Temporary Paralysis... Marek’s or Something else?

[Redschickens]

hi chicken friends. I have a strange situation with my 2.5 month Cochin. I poultry dusted all of our 6 chicks this past week. The next day my husband went to check on them and Henny Penny was laying around and could not move; she was flopping. My husband was worried her back was broken. She was Breathing okay. We separated her and she was able to flop enough to keep herself fed and hydrated. Very, very slowly she has started to move around and she can now wobbly stand on her legs. The rest of the chicks she’s been with are completely fine. she is still separated and I plan to keep her that way for another long bit. I have never had a chicken with Marek’s but I know paralysis can be Part of it. I have NO clue what might have caused this. If it was Mareks and she does recover, how long does she need to be quarantined from the other birds? Minus until she is physically okay. Any other ideas what it could be? Thank you for any help. This round of chicks have exhausted me ‍

 

[Eggcessive]

Honestly I would not keep her separated any longer. She may have been injured, and is recovering. She might have Mareks, but most do not recover from symptoms, except in some rare cases. It can be a real pain trying to reintegrate a chicken that has been out of the flock for more than a couple of days. I would keep her with the others in a wire dog crate with food and water, in site of the other chickens until she can start having some free ranging time with the others. Whether this is Mareks, an injury, or something else, the others would have been exposed to it already, the same way she might have been. Use your own judgement, but I would keep them all familiar with her. Are you using vitamins or B complex in her food? Riboflavin (B2) is important with leg issues.