The Old Folks Home

[ronott1]

Were those the older hens you commented about? Not having tumors and (possibly) being older...what would that mean? Does it mean...
1. They didn't contract the mareks? As in being resisitant?
2. They contracted it but just haven't developed tumours?
or...?

I had a Golden Comet die of mareks cancer several years ago. UC Davis(did the necropsy) told me that I would only be able to keep hens that were vaccinated at my place. I ignored them and was curious to see if any of my hens had tumors from Mareks. They did not have any which is good news!

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I had a Golden Comet die of mareks cancer several years ago. UC Davis(did the necropsy) told me that I would only be able to keep hens that were vaccinated at my place. I ignored them and was curious to see if any of my hens had tumors from Mareks. They did not have any which is good news!

I remember you mentioning this. They had told you that a number of chickens would succumb and die, didn't they?

 

[ronott1]

I remember you mentioning this. They had told you that a number of chickens would succumb and die, didn't they?

Yes! I was going to lose all of them to mareks cancer. They were wrong.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Thank you, Ron. I'm just wanting to understand all the information.
You're information is definitely encouraging.

 

[chickisoup]

The normal progression of mareks is an initial outbreak that does not normally kill the chickens. Death is normally by cancer two years later. The vaccine we use does not protect against the initial infection so if you have a bad strain, they will still die. The vaccine will protect against the cancer.

Protection against cancer is the main purpose of the mareks vaccine.

Your hen likely has mareks cancer. You can tell after she passes by looking for the tumors.

I am so sorry!

Two weeks ago I had to cull my flock down to 6 hens. Those that I processed did not have any tumors

Thanks Ron. Unfortunately over these past several years I have learned more than I ever wanted to about Mareks. Her unvaccinated flockmates died fairly close together last year to almost 2 yrs ago (a few went fairly quickly). My Aussies were vaccinated and tho it appeared to weaken one of them, they all made it thru.

 

[chickisoup]

Thank you everyone for the well wishes .

 

[microchick]

I've been running back and forth all day to the coop checking on little Bud. He is definitely more alert and the heat has gone out of his foot but the foot looks worse. I just wish I knew what was going on in there. He seems to have lost the ability to move it at all. The hock is mobile and normal but from the hock down it is red and progressively more swollen. There is no movement, no response to touch, nothing. And late this morning, he started to drink copious amounts of water. So much that I finally pulled the medicated water from him and gave him clear water with rooster booster pro biotics in it fearing that he was going to shut down his kidneys from the medicated water. He is eating egg and oatmeal, hasn't touched his regular food and still has watery diarrhea. I am amazed that he is as alert as he is and willing to struggle against me picking him up. We are hoping to start him back on the antibiotic water tomorrow morning, given that he guzzled down about a pint of it this morning.

I'll give him this, he's a tough little guy with a strong desire to live but I fear that the odds are against him.

Those of you who have had dealings with Marek's. Have you had anything like this happen in one of your birds? The foot and leg are the only thing that is obvious. Yes, he has breast muscle wasting but there is no cough, sneeze, wheeze, dyspnea or watering eyes nose or mouth. Just this horribly swollen foot. Can Marek's cause joint tumors? Or am I looking at a really vicious staph (no pus, no bumble, no centered cyst or area of infection) infection that is opportunistic and taken up residency in the joint.

Yeah, I know, wayyyyyyy to technical for a Saturday afternoon.

I thank you Ronott1 for the encouraging words. Yes, I have some BO, Welsummer and OEGBs that are the pictures of health. Then there is poor little Bud..........

 

[ronott1]

I've been running back and forth all day to the coop checking on little Bud. He is definitely more alert and the heat has gone out of his foot but the foot looks worse. I just wish I knew what was going on in there. He seems to have lost the ability to move it at all. The hock is mobile and normal but from the hock down it is red and progressively more swollen. There is no movement, no response to touch, nothing. And late this morning, he started to drink copious amounts of water. So much that I finally pulled the medicated water from him and gave him clear water with rooster booster pro biotics in it fearing that he was going to shut down his kidneys from the medicated water. He is eating egg and oatmeal, hasn't touched his regular food and still has watery diarrhea. I am amazed that he is as alert as he is and willing to struggle against me picking him up. We are hoping to start him back on the antibiotic water tomorrow morning, given that he guzzled down about a pint of it this morning.

I'll give him this, he's a tough little guy with a strong desire to live but I fear that the odds are against him.

Those of you who have had dealings with Marek's. Have you had anything like this happen in one of your birds? The foot and leg are the only thing that is obvious. Yes, he has breast muscle wasting but there is no cough, sneeze, wheeze, dyspnea or watering eyes nose or mouth. Just this horribly swollen foot. Can Marek's cause joint tumors? Or am I looking at a really vicious staph (no pus, no bumble, no centered cyst or area of infection) infection that is opportunistic and taken up residency in the joint.

Yeah, I know, wayyyyyyy to technical for a Saturday afternoon.

I thank you Ronott1 for the encouraging words. Yes, I have some BO, Welsummer and OEGBs that are the pictures of health. Then there is poor little Bud..........

I imagine that mareks cancer can happen all over like cancer in people. Mareks is related to hpv which causes a lot of ovarian cancer? I do not know what kind of cancer it causes in men though.

 

[microchick]

There can be hpv cancers in men also. Chicken pox, Shingles, cold sores, all sorts of STDs can all be traced to different types of herpes viruses. That's how I was able to get a diagnosis of Marek's without doing an necropsy on one of my dead birds. My husband used his portable slit lamp that he used in his practice to examine the eyes on my birds with grey eye and or misshapen pupils and was able to give me a positive diagnosis of herpes infiltrates in the eyes. He said they looked like human eyes with herpes infections in them.

I read somewhere that that incidence of ovarian cancer in laying hens is so high that they are using them in research trying to find a cure for human ovarian cancer.

Wouldn't it be wild that if they day comes that they find a cure for Marek's disease in chickens, they discover that the same virus that causes tumors in chickens is responsible for human carcinomas?

 

[ronott1]

There can be hpv cancers in men also. Chicken pox, Shingles, cold sores, all sorts of STDs can all be traced to different types of herpes viruses. That's how I was able to get a diagnosis of Marek's without doing an necropsy on one of my dead birds. My husband used his portable slit lamp that he used in his practice to examine the eyes on my birds with grey eye and or misshapen pupils and was able to give me a positive diagnosis of herpes infiltrates in the eyes. He said they looked like human eyes with herpes infections in them.

I read somewhere that that incidence of ovarian cancer in laying hens is so high that they are using them in research trying to find a cure for human ovarian cancer.

Wouldn't it be wild that if they day comes that they find a cure for Marek's disease in chickens, they discover that the same virus that causes tumors in chickens is responsible for human carcinomas?

There is another not mareks related reproductive cancer that hens are getting now too.

Between the two, I hope they find a cure. Tasmanian Devils get a cancer in their snouts caused by contacting an infected Devil. It has nearly wiped them out too!