Mareks in my flock?

Yes, you can also buy it on line. Jefferslivestock.com has it for29.95. You must give it when the chicks are 24 hours old and I believe, please do not quote me on this, you have a one hour window once you reconstitute it in order to use it. I believe that I read somewhere that you have to also keep it chilled while you are using it. The complicated part of vaccinating from what I read is that even vaccinated you must keep the new chicks away from any birds that have been exposed to Marek's for at least 2-4 weeks to give the vaccine a chance to work. The longer the better.

I'm bringing this all up from memory. There are two lines of thought about vaccinating. I highly recommend reading Nambroth's-
The Great Big Giant Marek's Disease FAQ Thread
Here on BYC. It's got answers to just about every question you may have about Marek's disease and when you finish reading it you will hate Marek's even more than you did when you started reading it.

What is the risk of chicks contracting mareks from a broody hen potentially exposed

I had an exposed hen hatch 8 OEGB chicks for me. One contracted Marek's and died at 5 weeks.So far her 7 siblings are not showing symptoms but they have all been exposed. I have 4 more chicks hatched by an exposed mother that are now one week old and should be at the age where their immune systems are dealing with the virus so time will tell as will the 4 eggs that are currently being incubated by an OEGB hen that was exposed. I hatched 11 eggs in the house via incubator. They are now 12 weeks old. I kept them brooded in the house until they were 4-5 weeks old. The house is not contaminate free as we do not live in a bubble here. Dogs are near the coop and run, we are outside, so is the dander.

So far so good with them. I think the theory is that the chicks will gain a small amount of protection from the hen through the egg IF I read it right. I am holding my breath, hoping for the best with my exposed chicks but expecting the worst.

I lost a young rooster yesterday to what could only be Marek's. He was never very healthy, no breast muscle at all and always prone to infections, either parasite or bacterial. Three days ago he presented with a swollen hot foot. I suspected bumble foot but there was no hard kernel, no scab, only what looked like a small puncture wound. We opened it slightly with a scalpel but the only fluid we got from it was thin blood. He responded to antibiotics for two days then began drinking copious amounts of water as his foot worsened and began to turn blotchy purple. He passed in his sleep very peacefully. I was glad he went that way. He was a very sweet rooster. I can only suspect that it was an opportune infection due to a weakened immune system.

Another victim of Marek's. My 8th in a year.

Rip Buddy Boy.

Would bathing her help?

Also has anyone ever tried spraying down your breeding pens with Clorox water to try and disinfect?

What you have to remember is that exposed birds are constantly shedding the virus via their dander which is constantly being produced by their feathers and skin.

It is feasible to disinfect coops, pens, grounds, etc but the whole proceedure is so complex and expensive that it isn't feasible for the average back yard chicken enthusiast to attempt. Even if you do manage to rid your property of Marek's, it would mean eliminating the chickens you currently have, waiting years and then bringing in only vaccinated birds and then pray that the wind doesn't blow dander from nearby infected fowl or wild birds (remember, Marek's dander has been known to travel up to 5 miles when windborn, farther if somebody carries it into your property via clothes or shoes that have had contact with infected dander.)

I hate to sound so negative but frankly you are trying to put out a forest fire with a squirt gun. Believe me I've thought the same thing and then read an article that said 'If your chickens breathe, they have been exposed to Marek's Disease'. Frankly, your best bet is to breed from surviving stock for resistance and bring in only vaccinated chicks. Even then odds are that you may still suffer losses.

microchick said:

What you have to remember is that exposed birds are constantly shedding the virus via their dander which is constantly being produced by their feathers and skin.

It is feasible to disinfect coops, pens, grounds, etc but the whole proceedure is so complex and expensive that it isn't feasible for the average back yard chicken enthusiast to attempt. Even if you do manage to rid your property of Marek's, it would mean eliminating the chickens you currently have, waiting years and then bringing in only vaccinated birds and then pray that the wind doesn't blow dander from nearby infected fowl or wild birds (remember, Marek's dander has been known to travel up to 5 miles when windborn, farther if somebody carries it into your property via clothes or shoes that have had contact with infected dander.)

I hate to sound so negative but frankly you are trying to put out a forest fire with a squirt gun. Believe me I've thought the same thing and then read an article that said 'If your chickens breathe, they have been exposed to Marek's Disease'. Frankly, your best bet is to breed from surviving stock for resistance and bring in only vaccinated chicks. Even then odds are that you may still suffer losses.

Click to expand...

I understand, just throwing ideas. I also know that I do not have a definite diagnosis so I am just taking precautions just in case my birds that died did in fact have mareks. I am not taking this as a death sentence and am not going to let it end my chicken hobby.

No, I'm not either. As heartbreaking as it is to loose them, I'm still determined to have my flock of chickens running around.

I've also decided not to vaccinate chicks hatched on the property although if and when I bring in Fayoumi chicks, they will be vaccinated. I am also debating brining in a couple three turkey poults next spring and housing them near the chickens in hopes they will provide exposure to the virus that will strengthen my flock of chicken's resistance to the disease.

Next March my surviving standard sized birds will be 3 years old for the most part and I can consider cross breeding my surviving hens to Fayoumi cockerels and hatch chicks for resistance.

For some reason, I'm loosing more roosters and cockerels to this disease than I am hens/pullets. I read somewhere where Marek's usually affects more females than males but it has been the opposite for me. I have lost two pullets and 6 cockerel/roosters to Marek's now although I now have two pullets with ocular Marek's and one cockerel with the ocular form. The two pullets are doing well as is the rooster, So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

microchick said:

No, I'm not either. As heartbreaking as it is to loose them, I'm still determined to have my flock of chickens running around.

I've also decided not to vaccinate chicks hatched on the property although if and when I bring in Fayoumi chicks, they will be vaccinated. I am also debating brining in a couple three turkey poults next spring and housing them near the chickens in hopes they will provide exposure to the virus that will strengthen my flock of chicken's resistance to the disease.

Next March my surviving standard sized birds will be 3 years old for the most part and I can consider cross breeding my surviving hens to Fayoumi cockerels and hatch chicks for resistance.

For some reason, I'm loosing more roosters and cockerels to this disease than I am hens/pullets. I read somewhere where Marek's usually affects more females than males but it has been the opposite for me. I have lost two pullets and 6 cockerel/roosters to Marek's now although I now have two pullets with ocular Marek's and one cockerel with the ocular form. The two pullets are doing well as is the rooster, So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Click to expand...

Have you hit POL yet with the pullets? Could be that the cockerels are stressed (with the jockeying for position, etc.) now. POL stress is the "classic" time when it can hit the pullets...

The one pullet that I lost last fall was at POL, the one I lost two weeks ago was only 5 weeks old. BUT, the roosters were all entering sexual maturity when I began to notice problems with them or during the onset of their first full spring season of breeding.

So yes, breeding stress could be very much playing a part in my loss of roosters. I noticed the change in one hen's eye after she brooded her second batch of chicks and returned to the flock. I thought she had sustained an injury as she was quite popular with the boys.

Marek's I've discovered, is very much like a jigsaw puzzle if it does not kill with the classic text book symptoms when the bird is young. Perhaps mine were exposed and carried enough resistance that their immune symptoms were able to handle it until breeding stress causes it to rear it's ugly head.

It makes me me worry about my 3 month old OEGB cockerels and pullets as they mature.