Silkie not acting normal. Update: Marek’s

[Sassysouth]

Could be the wax coating from new feathers. Can you post a picture? I agree it seems young for molt. Four of my six pullets are momting right now, but they will be a year old at the end of March.
Let’s hope more people will comment on the possibility of molting this young or provide other ideas for why she’s not feeling well.

Have you checked insider her beak? you mentioned her stretching her neck upwards, could mean she has something in ther like an infection, fungus or a respitory infect.
If she isnt eating syringe feed her.
Hope she recovers

I just did and compared them to two others and they all looked the same, except slight color difference. Nothing extremely pale either.

 

[Sassysouth]

The Silkie ate egs and salmon last night and went to sleep with a full crop. I found her this morning with labored breathing, I picked her up, liquid came pouring out her mouth, she convulsed and quickly died.
I took her to the vet for a necropsy. He found white lymphoma spots of her liver and other places in her body. She was extremely emaciated. He said it looks like Marek’s.
I got to thinking, I had another Silkie that died 2 months ago and I thought it was neurological, because that chick had never been quiet right. But she died the same way too and they came from the same place!
I have 14 chickens left 8-14 weeks of age. They have not be isolated.
I have 3 Silkies left from that flock for 5. Should I cull those 3? Probably too late? I have a call in to inform the lady I bought them from.

@orrpeople

 

[staceyj]

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

 

[Rugbygainz]

Im sorry to hear what happened, hope the rest stay healthy

 

[Mrs. Light Sussex]

I have 14 chickens left 8-14 weeks of age. They have not be isolated.
I have 3 Silkies left from that flock for 5. Should I cull those 3? Probably too late?

No! don't cull until obvious sign of illness (even then I wouldn't be trigger happy). We don't know for certain that it is Marek's. Even if it is, they may have developed immunity, a precious quality to breed for.

 

[Sassysouth]

Thanks. I have done more reading. No way to know for sure where it came from and I guess most don’t know. I did contact the lady I bought my Silkies from and she has not seen symptoms. She said she will be on the lookout and send questionable birds off for analysis.

 

[orrpeople]

The Silkie ate egs and salmon last night and went to sleep with a full crop. I found her this morning with labored breathing, I picked her up, liquid came pouring out her mouth, she convulsed and quickly died.
I took her to the vet for a necropsy. He found white lymphoma spots of her liver and other places in her body. She was extremely emaciated. He said it looks like Marek’s.
I got to thinking, I had another Silkie that died 2 months ago and I thought it was neurological, because that chick had never been quiet right. But she died the same way too and they came from the same place!
I have 14 chickens left 8-14 weeks of age. They have not be isolated.
I have 3 Silkies left from that flock for 5. Should I cull those 3? Probably too late? I have a call in to inform the lady I bought them from.

@orrpeople

I found it! I sent you a pm. Glad to answer any questions you might have.

 

[orrpeople]

So, here's the problem with "I haven't seen any symptoms for Marek's" statements (Brief disclaimer: I've done a lot of research, but I am not an avian vet... Although I've had a lengthy discussion with one from UC Davis)
All those things we've read about "range paralysis", etc - while true - are only scratching the surface of the symptoms associated with this disease. It's a herpes virus that creates lymphoma (cancer). How many people have exactly the same cancer symptoms? Some. There are definitely "classic" symptoms. But how many folks just felt "off" or had physical changes they couldn't explain? It's exactly the same with our birds.
Common problems that cause death in our flocks, that can also be associated with Marek's are crop impactions (crop is paralyzed due to lymphocytes), sudden death, bacterial infections (weakened immune systems allow the bird to succumb), wry neck, egg binding (paralysis of the egg tract), as well as more commonly associated problems like succumbing to low level parasitic loads and loss of appetite. We have all probably had these problems (hopefully not all at once ) in our flocks! Could egg binding just be egg binding? Or course. Could it be Marek's? Only pathology will let you know.
Most people also associate Marek's with huge flock losses. While major outbreaks certainly can be destructive, it is commonly not as deadly. The virus is a master of dormancy, and can become active any time your flock is placed under stress.
The primary leader of my local Facebook chickens page commonly says things like, "It's not unusual to lose one or two birds every year. Sometimes they just die." Can you pin-point the fallacy in that argument ? Is it highly likely she has Marek's in her flock and sells her birds all over the county? Perhaps. I don't know.
I think my purpose in writing this lengthy explanation (thanks for sticking with me if you've made it this far) is just to shed some light on the disease. There's a lot more to say about it, but my soap box grows rickety and I will just hop off for now.

 

[Sassysouth]

Thank you for all your knowledge. This is certainly been eye opening for me.
I started with 4 Red Production pullets almost 2 years ago and they had always been besties, until late summer. All of a sudden 3 started attacking 1 and they wanted her dead. I rehomed the 3, kept the 1 and started over. 1 was showing no signs at all of anything and she was our favorite. 4 months later she was not acting right. All of a sudden she quit laying, but would still sit in her nesting box. Okay, it is fall, I keep reading chickens stop laying. Then she kept sitting a lot, not eating, became thin and appeared to developed peritonitis (or something). We culled her in December. Maybe she had Merek’s? Who knows, but a possibility.
I had a necropsy w/ no biopsy done on this last death and it appeared to be Merek’s. I had a Silkie die just like this Silkie 2 months ago. Now I know of a state ran location that does necropsies and pathology for a low fee. Next death, I can get it confirmed, but I am in no hurry!!!

So, here's the problem with "I haven't seen any symptoms for Marek's" statements (Brief disclaimer: I've done a lot of research, but I am not an avian vet... Although I've had a lengthy discussion with one from UC Davis)
All those things we've read about "range paralysis", etc - while true - are only scratching the surface of the symptoms associated with this disease. It's a herpes virus that creates lymphoma (cancer). How many people have exactly the same cancer symptoms? Some. There are definitely "classic" symptoms. But how many folks just felt "off" or had physical changes they couldn't explain? It's exactly the same with our birds.
Common problems that cause death in our flocks, that can also be associated with Marek's are crop impactions (crop is paralyzed due to lymphocytes), sudden death, bacterial infections (weakened immune systems allow the bird to succumb), wry neck, egg binding (paralysis of the egg tract), as well as more commonly associated problems like succumbing to low level parasitic loads and loss of appetite. We have all probably had these problems (hopefully not all at once ) in our flocks! Could egg binding just be egg binding? Or course. Could it be Marek's? Only pathology will let you know.
Most people also associate Marek's with huge flock losses. While major outbreaks certainly can be destructive, it is commonly not as deadly. The virus is a master of dormancy, and can become active any time your flock is placed under stress.
The primary leader of my local Facebook chickens page commonly says things like, "It's not unusual to lose one or two birds every year. Sometimes they just die." Can you pin-point the fallacy in that argument ? Is it highly likely she has Marek's in her flock and sells her birds all over the county? Perhaps. I don't know.
I think my purpose in writing this lengthy explanation (thanks for sticking with me if you've made it this far) is just to shed some light on the disease. There's a lot more to say about it, but my soap box grows rickety and I will just hop off for now.