what the chances my hen has Marek's Disease

[ALHatcher]

8 days ago I went out to my chicken coop; I intermittently allow them to free range in my backyard. So when I went to pick her up to bring her to my backyard, she attempted to scurry away. At this time I noticed she was unable to stand and had no coordination. I got a hold of her and calmed her down, then I quarantined her. I have been giving her tons of vita water, and food. she is about 6months old she has been vaccinated for MDV. 6 days after finding her she was able to stand again. she is now able to walk and move around freely which is very encouraging. she has only laid one egg in the last week. I am wondering what the chance is she has Marek's Disease and when or if it will ever be safe to re-introduce her to the rest of my flock. thank you for any information you can provide me. also if it is Marek's Disease will freezing weather kill the virus?

 

[Chickens :)]

Hello there,
I doubt that your chicken had Mareks disease because she would still not be able to walk or stand and probably would be getting worse. The disease is transferred by chicken dander (the dead skin) so when a chicken does have Mareks it is important to iscolate immediently. Chickens who have had Mareks disease and survived it will be immune to it but usually will still show the effects the disease left on them. For example: if a chicken had leg paralysis and survived, their leg/s would still be paralysed for the rest of their life. Mareks disease can be seen in the form of paralysis of the neck, wings and legs causing loss of balance which may be what you were suspecting from the chickens actions. If she is looking better she won’t be far off returning to the flock. I am not sure about whether the cold kills Mareks though, sorry.

 

[ALHatcher]

Thank you so much for your input! I am new to owning chickens and have learned a lot in the last week. it seems as if many things can cause a chicken to lose its balance making them unable to walk. Which is making diagnosing the problem hard for me.

 

[Chickens :)]

Definitely. Diagnosis is very hard if you haven’t seen it before.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is possible that she may have been injured or was eggbound, which could have caused her to be unable to stand. There can be rare cases where Mareks may affect a chicken, causing lameness, and then later they can be back to normal. Then the disease can strike again later on. If ahe has been exposed to Mareks, the whole flock has already been exposed, so no need to islolate her. Mareks disease can only best be diagnosed with a necropsy after the chicken dies. Hopefully, that isn’t going to happen. I would just let her go back to her flock and be observant for any changes.

 

[bigz1983]

I have 8 month old hen that cant stand or walk.
Her right leg is paralyzed.
I think she has Mareks.
Would it best to put her down?
Could she survive it?

 

[Chickens :)]

I have 8 month old hen that cant stand or walk.
Her right leg is paralyzed.
I think she has Mareks.
Would it best to put her down?
Could she survive it?

Keep an eye on her. If she gets worse putting her down may be an option for you because having a bird suffer is very hard. It’s really up to you how bad she is. Some chickens can survive but if yours did it would have paralysed legs for life unfortunately.
Hope this helps

 

[Chickens :)]

Keep an eye on her. If she gets worse putting her down may be an option for you because having a bird suffer is very hard. It’s really up to you how bad she is. Some chickens can survive but if yours did it would have paralysed legs for life unfortunately.
Hope this helps

Keep her iscolated from the others and make sure she is eating and drinking. If she has Mareks most likely the others will have been exposed to it so keep an eye on them too.

 

[Eggcessive]

You might want to use a chicken sling for her to get her up and to help her get enough to eat and drink. Place food and water in front of it so she can reach it. Is there a possibility that she could have been injured? Is the leg totally useless, or can she move it some? How long has this been going on? If you lose her or put her down, you can get a necropsy by your state vet to get a diagnosis. Here is a good link to read all about Mareks symptoms, and another on making a chicken sling:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[bigz1983]

You might want to use a chicken sling for her to get her up and to help her get enough to eat and drink. Place food and water in front of it so she can reach it. Is there a possibility that she could have been injured? Is the leg totally useless, or can she move it some? How long has this been going on? If you lose her or put her down, you can get a necropsy by your state vet to get a diagnosis. Here is a good link to read all about Mareks symptoms, and another on making a chicken sling:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

Her right leg is useless.
The toes are curled on the right foot.
We have her in isolation and have food and water in front of her.
She started showing symptoms on Saturday Sept 29th