So I recently noticed one of my hen’s eyes was cloudy and smaller than her other one. I’m pretty sure she’s blind in that eye and I’m leaning towards ocular mareks… right now she is running around acting normal otherwise.
That being said, I’ve had a really rough go with respiratory issues in my flock that had started last year. Those seem to have (mostly) resolved, but I’ve had issue upon issue since. And it leads me to believe my flock may have had mareks this whole time (along with the respiratory illness.)
- we had several hens that have had a leg just completely go paralyzed (3 or 4 of them)
- we had one who became paralyzed in just one wing
- the biggest issue though is some have suffered major weight loss, become lethargic and pass away.
We didn’t necropsy anyone as we assumed that a lot of it stemmed from respiratory illnesses as we understood they never fully recover…. Until I saw my hens eye today
now I think we’ve had both this whole time. And I heartbreakingly feel it’s safe to assume my whole flock is infected or a carrier…
At this point, I know my flock must remain closed. It was anyways due to the respiratory illness… but now I will be even more careful.
What can I do to keep the remaining birds as healthy as possible? We do add supplements to their feed and keep the coop area as clean as possible. I wasn’t sure if anyone with a positive flock could offer any additional tips/tricks to help my remaining birds?
My husband and I have discussed this and if/when we move, we will not take the remaining flock with us and instead cull them as we’d want to start over with a healthy flock. Would we also need to cull our ducks? I was reading online and wasn’t sure… I saw they might get it/could be carriers….
I really appreciate any help on this. As you can imagine, I’m completely devastated.
That being said, I’ve had a really rough go with respiratory issues in my flock that had started last year. Those seem to have (mostly) resolved, but I’ve had issue upon issue since. And it leads me to believe my flock may have had mareks this whole time (along with the respiratory illness.)
- we had several hens that have had a leg just completely go paralyzed (3 or 4 of them)
- we had one who became paralyzed in just one wing
- the biggest issue though is some have suffered major weight loss, become lethargic and pass away.
We didn’t necropsy anyone as we assumed that a lot of it stemmed from respiratory illnesses as we understood they never fully recover…. Until I saw my hens eye today
now I think we’ve had both this whole time. And I heartbreakingly feel it’s safe to assume my whole flock is infected or a carrier… At this point, I know my flock must remain closed. It was anyways due to the respiratory illness… but now I will be even more careful.
What can I do to keep the remaining birds as healthy as possible? We do add supplements to their feed and keep the coop area as clean as possible. I wasn’t sure if anyone with a positive flock could offer any additional tips/tricks to help my remaining birds?
My husband and I have discussed this and if/when we move, we will not take the remaining flock with us and instead cull them as we’d want to start over with a healthy flock. Would we also need to cull our ducks? I was reading online and wasn’t sure… I saw they might get it/could be carriers….
I really appreciate any help on this. As you can imagine, I’m completely devastated.
