Hurt Bird

[Guest]

I have a young rooster that started having trouble all of a sudden one day. Is there anything else other than a broken leg that could cause this? He can still move it, and grip with his foot, but can\'t walk at all. Any help?

[Mike Gilbert]

Mareks disease is a common malady that attacks the nervous system.   Almost never does a bird recover from it.   Two schools of thought prevail in dealing with Mareks.   One is breeding for resistance, the other is vaccination when the chicks are first hatched.   The organism that causes Mareks is said to be most everywhere, so there is probably nothing you could have done to prevent it.    That is one possibility;  there are others, but Marek\'s would be the most likely cause.

[Guest]

Thank you Mike for your input. So, if I understand you right, the kindest thing to do would be to destroy him? How long would it take for him to recover (how long do I give him?) and if it is Mareks - is he in pain?

[Mike Gilbert]

I would give him a few days, and if no sign of progress by then go ahead and humanely  put him down.   I doubt if there is much pain as the ones I have seen go on eating and drinking.  They just can\'t move about very well.   But then how would I know for sure since I have never experienced it?

[Jean]

If your bird has mareks you would want to put him down and not keep him if he survives as he will shed the virus through his feather follicles and infect the rest of your flock.

Any remaining dander from the bird can also cause infection as the virus is very hardy and can survive outside the body for months.

Jean