about $100 per bird. Worth it to know.
FWIW, the 16 young birds all came from a NPIP breeder and were vaccinated. We had 6 older hens on the property we have had for a couple years. They were freebies from neighbors and friends-vaccination unkown. I don't worry about where the disease came from. With wild birds and wild turkeys roaming around and most of our neighbor's free ranging chickens, it was probably already on the premises. We don't free range, but do have a fenced 4000 sq ft yard for them. We are keeping a clean coop, run and yard, provide a good diet and try to keep the chickens in a stress free environment, all things rumored to help mitigate Marek's. We have also added some steps in our biosecurity. So far we have lost only 2 of our 22, and it has been a month since the last one died. Hopefully we'll keep it under wraps, but time will tell. Marek's has changed our goals for chicken keeping...we are basically reduced to raising a few layers for ourselves. I won't endanger other flocks by raising then selling, trading or giving away our stock. Good luck! Let us know what you find out.
 
Ravynscroft said:
The one tested was vaccinated for Marek's? Did they tell you that testing vaccinated birds is not conclusive as those will test positive?
Click to expand...

Yes, we discussed that going into the necropsy. I have read over every thread I could find on BYC about the virus as I supected it early on. The birds I submitted were very symptomatic for Marek's: paralyzed leg and drooping wing on one side, and weird gray eyes and eventual blindness (which if I have read the Marek's threads correctly may indicate more than one strain?). I was impressed with the techs at the lab, they spent almost an hour discussing with me the symptoms, history of the birds, husbandry, diet etc. and explained that very point about the vaccinated birds and how they would proceed with the necropsy. I was informed that there was additional testing that may be ordered if certain diseases were suspected, including Marek's, that would be at an additional cost. It turned out they ordered the additional histology and "the clinical history, clinical examination and histologic alterations correlate with lesions caused by Marek's disease." The lab submitted a detailed report which I went over with the vet so I could understand all of it.
 
Charlie's Chickens said:
have to mail to trenton (state capitol -that's where they do them). However they recommend while freshly dead, to refrigerate. We have so far only lost a couple more and the expired on their own :( so we will wait and see.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry you and your chickens are dealing with this. It is heart wrenching to see them suffer with any illness, but Marek's (if that's what it is) is particularly tough and lingering. Good luck, hope you get some resolution through the necropsy.
 
GardenTillers44 said:
I just got the report back Friday from the Ohio Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab on two 20 wk old pullets that confirmed Marek's. Just FYI, check with the lab before you send off your chicken. Some states require a vet to prescribe the lab work. I only found out that was the case for Ohio when I showed up at the lab with my chicken. Fortunately we straightened it out with my vet while I was there. The initial lab work took a week, and the state ordered additional tests based on what they found. The final results took over 3 weeks due to a test requiring the brain tissue to be frozen for awhile. All of the communication had to go through the vet, which added time to the equation. I understand why they do it, just added another layer. Ohio is gradually taking the over-the-counter meds out of feed stores and requiring vets to prescribe them and routing the labwork through them makes sense...also keeps the lab techs from dealing with the public on the diagnosis. Necropsy cost was about $100 per bird. Worth it to know.
FWIW, the 16 young birds all came from a NPIP breeder and were vaccinated. We had 6 older hens on the property we have had for a couple years. They were freebies from neighbors and friends-vaccination unkown. I don't worry about where the disease came from. With wild birds and wild turkeys roaming around and most of our neighbor's free ranging chickens, it was probably already on the premises. We don't free range, but do have a fenced 4000 sq ft yard for them. We are keeping a clean coop, run and yard, provide a good diet and try to keep the chickens in a stress free environment, all things rumored to help mitigate Marek's. We have also added some steps in our biosecurity. So far we have lost only 2 of our 22, and it has been a month since the last one died. Hopefully we'll keep it under wraps, but time will tell. Marek's has changed our goals for chicken keeping...we are basically reduced to raising a few layers for ourselves. I won't endanger other flocks by raising then selling, trading or giving away our stock. Good luck! Let us know what you find out.
Click to expand...

Regarding your goals, it's my understanding that Marek's cannot be passed to the egg. By that I mean that it *should* be safe if you incubator hatch and brooder raise chicks. And hatching eggs should be safe as well. In addition, if it was important for you to continue.. they do sell the vaccine and stuff to do it at feed stores which you could administer to day old chicks and achieve 90% effectiveness. I don't trust myself to get it right though.

Did that $100 fee include any fees from your vet or he just volunteered the time?

You shared much good info, thank you.

NPIP does NOT include Marek's in their testing! :( And you could still get NPIP certified despite having Marek's. Talk about false sense of security. :barnie
 
EggSighted4Life said:
Regarding your goals, it's my understanding that Marek's cannot be passed to the egg. By that I mean that it *should* be safe if you incubator hatch and brooder raise chicks. And hatching eggs should be safe as well. In addition, if it was important for you to continue.. they do sell the vaccine and stuff to do it at feed stores which you could administer to day old chicks and achieve 90% effectiveness. I don't trust myself to get it right though.

Did that $100 fee include any fees from your vet or he just volunteered the time?

You shared much good info, thank you.

NPIP does NOT include Marek's in their testing! :( And you could still get NPIP certified despite having Marek's. Talk about false sense of security. :barnie
Click to expand...

Thank you! We got a roo this year with the idea of replenishing the flock using a broody hen and maybe selling a few to the locals. Bottom line is we got into chickens because we love eggs and their contribution to our gardening efforts. Along the way we fell in love with the feathered beasties and really enjoy their company. That's good enough for us, so we'll learn as much as we can about going forward in life with Marek's. Right now we have 20 survivors that need our attention!

I saw on one of the BYC threads that NPIP does not include Marek's testing. We did not know that at the time we booked our pullets, but selected the breeder we used for other reasons. We can't rule out that we brought Marek's home with us, especially since we had no trouble of that sort with our existing flock, but no way to really know so we are moving on.

Cost for necropsy:
Euthanasia: $1
Basic necropsy: $79
Histology: $11 per slide x 2 = $22
Total: $102
The Vet did not charge us for the 2 phone calls and report consultation (15 min). We use her for all of our animals so we may have received a pass on this one.
 

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