Unintended Chicken Rescue, what is going on with these two?

[HappyChickChick]

I have had chickens and ducks for about a year and recently I decided to add a brahma rooster and hen to my flock of 5 hens and 3 ducks.
I am part of a local-ish livestock Facebook group, and someone posted that they had a buff brahma hen and rooster that she would be willing to part with. She sent me some pictures and told me the rooster and hen were picked on by other chickens in the group and had gone through a molt so they looked a little rough but would be fine with a little time.
So I hopped in the car and drove down to get them. When I got there I noticed the coop was the size of a walk in closet with maybe 10-20 birds in it. There was no run attached to it and the yard around the coop looked clean with no signs the chickens ever left the coop.
She handed me the rooster and I immediately noticed his legs were in rough shape. Then the hen looked mostly bald on her back side.
Long story short, I took them but these poor babies look more like rescues. They are so timid and shy, they don't even know what to do with themselves.
So, can anyone tell me what is going on with these two and how to make it better?

And they are currently quarantined in a brooder.

 

[Weeg]

Wow, look at those pupils. Thats a bad sign. Odd pupils are a symptom of ocular Mareks disease. It's a viral poultry disease that slowly paralyses chickens and eventually kills them if they are not vaccinated. It's not always caused by Mareks, but I would be very very concerned about it. Keep them away from your birds, move them off the property if possible. If you flock catches Markeks it will be devistating. Not saying thats what it is, but if it is, be very careful. a
The bare spots are probably from poop burning their feathers. Assuming there were no roosts, poop gets struck to their feathers and burns them. It will grow back in time, they're lucky to be in your care. Those feet also look like they need a soak. The feathers look burn and damaged. I would do a soak in an epsom salt bath to help get any poop off of them. I hope you're able to rescue these babies without them posing a threat to your flock, I'll tag a few members for a second opinion.
@azygous @Wyorp Rock @MGG

 

[HappyChickChick]

Wow, look at those pupils. Thats a bad sign. Odd pupils are a symptom of ocular Mareks disease. It's a viral poultry disease that slowly paralyses chickens and eventually kills them if they are not vaccinated. It's not always caused by Mareks, but I would be very very concerned about it. Keep them away from your birds, move them off the property if possible. If you flock catches Markeks it will be devistating. Not saying thats what it is, but if it is, be very careful. a
The bare spots are probably from poop burning their feathers. Assuming there were no roosts, poop gets struck to their feathers and burns them. It will grow back in time, they're lucky to be in your care. Those feet also look like they need a soak. The feathers look burn and damaged. I would do a soak in an epsom salt bath to help get any poop off of them. I hope you're able to rescue these babies without them posing a threat to your flock, I'll tag a few members for a second opinion.
@azygous @Wyorp Rock @MGG

Thank you!

I thought maybe they might have scaly leg mites so soaked their legs this morning and applied Vaseline. Here are his legs from this evening.
Also, she told me she got them from Murray McMurrary Hatchery, and I think they vaccinate their chicks?

 

[Weeg]

Thank you!

I thought maybe they might have scaly leg mites so soaked their legs this morning and applied Vaseline. Here are his legs from this evening.
Also, she told me she got them from Murray McMurrary Hatchery, and I think they vaccinate their chicks?

I do see raised scale in this photo, nice work!
I believe that most hatcheries give you the option to vaccinate or not. Not sure about Murray Mcmurray specifically, but that would depend on what the seller did.

 

[azygous]

@Weeg gave you some very good advice. The rooster does show classic symptoms of ocular Marek's tumors. The muddy iris color and the irregular pupil are the tells.

Hatcheries usually only vaccinate private orders on request. It doesn't matter anyway. Chickens can still get Marek's even vaccinated. If the rooster has Marek's, so does the hen. So does the entire flock they came from. You can infect your own flock if you wear same clothing worn when you care for these two, so be sure to decontaminate after handling these two. The virus spreads on dander from infected birds. It also spreads on soles of shoes worn in an infected flock and then when you return to your own flock without removing and disinfecting your shoes. I hope this hasn't occurred.

This is the biggest danger in adopting chickens from a private flock. Often you also "adopt" an avian virus. You may want to rethink keeping these chickens.

 

[HappyChickChick]

@Weeg gave you some very good advice. The rooster does show classic symptoms of ocular Marek's tumors. The muddy iris color and the irregular pupil are the tells.

Hatcheries usually only vaccinate private orders on request. It doesn't matter anyway. Chickens can still get Marek's even vaccinated. If the rooster has Marek's, so does the hen. So does the entire flock they came from. You can infect your own flock if you wear same clothing worn when you care for these two, so be sure to decontaminate after handling these two. The virus spreads on dander from infected birds. It also spreads on soles of shoes worn in an infected flock and then when you return to your own flock without removing and disinfecting your shoes. I hope this hasn't occurred.

This is the biggest danger in adopting chickens from a private flock. Often you also "adopt" an avian virus. You may want to rethink keeping these chickens.

I can't say that when I first brought them home I practices good biosecurity. After I got these two situated I went to check on my flock in the coop and didn't change clothes.

 

[Weeg]

I can't say that when I first brought them home I practices good biosecurity. After I got these two situated I went to check on my flock in the coop and didn't change clothes.

There is no treatment for Mareks, lets just hope it didn't spread. Honestly, these two are no good. If you haven't already spread it to the flock, than you will very easily if they stay. I would shower and change every bit of clothing between birds.
Here's an article on Mareks disease.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-disease-faq.66077/?page=4#ams-comment-522342

If it were me I would remove them from the property. Wether that means moving them to a new location, or removing them completely if you know what I mean. If you go that route, I'm not entirely sure wether or not you can process chickens with Mareks, I want to say you can. I would do it off your property to avoid further spreading it to your flock. Keep an eye out for symptoms in your birds. It's very easy to spread.
I'm so sorry you are having this happen, its so sad. If your flock isn't vaccinated, I hate to say if they catch it, it will likely kill them.
Big hugs, really hoping it hasn't spread to your flock.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The only way to know for sure if it's Marek's would be to have some testing.
It could be Marek's or an eye disorder, since the Iris is grey, there's a good possibility this is Ocular Mareks.

Feather loss on both of them is classic mating/picking/over crowding (yes, if there's more than one rooster he may have been mounted too), maybe mites or lice too. Feathers will regrow when they molt.

Legs could use some tending, I agree it looks like SLM, but I see that you're on top of that already.

Marek's is contagious. Even birds that are vaccinated can become ill, the virus does not stop infection, it may limit the formation of tumors.

Whether you keep them, get them as healthy as you can and add them to your flock is up to you. It would be almost impossible to practice a strict biosecurity routine between these 2 and an existing flock long term. Marek's is spread on clothes, dust, dander, feathers, etc. So if the wind blows the right way and they are close by, there's a "risk of exposure".
Tough decision to make for sure.

Good luck.

 

[Folly's place]

This is not a good situation, as everyone has already said. If you have a state veterinary school or path lab, call them for testing options soonest.
Mary