How Long After Possible Marek's

We just had to take our beloved Buff Orpington, Clementine, to the vet today to be put down. She had Marek-like symptoms, despite the fact that all of our chickens have had the immunization. Paralysis in her legs, head curving upwards towards the sky, disconnection with food. Her eyes were incredibly dilated and near the end, it almost seemed like she was blind. Her comb and wattle were also incredibly red and dark colored. We don't know for sure what was wrong but she was miserable. So we decided to put her out of her misery with euthanasia today.

We're very sad but my question is this - how long should we wait to get a new chicken. We spent all day today disinfecting the coop and run. Our other two chickens appear to be just fine. Again, we don't know for sure that it is Marek's but it certainly appeared to be the problem. But after researching the disease, I know there are other things that can have those symptoms as well. Has anyone ever dealt with this before? And if so, how long did you wait to add a new chicken to your flock?

Since we're now only a 2 chicken household, I am hoping we can get a new chicken sooner rather than later. But I don't want to knowingly put an animal in harm's way. Any advice would be most appreciated.

I had a similar issue with pullets that I purchased last year. I had about 5 hens die of something similar. I had one euthanized at my vet as well. I had 2 hens and a rooster survive whatever it was and have since added 2 bantam hens to my flock. Everyone is doing great (knock on wood). I wasn't sure what it was but my vet suspected Mareks. I did change out all of my bedding and cleaned up all the droppings best I could after my last death. I hope this helps you a little bit.

If the vet says it was probable Mareks, then you would need to buy only birds vaccinated for Mareks. Chicks who are vaccinated as day olds, must remain out an affected environment for 2-3 weeks to insure immunity. Any chickens on your premises including new ones should be considered carriers of Mareks. I really hope that this wasn't the cause since the disease can remain in the environment for many years. Good luck and sorry for your loss.

ldashby said:

I had a similar issue with pullets that I purchased last year. I had about 5 hens die of something similar. I had one euthanized at my vet as well. I had 2 hens and a rooster survive whatever it was and have since added 2 bantam hens to my flock. Everyone is doing great (knock on wood).  I wasn't sure what it was but my vet suspected Mareks. I did change out all of my bedding and cleaned up all the droppings best I could after my last death. I hope this helps you a little bit.

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Definitely helps and thank you so much for answering! I'm sorry for your losses too.

Eggcessive said:

If the vet says it was probable Mareks, then you would need to buy only birds vaccinated for Mareks. Chicks who are vaccinated as day olds, must remain out an affected environment for 2-3 weeks to insure immunity. Any chickens on your premises including new ones should be considered carriers of Mareks. I really hope that this wasn't the cause since the disease can remain in the environment for many years. Good luck and sorry for your loss.

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Thank you so much. It's good to know about keeping them separate for 2-3 weeks even if they have had the immunization.