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

[triton77]

Ack! One of my new pullets started crowing like a rooster

My hubby said the other day that she sounded like she was crowing but I didn't believe him. I can't have roosters in town so I need to figure out what to do with him. I can't give him to anyone who doesn't have a vaccinated flock. I got him from Claborn farms back at the beginning of June as a 16 wk old pullet. He's a silver laced wyandotte and is vaccinated already.
Any suggestions?
Anyone live in WI and want a rooster?
Help, I don't want to cull him

Janelle

 

[KAT Bird]

Ack!  One of my new pullets started crowing like a rooster My hubby said the other day that she sounded like she was crowing but I didn't believe him.  I can't have roosters in town so I need to figure out what to do with him.  I can't give him to anyone who doesn't have a vaccinated flock.  I got him from Claborn farms back at the beginning of June as a 16 wk old pullet.  He's a silver laced wyandotte and is vaccinated already.  
Any suggestions? 
Anyone live in WI and want a rooster?
Help, I don't want to cull him

Janelle

Make sure she is a he. Weirdly, hens can crow. In all-female flocks, or flocks in which the ratio of females to males is greater than 10:1, sometimes one female will take on male characteristics and become the "protector" of the rest of the flock. In addition to coming out with a half-crow, she'll usually cease laying, and she may even develop spurs to rival a male's. Strange, but true!

I haven't tried this but there is a collar you can buy. "The No-Crow Rooster Collar is a safe and effective way to reduce both the frequency and the volume of your rooster's (or hen's!) crows. "

You may just be able to keep him/her, after all.

 

[triton77]

I noticed the other day that her saddle feathers are pointy and not rounded like my other hens. She/he has also never laid a egg. I'm pretty sure that she's a he. Thanks for the suggestions on the collar I will look into it.

 

[KAT Bird]

I noticed the other day that her saddle feathers are pointy and not rounded like my other hens.  She/he has also never laid a egg.  I'm pretty sure that she's a he.  Thanks for the suggestions on the collar I will look into it.  

Good luck! Hopefully it works. He'll probably be a beautiful bird.

 

[veronicadm8]

Ack! One of my new pullets started crowing like a rooster

My hubby said the other day that she sounded like she was crowing but I didn't believe him. I can't have roosters in town so I need to figure out what to do with him. I can't give him to anyone who doesn't have a vaccinated flock. I got him from Claborn farms back at the beginning of June as a 16 wk old pullet. He's a silver laced wyandotte and is vaccinated already.
Any suggestions?
Anyone live in WI and want a rooster?
Help, I don't want to cull him

Janelle

Hi Janelle
It is true that in an all hen flock, a hen may start to crow. If she is in fact a he, I was also going to suggest the no crow collars. I'm not supposed to have roos either, but have 3. The collars work great on 2, and good enough on the third. He still crows, but I have hens louder than he is. Has your roo been exposed to Mareks?? If it's just that he has been vaccinated, he isn't a danger to an un-vaccinated flock, from what I have read.
PS- the no crow collars I bought were just velcro. They were flimsy and came apart, so I bought thicker velcro and use 2 strips.

 

[veronicadm8]

Mareks was confirmed via necropsy of 2 chicks that passed. I don't believe it was Mareks that killed them, though. One day they were getting around so-so, and I think the next they couldn't walk well at all. Unfortunately I wasn't home that day, and it was 106 degree day. I found them in full sun. I have decided to vaccinate. Breeding for resistance isn't for me. I'm not that tough!! I do understand that vaccinated birds shed virus... but to my understanding (and I'm new to this, so I could be wrong), it is not the chicken Mareks, but a turkey herpes virus?

 

[seminolewind]

The vaccine we get is from a Turkey virus. The exposure to Turkey Marek's causes antibodies to form without getting Marek's. Hatcheries have stronger vaccines than the one we get.

