Not an Emergency...Marek's in the Flock

[teaton]

How is your chicken doing now Teaton?  I didn't watch the video, but I think it is hopeful if she is eating and not getting any worse.

On a side note, I have had a few of my vaccinated chicks come down with Marek's symptoms.  Ironically, 3 were cockerels and only one was a pullet.  The first cockerel was lethargic and wouldn't eat.  He died around 5 months of age.  The other 3 showed signs of leg paralysis starting at 2 - 3 months.  They all got worse to the point that I thought about culling them.  However, they were eating and hanging out with the flock, so I kept them alive.  I made sure to feed them berries and other foods full of antioxidants.  One cockerel had leg and wing weakness so bad that he would fall onto his back and couldn't turn back over.

After about 4 week they all recovered.  I still have 2 of the 3 and they are just like normal chickens (the third one became soup).  Somehow the vaccine gave them enough immunity to fight off the virus and survive.  Unfortunately they are all still carriers.  

My chicken is still the same, she is better than she was and can get up and walk around now,she eats and does everything fine but you can tell shes not 100% she still kinda wobbles sometimes. I dont know what she had or has or weather it was Mereks or not, weve been going through this for months now.

 

[Wfpendragon]

I thought I'd post an update on my Marek's flock.  I've been dealing with the disease for over 2 years now, and I'm about 20 months into my vaccine experiment. 

My flock had a very very virulent strain of Marek's that killed all my chicks and a couple of adult birds.  Since vaccinating, I have lost three birds, one cockerel for sure had Marek's and the other two developed crop issues which may or may not be related to Marek's.  I've been hatching many batches of chicks and vaccinating them all at hatch.  Some have been raised in a brooder, while others have been raised outside by a hen.  Since the broody raised chicks are potentially exposed to the virus before the vaccine has a chance create immunity, I was excited to see what would happen with the broody raised chicks.

The result was that more than 90% of the chicks never developed any signs of illness.  Unfortunately, I have had one pullet and two cockerels develop leg weakness and droopy wings.  I probably should of culled the pullet, but in the name of science I let her live.  After about 4 weeks she started to improve and made a full recovery.  She is one of my best layers now.  The first cockerel to get sick only had a slight limp for about 2 weeks.  He was raised to 6 months old and then processed.  The last bird developed moderate leg and wing paralysis.  He had extreme difficulty getting around, but never lost his appetite.  I think that is one of the key things with Marek's.  Once they don't want to eat any more they don't have much of a chance.  One day I went to the coop and he was laying on his back and couldn't roll himself over.  I thought the other birds would kill him.  Again, in the name of science I let him live just one more day.  He made a full recovery and started to grow again after he regained full mobility. 

Now he is a full grown beautiful rooster.

I think I will always have Marek's on my property, but at least my birds can survive if they are vaccinated.  Maybe this will provide some hope for others. 

thank you for this, I have Marek's too, though it's not as virulent a strain I think. I was worried I'd never have normal chickens again but this gives me hope that I can order vaxxed chickens and get back to some normalcy.

 

[alibabba]

old stuff, just catching up, surely you know by now, as devastating as it is, not the end! Hope I read on and things have settled and improved. xo

 

[alibabba]

One more day.... My thing is I will put them in a box for the fox. I can't do it myself.
So sorry just being real and vulnerable. No need to judge what I can and can't do.

They succumb overnight I've never had one recover. The most recent had a splits and set her up so she could eat and drink, great appetite, but the night when I was going to leave her out... she passed.

I don't know that a fox death is more terrible than an axe. Explore this? kind of nature, happens all the time. I have seen a mouse momma eat her baby alive. just saying.

 

[alibabba]

oh, moral... i have yet to put in box for fox.

 

[emount]

I'm going to try to get my birds tested. I finally located a pathology lab in my province.

Some young chickens that I got at a local sale had some Marek's like symptoms last fall and I culled them (they couldn't walk). Some of my other birds died too, one was wasting, but nothing has happened since then.

If I kill one of my old hens, who I was going to cull anyway, and take her in, will they be able to tell if she had Marek's even if she didn't die from it?

I don't want to just wait and see if another bird dies and then take it in, because someone wants hatching eggs from me next month and I want to know whether I have something contagious before I give them anything from my house. I know Marek's isn't supposed to travel through eggs, but still I'm concerned. If I don't find out before they want the eggs, I will let them know what's been going on and that there's a chance I have Marek's, then they can decide if they still want the eggs. (They want them because I have a breed that they can't find anywhere else).

Can the lab test feathers? I thought I read that somewhere. I called the lab today, but the doctor is out and I have to call back.

Do I have to wait until one of my chickens gets symptoms before I can get it tested?

I had one die recently from an injury and my sister did a home necropsy from looking up on the internet what to check for. She said the nerves and organs all looked healthy, but maybe it just didn't have symptoms yet? Or maybe she just didn't see anything because she's not an expert?

 

[dcba flock]

I'm going to try to get my birds tested. I finally located a pathology lab in my province.

 

Some young chickens that I got at a local sale had some Marek's like symptoms last fall and I culled them (they couldn't walk). Some of my other birds died too, one was wasting, but nothing has happened since then.

 

If I kill one of my old hens, who I was going to cull anyway, and take her in, will they be able to tell if she had Marek's even if she didn't die from it?

 

I don't want to just wait and see if another bird dies and then take it in, because someone wants hatching eggs from me next month and I want to know whether I have something contagious before I give them anything from my house. I know Marek's isn't supposed to travel through eggs, but still I'm concerned. If I don't find out before they want the eggs, I will let them know what's been going on and that there's a chance I have Marek's, then they can decide if they still want the eggs. (They want them because I have a breed that they can't find anywhere else).

