Sudden onset balance/mobility problem

[Shepshill]

If they came to you as day-olds, and the hatchery had excellent biosecurity (?) then it seems likely, if this is Marek's, that it originated with your first birds. This is both good and bad news; it means that your older chickens are likely safe as they have already been exposed and have not developed symptoms. This is, of course, a best guess... as Marek's can also be blown in on the wind, or travel on wild birds, or on our shoes/clothes, etc.

The woman that used to own our farm kept rescue birds (pet birds, though) in one room of the barn. Of course, we have had wild birds fly in, and a couple have even nested in there. Last summer, a racing pigeon showed up for a week as well. (We kept it in a cage the barn while trying to locate the owner, since it was not at all wary of our dogs.) I wondered if the rescue birds left the virus behind, but I am not seeing anything about the disease in pet birds. So, maybe it was one or more of our original chickens. They arrived as two-month olds. If so, I am glad they’re not at risk because I wanted to try raising chicks! And I am hopeful that the remaining Cream Legbars will be ok. I wonder, too, if I missed any early signs due to my lack of experience.

 

[rebrascora]

And I am hopeful that the remaining Cream Legbars will be ok. I wonder, too, if I missed any early signs due to my lack of experience.

Many people miss signs of Marek's regardless of experience because the symptoms can be so diverse and outbreaks intermittent and many of the symptoms mimic other things or the disease shows up through a secondary infection like coccidiosis or respiratory infection. Not all birds with it will show obvious neurological problems or follow the same pathway of symptom development. People take the secondary infections at face value and don't look into why a bird that should have developed resistance to coccidia, suddenly has an outbreak of it. Many people also just don't want to admit that they have Marek's in their flock and will accept any other diagnosis regardless of how unlikely it is. Marek's really is extremely common. It is like the AIDS of the chicken world in a lot of respects especially as regards the stigma..... no one wants to admit they have it.

 

[Nambroth]

The woman that used to own our farm kept rescue birds (pet birds, though) in one room of the barn. Of course, we have had wild birds fly in, and a couple have even nested in there. Last summer, a racing pigeon showed up for a week as well. (We kept it in a cage the barn while trying to locate the owner, since it was not at all wary of our dogs.) I wondered if the rescue birds left the virus behind, but I am not seeing anything about the disease in pet birds. So, maybe it was one or more of our original chickens. They arrived as two-month olds. If so, I am glad they’re not at risk because I wanted to try raising chicks! And I am hopeful that the remaining Cream Legbars will be ok. I wonder, too, if I missed any early signs due to my lack of experience.

It's hard to say, given the situations you have, where Marek's came from (again, if it is Marek's). The virus encapsulates itself and so it can live outside of a host for anywhere from months to years (it's thought it can live for 7-10 years in the right environment)! It is thought to live longer indoors, and in dry/dusty situations where it's not exposed to sun/rain/winter. It seems possible that it could have been in your barn from the prior owner if she was there within the last 7 years, or it could have come in on your Craigslist birds, or even hitched a ride on the dust of a wild bird or the pigeon. It does not cause infection in other species, but it can hitch a ride on them, so to speak. I hope your cream legbars are okay too! They are so pretty. I really wanted to get some, myself, but opted to go with a different breed since I know I have Marek's in my flock already.

 

[Shepshill]

I am afraid another one of the chicks may be affected. She walks a bit differently, tripping sometimes— her feet overlap when she stands, and her chest protrudes to one side. She seems to eat with her head always leaning in the same direction and she never seems to extend her neck. I hope I am wrong.

 

[rebrascora]

Sadly that does sound likely. I've had them where they stand on and trip over their own feet and that neck distortion where it sort of concetinas up and you get a protrusion of it in the chest has been quite common towards the end, with a good few of my Marek's birds. I've had them come back from the numb foot/tripping thing but not the neck contortion..... hope I'm wrong too.

 

[Shepshill]

Sadly that does sound likely. I've had them where they stand on and trip over their own feet and that neck distortion where it sort of concetinas up and you get a protrusion of it in the chest has been quite common towards the end, with a good few of my Marek's birds. I've had them come back from the numb foot/tripping thing but not the neck contortion..... hope I'm wrong too.

:-(

 

[Shepshill]

We took the first one to the vet, a small animal vet, not an avian specialist. She agreed that it looked like Marek’s. She said the bird was quite debilitated and recommended euthanasia and cremation. We didn’t get a necropsy. It seemed too obvious that we were dealing with Marek’s disease. If a second one dies, I will be left with a single 12-week-old pullet. What then? It seems cruel to raise a solitary chicken. Otoh, adding another pullet or two puts them at risk. What’s the best solution?

 

[rebrascora]

That is a difficult one! I'm not really in favour of the Marek's vaccine but in this situation, perhaps if you can get a couple of started vaccinated pullets (might be difficult to source) or some vaccinated chicks and practice strict biosecurity for the first few weeks, that might work, but you will need to integrate them carefully when they were old enough. Keeping stress to a minimum is important with Marek's exposed birds.

 

[Shepshill]

Second Cream Legbar chick had to be euthanized on Monday. She stopped eating and her paralysis progressed to the point that I had to put support all around her if she had any chance of remaining upright. Even that didn’t work reliably. What an awful disease.

Now we watch and wait on the sole survivor. Any thoughts as to how long she might go before we see symptoms, or until we can stop watching and worrying about her every move? She started venturing out some once I removed her companion. Until then, she stayed by her side nearly all of the time. It was really quite touching.

Last night and this morning she came out of her coop when I spoke to her. She hung out with me until I had to leave. She’s eating and drinking and puttering about. I have not seen any tripping but I have seen her stand with her feet overlapping now and then. She does stand with her neck pulled in and her body puffed up a quite a bit, but I don’t know if that’s loneliness or a sign that she isn’t well.

 

[Nambroth]

I'm so sorry for your losses. This is so upsetting... I know the feeling too well.
Did you have a necropsy done on either of the ones that passed away to check for Marek's? It does sound like the most likely thing given your experience with the chicks, but since they were vaccinated (for sure?) it might be worth checking. I'm sorry for your last girl, I hope you are able to spend a lot of time with her to help her feel less lonely. It's my experience that integrating a single chick into an older flock is sometimes very rough for the new chick; if she makes it you might see if anyone in your area has any vaccinated chicks her age for sale. You would still need to do a quarantine period (to make sure that they aren't carrying anything else) but it's an option for you. I truly hope your last one makes it!