Second chicken...same symptoms. Any ideas?

[ten chicks]

My condolences,always heartbreaking when one of our beloved pets die.

 

[Nambroth]

Just wanted to say that my Redco passed away yesterday. She died peacefully in her bed.
She had been doing ok - I had made an effort and was feeding her seperately and giving her treats.
She went down hill very fast. Friday, she went off her food and Saturday she died.
I was very startled as to how skinny she was when I got a good look at her.

Pretty sure I have had Mareks in my flock.
I have been so unlucky with loosing 2 out of 6. Quite heart breaking really.
I was so excited in getting chucks again and now this within six months of them arriving.
I certainly won't add to the flock now, that is something I had considered.
What is the general census as to how long I have to wait till the last one dies before I can reintroduce onto their plot?
Can I make a new run elsewhere in the garden and will that be alright?

Also wanted to say a very big thank you to everybody on here who gave me so much support and advice.
I am sincerely thankful to you all xx

So sorry to hear of her passing.

Have you considered having her tested? It might give you peace of mind, one way or another. It might also help you plan for your future birds.

I've copied and pasted the answers to your questions from the Marek's FAQ... there is a lot more information in there if you want to read: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

(that's over a year and a half!) with no host, in an uncleaned environment. While we can get things such as coops and non-porous surfaces clean with proper cleaners (see section as to what cleaners kills Marek's virus), it is impossible for most backyard chicken keepers to clean the soil and surrounding environment, and so it must be assumed that any place that an infected chicken has been also is laced with shed virus that can live for over a year and a half at a minimum. Though it has been documented to live for over a year and a half, there are those that think it may live for over 7 years in an uncleaned environment. There are other factors that may come into play with how long virus might live; however it has been shown to survive even very hot summers and cold winters, so you cannot rely on your environment alone to negate it.

So it's nearly impossible to eradicate. Should I still clean things?
Yes! This is still a very good idea. In fact, other thank keeping the chickens overall in good health, it might be the most important thing you do. Reducing the amount of virus in your chicken's environment can only help to prevent spreading it further either on the wind, on yourself, via wild animals, etc. It is best to concentrate on areas where chicken dander accumulates, such as inside of coops, barns, etc. physically remove as much as possible (I like to use a shop vac with a drywall filter) and then saturate surfaces with a virucide to kill the virus. If you use an earthen floor in your coop, consider replacing the top several inches. If you cannot do this, research the safe use of lime in the soil. You cannot hope to completely eliminate 100% of the virus, but you can significantly reduce the amount. The side benefit to this is that by keeping a cleaner environment for your surviving chickens, they will have less stress and chance of becoming sick from a secondary illness. Anything you can do to make your Marek's positive chickens healthy and stress-free will give them a stronger immune system.

I hope this helps. As you can see, it can possibly stay in the ground for years (depending on many factors!) so it might be worth it to test your hen for Marek's, to get a solid answer...

 

[pwand]

I am so sorry for your loss.