I have 7 roosters because I can't part with them. I have a beautiful Blue Jersey Giant that I wish I could rehome, but he is marek's exposed. I was all ready to give him to someone who would make him dinner, but I just couldn't do it.

 

[Nambroth]

Mareks was confirmed via necropsy of 2 chicks that passed. I don't believe it was Mareks that killed them, though. One day they were getting around so-so, and I think the next they couldn't walk well at all. Unfortunately I wasn't home that day, and it was 106 degree day. I found them in full sun. I have decided to vaccinate. Breeding for resistance isn't for me. I'm not that tough!! I do understand that vaccinated birds shed virus... but to my understanding (and I'm new to this, so I could be wrong), it is not the chicken Mareks, but a turkey herpes virus?

Vaccinated birds only shed the virus if they are exposed to Marek's (MDV-1, which is the kind that hurts our chickens).
The vaccine itself will not cause them to shed the virus.

So, in an environment that does not have Marek's virus present, vaccinated birds will not shed or spread the virus by simple virtue of being vaccinated.

However, if you have confirmed Marek's exposure in your flock, you can consider them all exposed. It is generally understood that after they are exposed to Marek's virus, vaccination really doesn't do anything for exposed chickens.
If you do vaccinate new chicks, it is ideal to give them a complete quarrantine away from your current (exposed) birds for at least three weeks. Vaccination seems to be most effective when done at less than 36 hours old. I have more info in my signature.
Hope this helps!

 

[ladyrsanti]

Hey guys. I have Marek's in the flock and I'm new to the disease, well, new to the experience of it at least. A pullet I got in mid June is showing classic symptoms. When I talked to the local avian pathologist, he treated it with the air of 'you already had it in your flock, everyone around here does, so there's no point in freaking out and it's not even worth the money to get the necropsy'. Of course, he didn't actually say it like that and he obviously can't say with 100% certainty that I already had it but he got his point across and helped my outlook on the matter, despite how depressing the topic of conversation was. I don't usually sell many birds or bring many in and I prefer to hatch my own and cull/slaughter my own so it's not a devastating blow to the farm, just a really, REALLY, big speed bump.

I've enjoyed reading through this thread but I'll be honest, I haven't gotten through every page yet (I'm in the 20's somewhere). So forgive me for being redundant. I have a question. First, some info. The pullet is essentially paralyzed, both legs. It was a slow decline. The first sign was when she had what I thought was sour crop while in quarantine (1 1/2 mos old). For two weeks, I tried all the usual sour crop treatments with no effect (turns out it was paralysis doing it and it went into remission on its own). Then she was fine for a couple of weeks and I first noticed her being off balance on July 22nd. She was still able to scoot around and sometimes even walk a little and able to use her low roost until three days ago when she suddenly lost the use of both legs and for just one day was having trouble swallowing and her crop also paralyzed again and did not empty but as I said, just for a day. I thought I was going to lose her then but she seems to have stabilized - again - and now holds her head up and is alert, talks, tries to move away from me when I enter the pen. So the pathologist recommended not culling her unless she stopped eating and drinking. Well... she eats and drinks when it's in front of her, swallows fine, crop empties fine, but she flaps and flops around so much, it rarely is in front of her. If I hold her still, she eats and drinks heartily but for how long will this go on? Is there any chance of her regaining the use of her legs? I'd honestly rather not have a special needs hen around. I'm not sure if he thought I was going to build chicky prosthetics for her or what. But I don't want her to waste and would rather cull her if this is how it's going to be. What are your experiences with the paralysis?

 

[veronicadm8]

My experience is limited... I discovered Marek's in my flock this year. My adults seem fine (fingers crossed) but I had unexpected baby chicks, and so far have lost 5. I tend to take a more hands off approach- I don't baby them, and if they seem to be suffering because of it I cull them. I don't know if it progresses differently, maybe quicker, in younger birds. But in my limited experience, it only got worse. From what I have read and any advice given to me, recovery from paralysis is pretty rare. Good luck to you! Maybe others have had better outcomes.