suspect Marek's, confirmation sought

Perris

Still learning
Premium Feather Member
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Jan 28, 2018
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These photos show the eyes on either side of the head of the same bird; can those who have experience and/or solid knowledge of the matter comment on the likelihood that is this Marek's presenting with eye involvement? (this bird has no other symptoms) Thanks in advance.
P1110962.JPG

P1110963.JPG
 
Can't see it close enough to really tell. I've found the progression to often be very slow, though I have had some progress faster. A couple of pictures of one of mine below with occular symptoms, most of mine have looked like this. I've only had a couple that got the 'gray eye' that is often pictured in literature. I start to see the defined gray line around the pupil, and the pupil starts to look misshapen, over time it gets more and more pinched looking. I will say that symptoms can vary greatly depending on the strain of virus, so things do not always present exactly as the literature describes. I've never had one with progressive paralysis, I've had some with visceral tumors throughout their organs.
I choose not to cull unless symptoms dictate since they have all already been exposed, and I'm attempting to breed for resistance. The only way to really get confirmation is to have him necropsied once he passes. There is a test that can be done on a live bird, you have to send in a blood sample, like from a clipped toenail.
See post #7 here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/marek’s-test.1278708/
It's really easy to assume Marek's but it's not always the case. I've had birds with strange or different looking eyes that were just that way, no disease cause.
bubba2eye22b.jpg

bubba2eye22a.jpg
 
Looks normal to me.. maybe it’s the lighting? Ocular Marek’s Disease is a slow and progressive ocular disease, causing tumors to grow and destroy their eye sight. It’s not fatal.
 
Take him to a dimly lit room, and shine a light at his eyes. First one eye. Then the other. Do the pupils contract and expand? When fully expanded, are they comparably similar? Same with contracted?
The thing about birds is that since their eyes are on the sides of their heads, their pupils can react to light independent of one another and they often don't look like they match. It depends which one is receiving more or less light. To me it looks like he might be reacting to light levels, and his right eye sensed less light than his left eye. Does he walk around like that all the time?
 
Take him to a dimly lit room, and shine a light at his eyes. First one eye. Then the other. Do the pupils contract and expand? When fully expanded, are they comparably similar? Same with contracted?
The thing about birds is that since their eyes are on the sides of their heads, their pupils can react to light independent of one another and they often don't look like they match. It depends which one is receiving more or less light. To me it looks like he might be reacting to light levels, and his right eye sensed less light than his left eye. Does he walk around like that all the time?
When I first noticed it I thought it was a result of different exposure to light, but repeated observations through the day showed otherwise. Those photos were taken seconds apart, as soon as I could get both sides, and in both cases the sun was behind me so both eyes were getting the same light intensity and direction.
 
When I first noticed it I thought it was a result of different exposure to light, but repeated observations through the day showed otherwise. Those photos were taken seconds apart, as soon as I could get both sides, and in both cases the sun was behind me so both eyes were getting the same light intensity and direction.
That is good information to know, thank you. I would definitely keep an eye on him, (no pun intended). I hope he does not have the disease. I've not ever dealt with it myself, but there are several users on here that have, and they can help you moving forward. Good luck to your beautiful roo ❤️
 

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