Strongly suspect Mareks: Looking for advice, support, success stories, and hugs

[AUtiger]

I bet it is compatible.

 

[GardenTillers44]

We are going through a similar scene with our flock of twenty 18-20 wk old vaccinated pullets. One Black Orpington died 2 weeks ago, an Olive Egger that started showing similar symptoms the day the Orp passed is close to the end, showing leg and wing paralysis and blindness. Now a Welsummer is acting weird like the others did at first. They all were quarantined immediately. I am taking the OE to our state lab tomorrow for necropsy. They offered to put her down humanely since she is almost totally paralyzed now and not eating and get the necropsy done tomorrow in the interest of expediting answers. The state of Ohio only charges $39 for the necropsy including the $11 Marek's scan, but you have to go through a vet referral to have the work done. Fortunately, our vet is not charging us for the referral.
I feel for anyone and any chicken going through this. It is so sad to see them suffering so, and fearing the worst for your flock. Good luck with your girls, I'll let you know the results. I started another thread on this problem before I saw your thread. Maybe the results will add to the collective knowledge on this great website.

 

[AUtiger]

So Sorry for your losses! Keep us posted.

 

[AUtiger]

UPDATE: I went ahead and put her down today, she had started dragging that leg and doing the "split". She hadn't eaten anything since yesterday,and that was maybe a teaspoon of oats.
I'm not sure if I have the heart to do the necropsy, I may send her to the state lab in Nashville, its $25 plus the cost to ship her. My husband is out of town, though. I may wait till he gets home and we could do it together.

If anyone wants to know, this is how i did the euthanasia per research on BYC:

I got a small 20 qt cooler and placed her in it on a towel, and used a rag soaked in Engine starter fluid (contanes Ethel Ether, Heptane, and CO2--smelled sticky sweet) Closed the lid. She went to sleep very easily, and stopped breathing within 5 min (that's when i peeked anyway). No flailing or anything. She just laid her head down quietly with her eyes closed. Bless her heart!!! Now i'm about to go attempt to decontaminate some.

 

[Kiki]

Sorry you had to go through that.
Thanks for sharing with us.

If you do send her body off please update this thread.

 

[GardenTillers44]

I'm sorry you had to do that today. It is really tough. You did the right thing to not let her suffer.
We also put or Olive Egger down today. The state animal disease lab did it for us for $1 and I went ahead and turned her over for necropsy. They we very humane and quick with the euthenasia, using a sleeping gas that worked in less than a minute. They also spent about about 45 minutes interviewing me on our husbandry, flock history and history of any place we acquired stock. I should have the initial necropsy results tomorrow and will share on the two threads where we have been posting. The initial thoughts based on observation and the interview were a strong possibility of Marek's. The girl I brought to them was really struggling to move and had lost the use of a leg and a wing and it's head was droopy. It had not eaten or drank in over a day. I have photos and a video of the symptoms I'll process and share. The lab also said they are seeing an increase in Marek's strains this year. The theory is the increase in popularity of chickens and all the stock swaps and internet sales among breeders and backyard flock owners. At their request, we agreed to allow the results and tissues to be shared with the Ohio State University School of Vet Sciences to further the training of students in avian diseases. We need more vets available that work with poultry. Maybe our girl can make a positive contribution to science.

 

[Kiki]

I'm sorry you had to do that today. It is really tough. You did the right thing to not let her suffer.
We also put or Olive Egger down today. The state animal disease lab did it for us for $1 and I went ahead and turned her over for necropsy. They we very humane and quick with the euthenasia, using a sleeping gas that worked in less than a minute. They also spent about about 45 minutes interviewing me on our husbandry, flock history and history of any place we acquired stock. I should have the initial necropsy results tomorrow and will share on the two threads where we have been posting. The initial thoughts based on observation and the interview were a strong possibility of Marek's. The girl I brought to them was really struggling to move and had lost the use of a leg and a wing and it's head was droopy. It had not eaten or drank in over a day. I have photos and a video of the symptoms I'll process and share. The lab also said they are seeing an increase in Marek's strains this year. The theory is the increase in popularity of chickens and all the stock swaps and internet sales among breeders and backyard flock owners. At their request, we agreed to allow the results and tissues to be shared with the Ohio State University School of Vet Sciences to further the training of students in avian diseases. We need more vets available that work with poultry. Maybe our girl can make a positive contribution to science.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[AUtiger]

Thanks y'all. I finally got the coop and run all cleaned up today. Raked all the old litter from the run. Ooh.. my, beautiful compost! I din't have the heart to burn it, I put it in my front veggie garden which is on the other side of the house, and the chicks never go in the front yard prob 200 feet away. I then got my husbands weed torch (with a crazed look in my eyes ) and burned up all the feathers and straw left over. Also torched all the feather, dust, and cobwebs from inside my coop (which has a fresh sand floor).

Burning stuff is therapeutic!!!

Cleaned out nests with oxyclean/Clorox mixture and a general wipe down of everything else. I have to say, I know that you can't get ever really get rid of the virus, but I think I gave it my best effort and hopefully cut the viral load down quite a bit. Time will tell. Thanks again for all the well wishes!

 

[Kiki]

Thanks y'all. I finally got the coop and run all cleaned up today. Raked all the old litter from the run. Ooh.. my, beautiful compost! I din't have the heart to burn it, I put it in my front veggie garden which is on the other side of the house, and the chicks never go in the front yard prob 200 feet away. I then got my husbands weed torch (with a crazed look in my eyes ) and burned up all the feathers and straw left over. Also torched all the feather, dust, and cobwebs from inside my coop (which has a fresh sand floor).

Burning stuff is therapeutic!!!

Cleaned out nests with oxyclean/Clorox mixture and a general wipe down of everything else. I have to say, I know that you can't get ever really get rid of the virus, but I think I gave it my best effort and hopefully cut the viral load down quite a bit. Time will tell. Thanks again for all the well wishes!

Wanna come clean mine now?

 

[GardenTillers44]

The state lab sent my vet the initial testing results for the necropsy of the Olive Egger we had them euthenize. The good news is they found no bugs, worms, cocci or other common maladies. The bad news is they felt Marek's is the prime suspect and got my approval to perform further histology to confim and find the strains responsible. The lab tech said Marek's has been on the increase in our region and they have seen a lot of cases this summer. Like AUtiger we also did a thorough clean with a viruscide and burned the substrate shavings. It made us feel like we were at least doing something, although for whatever good it did, today our beautiful Jubilee Orpington roo is off balance and starting to drag its leg. I'm hoping it just got beat up by the other roo, but I have a bad feeling....
AUtiger, how are things with your flock?