Silkie thread!

[kellyloveschad]

Ok now my question is mareks something that spreads? because if that's what mine has I put her in the sun in a dog cage she happy falls over but cleans her self eats drinks an poops!! so do I have to kill her if I am willing to give her the extra care she needs??

 

[kajira]

Ok now my question is mareks something that spreads? because if that's what mine has I put her in the sun in a dog cage she happy falls over but cleans her self eats drinks an poops!! so do I have to kill her if I am willing to give her the extra care she needs??

If shes showing signs, you've already exposed everyone else to it. You can keep her isolated and take care of her and see if she survives, but once it's in your flock... most of them have already been exposed.

 

[kellyloveschad]

So is there anything you can do to treat the ones with no signs? ? Do regular chickens get this?? If thats wjat it is??

 

[QueenMisha]

[COLOR=4B0082]​Ok now my question is mareks  something that spreads? because if that's what mine has I put her in the sun in a dog cage she happy falls over but cleans her self eats drinks an poops!! so do I have to kill her if I am willing to give her the extra care she needs??[/COLOR]

Marek's is probably one of the most contagious common diseases of chickens. Hence the fact it's present in as many as 95% of backyard flocks in some locales. It generally spreads on feather dander and in bodily fluids. If one bird in the flock comes down with symptoms, the rest of the flock has been exposed.

The ability of a bird to recover from Marek's varies vastly by individual situation. It's dependent on the strain of Marek's, the individual bird, their immunity to it, and various environmental factors. In my experience birds with paralysis but no tumors tend to have about 50% recovery. Birds who have both paralysis and tumors have a lot lower chance. Also, severity of paralysis seems to relate to recovery. The worse the paralysis, the lower the chance of the bird regaining function.

So is there anything you can do to treat the ones with no signs? ? Do regular chickens get this?? If thats wjat it is??

There is no treatment for Marek's, no. Some people claim to have had luck with Saint Johns Wort, which is said to have antiviral properties, but this is just anecdotal. Either a bird will recover on its own or it will not. Any chicken can get Marek's, again it's dependent on factors such as the strain of Marek's and the individual's immunity to it (as well as whether or not the bird was vaccinated - although mind that the vaccine does not prevent the bird from GETTING Marek's, just from showing symptoms of if).

Here's an excellent resource for learning about Marek's Disease:

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

There are a few other conditions that can cause similar symptoms similar to Marek's (vitamin deficiencies, consuming moldy/off food, and even injury as it can appear to be paralysis) so you should consider those options as being potentially your issue as well; since Marek's has no effective treatments it may be wise to pursue simple treatments for these issues to cover all your bases (e.g. starting the bird on a vitamin supplement to rule out vitamin deficiencies).

 

[Duck Drover]

Very true.  With at least 5 different strains of Marek's the vaccines may or may not help some of the strains but in my case where I'm zoned for only 5 hens/no roos I will invest to get vaccinated birds because I can't afford to lose two birds like I did this summer -- losing 2 birds out of our 4 total hens wiped out half the flock in my case.  Granted, only one was a loss attributed to Marek's (never vaccinated) but at least my vaccinated birds never came down with it.  My exception is our oldest Partridge Silkie who never was vaccinated and she's been exposed to all types of other chickens' maladies and is still toodling around the yard, bless her heart!  For large scale breeders the natural resistance method might work for them to breed hardier stock but for us who buy those birds from them we take the chance of losing the birds to Marek's at a later date.  (I've lost two birds in the last 5[SUP]1/2[/SUP] yrs from breeders who don't vaccinate who supposedly bred for stronger stock).  I no longer will purchase non-vaccinated juveniles.  It's a personal choice and from trial and error I've decided vaccinated is the way to go for myself.

Sadly, the people who vaccinate are usually the ones who have sick birds. Those of us with healthy birds have no reason to vaccinate because in this case vaccination allows the disease to spread more easily. Anyone who sells birds should not vaccinate due to the fact that vaccinated birds must be presumed to be asymptomatic disease carriers.

The vaccination only masks symptoms when birds are exposed to the disease rather than allowing natural immunity from antibodies. The best way to cause an epidemic is to have asymptomatic carriers, which is why there is no way to prevent the spread when too many people are contributing to the problem for personal profit.

I would want to know if my birds were to get sick so I could do my part to keep it from spreading. As long as a vaccinated bird never leaves an infected property it will reduce the potential threat, however vaccinated birds should be destroyed as disease carriers rather than sold in order to protect other birds from unsuspected exposure.

People who buy vaccinated chicks may think they are doing a service to their birds but they are actually contributing to the problem if they were to ever sell those birds to someone else. Once you have vaccinated birds on your property you have to treat your flock as if every bird is infected because they have all most likely has contracted the disease without showing symptoms. If you can no longer keep your vaccinated birds for any reason they should be destroyed.

 

[kellyloveschad]

Can a chicken get an ear infection? she is eating drinking and pooping not loose regular poop!!! she cant always place her foot flat like kind of drags it sometimes and falls a lot maybe its broke!!! its getting cold here so they have had a sneeze so I have been treating them!!

 

[Fancychooklady]

I won't bring vaccinated birds into my flock as the vaccine will still allow birds to carry the disease but without symptoms. So that leaves any that aren't vaccinated extremely vulnerable.
Mareks scares all chicken keepers, but the truth is that there is little you can do to prevent it entering your flock once it is in your area. Mosquitoes, rats and wild birds are all potential carriers.

 

[Sylvester017]

TY @Duck Drover for your added insight and I sympathize with your approach for natural resistance but I can't wholeheartedly agree that breeders who vaccinate for Marek's do it because they've had outbreak but rather I believe most do it as a preventative and/or to meet customer demand for Marek's vaccinations just as hatcheries offer the same option. I have considered your perspective and thought it was a good point until I lost a non-vaccinated Marek's survivor to later adult complications and had a non-vaccinated juvenile shipped to me w/Marek's that my vet had to put down 2 weeks after receiving shipment of her - the breeder of her was gung-ho about not vaccinating for Marek's and raising natural resistance stock and where did it get me? -- an infected bird from their ark. From my point of view I prefer a vaccinated chick/juvenile. It's only luck that has kept my oldest non-vaccinated hen from contracting it. I keep a varied and nutritious diet for my birds and take them to the vet and have at least one yearly fecal done for each bird. Sorry, but after my experiences, Marek's vaccination is still my personal choice. Hopefully your CON perspective and my PRO perspective for Marek's vaccination gives readers food for thought.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Can a chicken get an ear infection? she is eating drinking and pooping not loose regular poop!!! she cant always place her foot flat like kind of drags it sometimes and falls a lot maybe its broke!!! its getting cold here so they have had a sneeze so I have been treating them!!

The simple answer is ' yes ' they can get ear infection and or sinus problems, but I'm not sure that's what might be ailing your bird. Can you isolate the bird and give it some poultry vitamins or some Brewers yeast on top of its feed? An ear infection can put them of balance , just behind the eye is a round muff of feathers, pull those forward to expose the ear, usually if they are infected they will smell and you might even find a ' plug ' of puss. You can gently remove this with tweezers. If you feel that you are dealing with infection it's best to start her on antibiotics.

 

[kellyloveschad]

I have them on antibiotics I gave them some Lantos sprouts now she walking around! Still wobbles but up and walking! I have her alone in a dog run!
I just dont understand she was fine then all the sudden she was on her death bedt for two days now other the a wobble she is fine! I mean I really didnt think she was going to make it throw the night! I what the heck