Chickens after Marek's?

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RiotRoo

RiotRoo

In the Brooder
Oct 20, 2015
15
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24
So after what I'm almost positive was Marek's, I've lost 7 out of 8 of my chicks. I'm now left with 1 chick from that group and two hens. I believe my hens may have been vaccinated and carriers, because I hatched the chicks in my incubator and they didn't show symptoms until a few weeks after I put the with the hens.

The last chick is doing really well, but I'm not getting my hopes up. My hens are perfectly fine.

I'm looking for information on potentially adding vaccinated chicks/chickens into my flock in the future. What has worked for other people? I'm so afraid of losing birds again. Watching my chicks rapidly become paralyzed and die within a week or two broke my heart. Is it possible to introduce adult chickens that were vaccinated as chicks?

I'm mostly just wondering what other people have done and experienced.
 
There is a lot of thought in this. It is an inherited trait. If all of your birds were Marek's carriers would you want your birds to not be able to survive without the shot? I do not vaccinate against Marek's. Breed for genetic resistance in this. Careful on relying on vaccines.
 
First of all, I have no experience with Mareks, but getting vaccinated chicks from a hatchery, then keeping them in an uncontaminated environment away from dust, feathers, and dander from your flock for 2-3 weeks is how most with Mareks handle this. Getting adult chickens who have been vaccinated is another way, but hatchery vaccines tend to be better than the ones that we can buy from stores online. Read the Mareks Faq, an article written by Nambroth who did lots of research on the subject of Mareks by typing " Mareks Faq" into the search box at the top of this page.
 
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I definitely think breeding for resistance is a great idea, but how do I even go about that? If my chick is a rooster I can breed my own flock but if not I can't get a roster elsewhere to start because I wouldn't want to expose him. Also I would feel kind of morally wrong breeding chicks knowing that some might die, but I really don't want to give up on my dream of having chickens. I just wish there was a way to easily keep chickens after Marek's and not lose any :(

I'm going to check out the links you guys suggested, thank you.
 
I understand the sadness. It only took us two generations to breed it out of our birds. If you do not want to breed for genetic resistance, purchase your stock from another breeder or place.
 

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