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Oh, I forgot to ask.....Does anyone know how long it takes this disease to progress? He doesn't seem to be getting any worse. How long is it possible that he will live for if it is Marek's?

just a suggestion but does he seem to have any vision problems?

Balance problems are sometimes caused by ear issues too.

i know what you mean about seeing him fall over, you want to help him so you can try these 3 things-

1. you said the 5 year old rooster came to you recently, so ask the previous owner if he was vaccinated for mareks. this may give you some level of comfort? although they say a small percentage of vaccinated birds also get it.

2. also ask the previous owner if the bird has stumbled all his life, or if he noticed the bird stumble ever...

3. seek an appointment with an excellent poultry vet in your area.


just remembered another very remote and maybe (non poultry) medical explanation for what you describe
***there is some human condition (not stroke) that occurs when people stand up quickly and i dont know if it is a heart issue or artery issue or what but for just a moment there is not enough blood to the brain and it causes you to lose your balance, fall over/faint just momentarily. syncopy? yes thats it- http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/common/articles.cfm?ARTID=363

i can see it now, your vet putting the rooster on a mini tread mill with ekg wires hanging off him and a pretty hen just in front of him to make him run...then off to the tilt table, the blood tests...

A blood test will prove Marek's Disease, but few Vets (unless youy have a Poultry Vet) know anything about Marek's Disease, as it is just in Poultry.

Marek's is usually quickly fatal, but has so many variables that is can still be a cause of limping, shaking, as it is the nerves that are affected. There is no treatment or cure. In most cases that we recognize, paralysis occurs and usually the bird dies within days or weeks. The birds may have carried the infection for months or even years without symptoms showing that we can recognize.

Other forms remain internal and we cannot know without necropsy--or blood test. Several Universities have extensive webpages on Marek's. It is not helpful to us in curing it, but only in understanding the terrible long lived virus that causes unbeleivable Poultry losses world wide. The vaccine is the most helpful tool we have (breeding for resistance is another that most of us cannot undertake) and neither is 100% effective. CJR

Okay---NEW DEVELOPMENT!

Today, I picked him up and walked around with him a bit. When I put him down, my t-shirt had a lot of elongated little bugs crawling around. After freaking out, I did some research---perhaps he has leg mites? Or some other kind of bug that is causing his balance issues?? They were very small and brown--but they were more long than round. This is the first time I have picked him up and noticed these bugs. Ick! Hope this is the reason. Maybe this would explain his balance issue only occurring after long bouts of layind down....leg mites are very painful apparently......


PS-I had spoken to his previous owner weeks ago who told me that he had never seen his rooster stumble. He was very surprised to hear it. He got the chicks from the local feed store and did not know whether or not they had been vaccinated.

(Loved your imagery with the treadmill!! I had a good laugh out loud with that one!)

i thought about what you said...it happens only when he first stands up, his balance is off then he is fine after that and if he were human the syncope thing would something to look at.
kill the bugs for sure, on him and also the others and the coop... maybe some in his ear would throw his balance off? post a pic of the bugs, and the roosters ear, i want to see the patient.
just put the http address where the pic is between the parenthesis on your next post
[IMG][/IMG] no spaces just copy the http address and paste it right between them.

Hey! Well, just got finished dusting everyone with the Sevin powder. Good Lord what a mess! I took another look at his little feet and they really look fine. Not as smooth as the hens--the scales are bigger and rougher and kind of standing up a bit, but his feet are not swollen. I did not see any little round bugs.
I looked at the long brown bugs he has again today and they are like little splinters of wood--only they move... (yuk!).

I will try to post pictures but I don't have a place to post them to yet. Don't I have to have a URL? Well, I can e-mail them to you at the very least.

I put the powder all over the chickens, their little pits and behind their necks. I did the coop and also their pot holes for dust baths. I hope this does the trick. The guys at the feed store didn't know what kind of bugs they were...The mystery continues!

try uploading your pics to this place- http://www.villagephotos.com/ its free.

still doesnt sound right that leg mites would cause a balance issue.

Maybe both lice and mites?? CJR