Whether to get more chickens as companions to a hen dying of Marek’s

[Chasiubao]

We started with 4 pullets, but 2 died (one of cocci but we later discovered had Marek’s, the 2nd has paralysis from Marek’s so we put her down).

Of the other 2 we have, one has a limp and generally hasn’t matured very fast. The other has a large tumor on her chest confirmed to be a lymphoma (probably related to Marek’s). They are acting normal for now, but the vet said when their health starts to take a downturn to bring them in to say goodbye. At this point it’s hard to say how much time either hen has, and it feels strange to put them down at the same time if one could live a few months longer.

We are concerned for when one dies, if the other will be lonely. If we should add more Marek-vaccinated hens to our flock, or if that’s a death sentence to our new flock members. Or adds more potential danger to our already compromised hen.

Has anyone else been in this situation? What did you do?

 

[Beau plus penny]

We started with 4 pullets, but 2 died (one of cocci but we later discovered had Marek’s, the 2nd has paralysis from Marek’s so we put her down).

Of the other 2 we have, one has a limp and generally hasn’t matured very fast. The other has a large tumor on her chest confirmed to be a lymphoma (probably related to Marek’s). They are acting normal for now, but the vet said when their health starts to take a downturn to bring them in to say goodbye. At this point it’s hard to say how much time either hen has, and it feels strange to put them down at the same time if one could live a few months longer.

We are concerned for when one dies, if the other will be lonely. If we should add more Marek-vaccinated hens to our flock, or if that’s a death sentence to our new flock members. Or adds more potential danger to our already compromised hen.

Has anyone else been in this situation? What did you do?

For me my chickens are my babies so i would definitely give her companions to make this moments more enjoyable as she is nearing the end if you are super attached your hen i would make sure to make these last moments special.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would not add a companion. The new one would also get Mareks and be a carrier for life. Was Mareks confirmed with testing after a necropsy? Sorry about your chicken. Perhaps you could put a mirror in with her, and spend some time with her daily.

 

[Chasiubao]

Yes the first two who died had necropsies confirming Marek’s. As far as I know it’s extremely hard to rid Marek’s once you have it. We would absolutely clean the coop and run, but the chickens have been all over the yard so I don’t see how we could sanitize it.