MAREK'S Disease ??

Friend of mine has 2 chickens 4 week of age looking like they developed Marek's.

One can barely walk, second quit walking can't stand on his feet.
They have been separated.

Will the rest of the flock develop it?

Since there is no cure and the Marek,s disease and it is highly contagious, should all of the birds in this pen be destroyed?

I never have Marek's in my flock so I am not in a position to advice

my friend on this one.

Hi there,

Have the other chickens been vaccinated?

Here's a link that might be useful:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2231096

Thanks for the link, none of his flock was Marek vaccinated.

After I read the threads it seems to me that not all chicks will develops Marek's although exposed ones will be carriers.

So I assume there is no need to destroy the particular pen, just to separate sick ones.

Besides Marek's can be confirmed only by a lab if I am correct.

no you can tell mareks as the bird is definetly paralyzed in one area or another
I personally would cull the very paralized ones as they sluff off dander and pass it on
every chicken carry's genetically mareks germs
it is just when they get severely stress either by high heat or low cold or just some stress from living with other chickens
then the mareks comes forth in very direct paralyzing or in the eye lucosis ( grey eye)

so tell them they need to at least cull the bad ones

now here is what I know some folks did and helped keep the others from coming down with it

the best thing for them is the
wet mash probiotic with Vit E and Vit B complex
this will help the birds nervous system which is being attacked at this time
because you see discordanation in his attempt to walk okay
or for those needing the Vit's for not getting mareks
this may help

do this
*** Multiply the amt of the wet mash with the vit's by amt of chickens fed
each chick needs the same amt of vit's each time

(A) natural probiotic wet mash with Vit E and Vit B complex added immediately
basically the chicken has some nerve damage do this immediately
need neurolodigal vit E and Vit B complex for nervous disorder Also the apple cider vineager in water

(1) 2 tbsp per gallon of water till chickens are well and the 2 times a week for life
for one chicken use 1 tbsp of ACV
1 pint of water

(2 immediately give the chicken 1000 mg capsule of liquid Vit E by cutting the end of the capsule and taking the vit E liquid and mix in wet mash probiotic

(2-B) total amt of capsules equals the total amt of chickens fed vit's

(3 also need to crush a vit B complex pill in tabsp and add it the chickens wet mash after it is disolved

(3-C) then give this to the chicken or chickens twice a week for two weeks should see much improvement

(4 Do both Vit's twice today then for 7 days till you see some improvement in the chicken or chickens

(5 today I would see if the chicken will eat a wet mash with the Vitamins E and B complex

(-B) THIS IS FOR ONE CHICKEN

natural probiotic wet mash
2 tbp of dry crumbles
3 tbp of milk sweet, sour or buttermilk
1 tbsp of non flavored yogurt
1 tbsp of apple sauce
put it on top so the chicken can smell and see it
mix good and put the
vit E liquid as directed in the wet mash
and crumble the Vit B complex tablet in a tabsp and add to the wet mash

**BESURE AND MIX VIT'S VERY GOOD IN WET MASH***

(6 Do this twice a day for 7 days to see if the chickens are better
then do this once a day for another week then once a week for a while
this should give the nervous system some stability

(6-A) they should clean it up in 20-30 minutes
clean out wet feeders and restock the dry chicken crumbles

(7 you can email by PM for more information and include this inf so I remember what is happening

email me any questions

Thanks for the info and treatment plan.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=135247

Here's another related thread.

Wondeful info... Wonder if we should have subsection stickies under E/D/I &C?

4 week old chicks can't get Marek's Disease. Their mothers pass off antibodies that protect them from the virus for quite a while. Also, there are some treatments that will fix MD. I wouldn't destroy the flock. I personally see that as an unecessary measure when dealing with MD.

ETA: I had to run off to check my birds, they were making a heck of a fuss... somebody was too excited over their egg. Anyways, MD is found in the soil and can remain in the soil for up to 7 years. It can even be found in soil that's never housed chickens before, so it's very prevelant and super difficult to avoid. Only a select few birds will actually exhibit symptoms; most birds live their merry lives without ever getting sick from it. So it's not a serious cause for alarm. MD is stress induced and opportunistic, so keep your flock healthy and their immunity strong and you can minimize losses.

Quote:
???

So what is the earliest age they can get Marek,s?

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What is the purpose of apple sauce? Just for taste, or it has any
medicinal role to play in this mixture?