 

Can the lab test feathers? I thought I read that somewhere. I called the lab today, but the doctor is out and I have to call back.

 

Do I have to wait until one of my chickens gets symptoms before I can get it tested?

I had one die recently from an injury and my sister did a home necropsy from looking up on the internet what to check for. She said the nerves and organs all looked healthy, but maybe it just didn't have symptoms yet? Or maybe she just didn't see anything because she's not an expert?

My old flock (a few still living w/ my mom) had contracted Mareks about 4 years ago and were initially misdiagnosed at the state lab until the cellular/blood tests came back so it wouldn't be hard to miss it since I had an experienced professional do so. Also some of the birds exposed never developed symptoms however I'm sure they are carriers hence the flock has been closed except for a few chicks that I had at the time and vaccinated all of which survived. If you are unsure I would have them tested before any eggs or birds come in or leave your property I'm a biosecurity freak since this happened I relocated to a different state and have just restarted a new flock. Good luck!!

 

[rebrascora]

@emount

I don't think there can be any certainty that a non symptomatic hen (particularly an older bird) in a flock that has Marek's will test positive for Marek's, because I'm not sure all birds that have been exposed to it will be carriers. You might be wasting your money on the pathology and perhaps gaining false hope, if it comes back negative, which might then lead you to be less careful about taking precautions to prevent spreading it, if that makes sense.

I would take reasonable precautions with the hatching eggs...perhaps vacuum them to ensure no dander dust is on them and package them up wearing clean clothes and before you do chicken chores, so that no dander dust can be transferred from your clothes and hair in the packaging process. As you are aware, Marek's is not passed on through the egg, so taking these simple precautions should prevent any possible spread if you do end up testing positive. On that front, I would have a necropsy done on the next bird that shows symptoms. In my experience it is quite a seasonal problem, with young birds exhibiting symptoms late summer through to winter. This is probably because most chicks are hatched from now through to summer and are therefore at the vulnerable age to contract Marek's during the second half of the year. Also the shortening daylight and colder weather and stress of confinement during bad winter weather can trigger it, so this time of year is usually quieter for Marek's attacks.

I hope that the problem you have is not Marek's but getting a diagnosis on a bird that is displaying symptoms is the most reliable way to identify it in my opinion.

Regards

Barbara

 

[emount]

Thanks for your reply.

I told the guy about my issues and he said that he wants the eggs anyway, but I will take precautions with the eggs and we are going to meet in a parking lot instead of his house so that my shoes and car don't bring anything to his house. He's also planning to keep the chicks separated for quite some time from his other birds.

It's interesting that it's mostly seasonal because of chicks. That makes sense. I was becoming hopeful because I hadn't had any chickens with symptoms all winter. My sister is hatching me a few more chicks next month, so if I do have Marek's, I should have something to send in to get tested before winter.

If it is Mareks, I may try breeding my survivors to see if they can make resistant chicks. Or I may just decide not to get any more chickens and turn the coop into a tool shed, because I don't know how long I could handle having chickens with Mareks. The month when they were dying, I dreaded going out to the coop, because I would never know if another chicken was going to be sick or dead when I went out there. I do kill and eat my extra roosters, but it's not the same. I hate to see them suffering, and the waste of a young bird that's too small to eat.

 

[rebrascora]

@emount

Hi again.

I'm very much like you in respect of chicken management and processing excess cockerels. I'm 3 years down the line with Marek's now. I've had decent success with breeding for resistance and particularly broody rearing within the flock, so that they are exposed from day one. Out of 56 chicks hatched last year, 3 got Marek's, two deteriorated and had to be euthanized and a little bantam cockerel made a miraculous recovery and you wouldn't know he had been paralysed and unable to walk 5 months ago. In fact he was so bad that I was only keeping him alive to keep a lame pullet company but one day he was better and she took a turn for the worse. He should have been culled since he is not breeding material but since there is no meat on him, and he's beat an attack of Marek's, I can't bring myself to deal with him. His hormones are raging at the moment and he makes a right nuisance of himself with my large fowl girls but they take it in their stride, usually with him still on top

and the top cock bird is very laid back and lets him get away with it, so he lives on and has a life of Reilly!. I currently have a 2.5 year old leghorn cross that recovered from her first attack of Mareks (a dropped wing) when she was just a juvenile, but is now suffering leg paralysis and wry tail. She has been holding her own for the past 3month and eating well and still laying, so I'm just giving supportive care. I've had them make a decent recovery from quite serious long term paralysis before, so I support them as long as they show the spirit to fight it and continue eating. Once they give up and refuse food, that's my signal to end it for them. Never easy, particularly when you have been giving supportive care and TLC for weeks as I get quite attached.

Anyway, that's my situation/experience which I would like to think will give you a little hope to move forward.

Good to hear the guy is still interested in buying eggs from you.

My view is that many more people have Marek's in their flock than will acknowledge it. Either they are ignorant of the disease or don't want to accept it and therefore don't look into any deaths. Of course, with Marek's, it is often secondary infections which kill the bird because the immune system is compromised, so it is easy to convince themselves their birds died of coccidiosis or respiratory infection or botulism or wry neck, than investigate further and find the root of the problem.

I wish you luck with your new chicks. I would recommend broody rearing as broody chicks usually have stronger immune systems and are exposed to less stress(which often triggers outbreaks of Marek's), meaning they are less vulnerable.

Regards

Barbara