Sick chicken question?

[luckiestck1]

hi,
i have a question about sick chickens I have the last few year.
Over the last few years I've been having problems with my chicken every spring and sometimes summer.
the first symptom is they cant use one of there legs and then progresses to both legs. It moves up the body and in the end affects the whole body. they have also have some diarea. even after given them the meds for coccidiosis they still die in the end, I've only had 1 survive and recover. it seems to have a 99.9% death rate in the chickens that get it. it also seems to only affect the younger chickens, the old ones don't seem to get it. I don't have chickens right now, I'm on a break. but would love to know what is could be and how to prevent it in the future.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your losing your chickens. It sounds very much like it could possibly be Mareks disease. Were your chickens vaccinated for it? Mareks usually affects young chickens. They can have paralysis starting in one leg. Symptoms can vary since it can affect the nerves, the brain, and in some strains, the skin, the eyes, and it can reduce their immunity and ability to fight off diseases. Mareks is spread in the dander and dust of feathers and can linger in the environment for months to years. Here is some reading about Mareks:

http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/Documents/vdl-mareks-disease-fact-sheet.pdf

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

 

[luckiestck1]

I looked at a gov site and it says marek's disease it stays in the soil for about 1 year. They did not have eye problems that I noticed, which is why I've been having problems identifying the disease. But I will wait for a year from when i last had chickens and will try to get them vaccinated.

 

[Eggcessive]

It would have been good to have gotten a necropsy or testing for Mareks when you had chickens to confirm that it was Mareks. Since it is spread by the feather dander and dust, Mareks can remain in your environment for years possibly. What happened to the chicken that you said recovered? They can later die from tumors. There is a blood test available from a couple of labs where you can take blood from a trimmed toenail, and send it in for pcr testing.

 

[luckiestck1]

unfortunately no, the illness chickens remains where disposed of.