Is it Marek's??

[Suzierd]

Glad to hear Henny Penny is hanging in there! Hope she continues to get better. If you want to give her a multivitamin I would go with Poly-Vi-Sol WITHOUT iron. Just a regular people multivitamin could have something in it she can't have. You should be able to get the poo off if you soak it a little in warm water. Thanks for the update!

 

[Suzierd]

Addictingchickens sounds good I really hope she improves. I would really consider taking in a poop sample and see if your dealing with worms if you don't want to just worm everybody.
Best of luck to you.

 

[leadwolf1]

I quickly scanned the posts on this thread so forgive me if I missed some on this subject.

I have been fighting Marek's for almost a year now. I have lost 30+ chickens and right now I have 4 more showing symptoms. Marek's usually does not kill quickly. It can take weeks and sometimes months for the chickens to succumb. Symptoms do not even appear until 6 - 8 weeks after infection. There are many, many different symptoms of Marek's. Not just those listed in the thread above...trust me, at this point I have just about seen them all! I have had chickens die suddenly...necropsy showed Marek's in major organs...I have had them limp and then paralyzed and last for months. If just depends on the chicken. The age of Marek's infection is not at all accurate. I have lost them to Marek's at over a year old...most of mine were over the 25 week age. Mine are a mixture of vaccinated/non vaccinated birds.

Silkies, polish and OEGBs seem to be effected the most and succumb the fastest.

There is no treatment. There are some that claim that vitamins and hypericum work...in my experience, they do not. I have spent hours each day taking care of sick birds and praying that something I did would work. Nothing does. I clean and clean and clean...disinfect and disinfect daily. I spray everything with oxine twice daily. They still continue to die. Nothing seems to work.

Sorry to be such a downer but until you have lived with this disease, you just don't know what it fact. It is a devastating disease that shows no mercy. Taking chickens of all ages.

The only thing that can be done is to have a necropsy done on any that die. That way, you will know definitively what is going on. Most states have labs that will do one for little to no cost.

The other thing that I have decided to do is vaccinate everyone yearly. I only purchase vaccinated chicks or hatch and vaccinate my own. At 6 weeks, I revaccinate and then yearly thereafter. Some European countries follow this protocol so I have decided to see if it will help. At this point, I will try anything to save the rest!

 

[Suzierd]

Leadwolf so sorry for you and your chickens that is so heartbreaking.

 

[tahlias]

@leadwolf1 - that's terrible :-(

I really just want to have some idea of how long I should let her continue on like this. Should I wait 1 week, 2 weeks, a month? before I think about her quality of life and perhaps get her put down? I just don't have any idea on a time scale that I should give her to give her the best possible chance of getting better, without keeping her so long that its just pointless...

Tis very sad, but im hoping that she will get better, and that my others don't get sick.

It seems like almost every chicken owner has/had this problem, how are there any chickens left?! I fear if I lose all mine and replace them it might all happen again!

And I do have 2 silver laced wyandotte bantams (my fav looking birds every) on order, due to be ready to come home in about 6 weeks. Should I hold off on bringing them home?

 

[AddictingChickens]

Tahlias; Ive heard that some people give the chickens a bath. Maybe try that to help loosed any feces around her vent and on her wings?

 

[AddictingChickens]

Taliahs also, i would keep your new chicks that you are waiting for separate for a while anyway so I would not hold off.

I would honestly just give your bird (and mine) 2 weeks. I love my chickens too but in reality, they are just chickens and if we are not having fun with them, they are not either. If she cant walk to her food, go to the bathroom separate from where she sits, you need to think about that. I had my other cochin put down in December because she had a tumor growing out of the side of her head and it lead to paralysis. she just sat. Their "job" is to eat/forge for food all day and peck at things and be happy. If they are just sitting, they are not living a quality life.

I have lost 11 over the course of a year and a half. Chickens are not as hardy as I thought...Spring is tough to because everything is coming alive again.

Ugh!

 

[leadwolf1]

Thanks for all the kind words. If it is a vitamin deficiency, it will take up to 2 weeks to show improvement. So, I would guess 3 weeks would be a good time frame. However, you will notice that some will go downhill rapidly and you can make the judgement call at that time. I have a pullet, my son's favorite, that up until a few days ago was living a very happy life even without being able to forage. I home school and she is with us from sun up to sundown. I was using any method that I read to help her and was praying hard that I would find the 'cure'. Unfortunately, Marek's doesn't want us to find a cure....she is now at the stage, after 7 months, that I am thinking she will need to be put down. Marek's is a cancer and like cancer, goes into remission. Some stay in remission, most, do not. I will give her a couple more days and if improvement isn't seen she will go to heaven to rejoin all her buddies, and her man, that have gone before her. Thinking about them makes me weep...

As for them just being chickens...here, they are pets. First and foremost. My kids love them as do I. Even my seemingly unaffected DH cried like a baby when his favorite, Phyllis, died. She was a beautiful SQ white crested, black polish. I treat them as I would any other pet. They are given a chance to get better and then, die with dignity if the need arises.

Addictingchickens....that is a whole lot of chickens to lose in a year and a half. Have you ever had a necropsy done on any? If not, I would surely think about having one done so that you know what you are dealing with.

tahlias....I will give you my opinion and this comes straight from the heart and from experience. Hold off on getting babies until you know for sure what you are dealing with. If it is Marek's, the babies must be vaccinated before they are exposed. Meaning, at day 1 before they come to your house. After that, you need to give them at least 2 weeks of absolute quarantine and in all honesty, 10 - 12 weeks is better. That means, you have to shower in the morning, take care of the babies..keeping jacket, shoes, etc...just for them. Then, take care of the other chickens. If you have to go back to the babies, it's the same thing. I literally spray myself from top to bottom with oxine before I check on them at night. Plus, it means finding a spot in the yard where no other birds have been to allow them to get out and be chickens. Even with all this, some can be infected. I have lost a silver grey dorking that I was thrilled to have found...she was 11 weeks old

Again, the best advice that I can give is...if any die, have a necropsy done. To date, I've have 2 done....both showing Marek's. Two different birds, two different breeds, different symptoms, same disease...and, neither showed the symptoms listed under what to look for in Marek's.

 

[tahlias]

Henny Penny update,

So we've had Henny in isolation for just under a week now and I've noticed some improvement!
She's been standing up a lot more in her box so I decided today to take her outside to see if she can walk....and she can! She's still a little bit unsteady but she's walking around without falling over, just needing her wings for support sometimes. She's even started scratching around like normal again.

Considering 2 days ago when we took her out and she still couldn't stand I'm thinking this is a great improvement?.

I am still going to keep her in her hospital box for another few days unstil she seems more stable befor I put her back out in the coop with the others.

And now I look at her compared to the other 2 crooks I have she's so much smaller i wouldn't be surprised if it was a vitamin deficiency after all.

Does everyone think this is a good idea???

 

[jenirving]

Thank you. I have decided to wait on any vaccines- expensive and if it is Mareks all my coop mates have been exposed I am hoping for the best...