Coopslave, understood, those "classic" marek's symptoms, paralysis. I am still not certain that this pullet had a form of marek's that affects the pupil, but the pupil looked so weird, and grey, that is what I took it as and dealt with that.
I fully understand that when a bird is symptomatic for a disease, such as the paralysis of leg, wing dropped, whatever, that the disease has affected that bird for some time, it is not just the beginnings. Think I read somewhere that it takes about 3 weeks for the marek's disease symptoms to manifest -- the paralysis of leg on one side thing, or both, in extreme. That bird would have been certainly "given" the disease long before symptoms appear. Hmmm...sometimes sounds like I repeat myself, but in a different manner each time, smiling.
When I have had, or should I say, desired to cull a bird because of paralysis, I do not just cull for no reason. I do not cull the second I see some sign of that paralysis begin. I wait. If I see that the bird is going down and is going down on the ground hard, has trouble getting up, flopping around, shall we call that too,that is the point at which I cull. Perhaps that bird may recover and be strong again one day. But I always err on the side that I need action. I do not ever want to come into my chicken yard and find a bird that has been trompled by others, picked on because they are doing something really weird (walking and falling down, flopping), I cull before the bird gets to that point. And I always will. Tough love. Period.
When I had that cockerel that had the dropped wing and then the leg paralysis on one side, I tried and tried to overlook that, I watched him like a hawk for a few days. It saddened me and sickened me to see this dude acting the way he did. When it came to the point when he flopped as he tried to walk, and another hen came over and gave him a few good pecks, and when he got up and flopped over to the door to go into his house, and could barely muster his body to get in, but did, and then 3 hens picked on him because he could not move well. I took that young fellow out and immediately saved him from a bunch of nasty hens that would surely have pecked him to death.
I won't go to that point again with any of my stock of flocks. If I see evidence of this horrible and hideous marek's rearing its ugly head, and I am very familiar with early symptoms, I take that bird to a nicer place -- a place where there is no meanies, no pain, and that bird can run and play and eat bugs with all the other happy critters that have gone to the same place. I don't ever want again to see a bird that is picked on like I saw, just because they can't run to get away.
And....nope. I don't have the time, guts nor gumption to babysit a bird in a different place (and I don't have the room either, when I think about it), to help it to heal from a malade that probably won't. Just that side of me that is toughy, tough love, have a wonderful and awesome day, CynthiaM.