I spoke too soon. Hoppity and Hope had a falling out yesterday and Hope was being so mean to her last night that I had to put Hoppity in the rabbit hutch. She was doing a nervous twitch with her head and neck that I have not seen before. Hoppity's Marek's has been stable since last Sept so this does concern me. I don't know if the twitch has prompted Hope to have a go at her, or the twitch is as a result of them falling out and her being picked on. I really hope it is a temporary falling out as they have been so good for each other. Even though Hope was the most badly affected, she has integrated back into the flock more effectively and is happy to muscle her way into the scrum for food, whereas Hoppity hangs around on the edge waiting for me to give her special attention.
I was putting a cover over my cage (a lump of tin sheet with a brick on it) when the weather was wet and I made a little tunnel shelter for them inside it using an old ceramic half round drain pipe chocked up on bricks which they started using as a nest box once they started laying. It also gave them a safe place to snuggle in if I didn't get back to put them away before dark.
Lily does sound like she is making the same progress as Hope. Keeping my fingers crossed that Poppy picks up soon as he doesn't sound good. My cockerels that exhibited symptoms all recovered pretty quickly without tlc and from what I have read, pullets are more likely to succumb to Marek;s than males, so I do hope that Poppy isn't the exception. Do you feel able to do a necropsy on him yourself if he goes, or send him off for one. It's something that is worth thinking about now and preparing for. It's really helpful to learn from what you find. For me, the tumours I found confirmed Marek's in my own mind but also that I had done the right thing in culling her. It also gave me a mental bench mark for when I needed to take that decision. I appreciate that it is not something everyone can do, but I found it really helpful.
Good luck with both Poppy and Lily. I'm rooting for them both.
Regards
Barbara
I was putting a cover over my cage (a lump of tin sheet with a brick on it) when the weather was wet and I made a little tunnel shelter for them inside it using an old ceramic half round drain pipe chocked up on bricks which they started using as a nest box once they started laying. It also gave them a safe place to snuggle in if I didn't get back to put them away before dark.
Lily does sound like she is making the same progress as Hope. Keeping my fingers crossed that Poppy picks up soon as he doesn't sound good. My cockerels that exhibited symptoms all recovered pretty quickly without tlc and from what I have read, pullets are more likely to succumb to Marek;s than males, so I do hope that Poppy isn't the exception. Do you feel able to do a necropsy on him yourself if he goes, or send him off for one. It's something that is worth thinking about now and preparing for. It's really helpful to learn from what you find. For me, the tumours I found confirmed Marek's in my own mind but also that I had done the right thing in culling her. It also gave me a mental bench mark for when I needed to take that decision. I appreciate that it is not something everyone can do, but I found it really helpful.
Good luck with both Poppy and Lily. I'm rooting for them both.
Regards
Barbara