Viable treatment for Marek's Disease.

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

Alright. Let's Update. I have sufficiently knocked on wood. So here goes.....

No new deaths. I have not lost a chicken since Rogue.

The Red Silkie Roo. No more limp.

Henry has gone from constant vertigo to picking fights with the Bantam roosters. His courting of the ladies is still very gentle, but his mounting game needs work.

Nessa is still slowly gaining weight. I do wish her feathers would come in faster, but it is what it is.

Maureen is without symptoms. She's returned to sitting on nest boxes, therefore giving me hope for a blue egg again.

Lucy has no symptoms of Marek's, but her damaged liver is insisting on daily Milk Thistle.

Bea is without symptoms and still laying almost daily. She's about to get paired with Napoleon to start my first generation towards a Marek's resistant flock. I just hope he treats her nice. For that matter, I hope she doesn't beat the crap out of him. She's blind, not helpless.

Shelly developed symptoms with heat stress. She received treatment for heat stress and organ failure brought on with Marek's. I also gave her Furosemide for 3 days to clear the waterbelly and it worked like a charm. She's under observation and will return to the coop at the end of the week if all goes well.

I have some 8 week old chicks. I noticed a bit of a limp. I dosed 1/2 dose morning and evenings for 3 days. The limp is gone

 

[RoyalChick]

I for one would be grateful if we could keep this thread focused on the original intent which is about using Skullcap as a treatment for Marek's. This is very interesting to a number of us with Marek's in our flocks and it is helpful to learn how it is working out, dosing etc.

There are plenty of other threads to debate the pros and cons of the various Marek's vaccines available. Almost by definition most people interested in this thread are past that stage and have Marek's established in their flock so maybe chat about vaccines elsewhere or start a separate thread.

I am trying maintenance of my healthy birds with Skullcap and am keen to learn from others experience of that and I am very grateful to @Mason Farm and Ranch for starting this thread and documenting their progress.

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

Hey there I just came across your post regarding the Chinese herb that helps stop mareks disease Are you still a believer in the herb? I have been dealing with this awful disease in my flock and will try anything. Did you use a powder form or the liquid? Can you let me know which product you used. Thanks so much

I do update fairly often. I have a FB page called Positive About Marek's And Avian Leukosis Virus where myself and 30+ members are currently using the herb and reporting the results on the page. Trying different things and working out what is best.

We're supporting new members and walking them through what to expect.

I can say, it definitely has a positive effect. In researching, it was discovered that while it only inhibits Marek's, it kills Avian Leukosis Virus and Avian Flu.

It has some drawbacks like you lose protection once you stop using it, but the positive aspect is as long as they are on it, it seems they are immune.

Consistent users are reporting that Virus fueled deaths ceased.

So, yes I'm still a believer.

 

[AidKD]

It's NOT a cure. It's a treatment. The virus is still there and still alive, it's just sleeping so to speak.

Yes, that is what I meant.

 

[BastyPutt]

the vaccine, far from being useless, is actually the easiest and most effective way to keep their chickens from dying of Marek's disease.

I am no vaccine person, but I would edit this to say "the ONLY way to keep....." even if Chinese skull cap would slow the progression, it wouldn't ever prevent it from manifesting.

Aside from good husbandry and flock control (quarantine new birds mainly) the vaccine is your only hope of prevention.

Again, there just aren't enough resources to continue develop the proper vaccines.

The flu vaccine for humans is constantly evolving because the flu changes. It needs to be reformulated every year - and because we don't know what the flu is going to look like exactly, we are a year behind on formulation - basically guessing as to what it will look like. And guess what, people still get the flu.

The Mareks vaccine does go through reformulation, but no where near the needed intervals and with no where near the funding. But it still protects thousands and thousands of birds and flocks a year and I would encourage anyone based on their flock goals to have their birds vaccinated.

On a side note - there is an article here on BYC, and incredible article, about a women, her flock with Mareks, and a local "immune" flock. I would encourage every person to read this article.

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

I find this super interesting and may see if I see any type of improvements to my chickens with MG. I have a few birds that have more chronic symptoms that it seems worth trying. I haven’t looked yet, but are there any negative side effects to using it and how do you dose them and what do you use? Just a pill down the hatch? Can it be mixed in a suspension? Wet mash? Just curious if you know! Thanks so much for sharing!

Well, unfortunately Chinese Skullcap doesn't seem to be something that is common in brick & mortar shops. So I had to order it. Just a stroke of luck, a friend gifted me her herb stockpile a few years ago and there happened to be about 2 oz of Chinese Skullcap in there. I measured out 20 doses and mixed it with a Bantam egg white. Rolled it into 20 little balls and stored it in a brown glass bottle in the fridge.

I just dropped one down their throat.

I ordered Nettle leaf, milk thistle, white willow and Chinese Skullcap tinctures.

Dosage is 14 drops. I add the other 3 as system support for visibility effected.

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

You have had a necropsy confirming Marek's right?

Thank you for the photos by the way! Do keep up with documenting this. I still find it all interesting to see what others do.

Now. I can't say whether or not what you see with your hen's eye is Ocular form of Marek's or not. I think it's very good that she's improving!
I'm looking at the photos and doing a comparison. You have an older photo that shows a normal eye with normal color, then the eye that is "off".
I do note that the lower lid looks to have been damaged or cut. I wonder if she at some point suffered a poke or injury to the eye which can cause color change.

View attachment 3530691

Marek's is a herpes virus and when it is in the eye it causes serious irritation.

I don't want to have a necropsy performed due to the government having a bad habit of deciding to destroy entire flocks. I saw what they did in California.

Also, no one has died since I figured out what it is. But if you know of a non-governmental lab that does test, please let me know.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Marek's is a herpes virus and when it is in the eye it causes serious irritation.

I don't want to have a necropsy performed due to the government having a bad habit of deciding to destroy entire flocks. I saw what they did in California.

Also, no one has died since I figured out what it is. But if you know of a non-governmental lab that does test, please let me know.

I haven’t heard of flocks being destroyed because of Marek’s, I thought that was only for the avian flu?

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

I’ve seen stuff like that too. But no mentions of Marek’s except as a (less deadly) comparison to the flu.

In hind sight, I can't be 100% sure Marek's was THE reason for any of those culls. I do recall it was addressed on the program. I just know I'm never getting the government involved in my homestead. Ever.

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

Thank you so much for this information! I’ve lost two silkie hens in the last two weeks, one hen in January and one rooster in November. Currently I have one hen doing the limp with a slightly twisted neck, head tremors and is half her original weight. I have one more unaffected rooster left from this group, and they were all purchased at the same time when they were babies. I’ve never been through so much loss and these babies were my pets; I love them to pieces. I will give this a try cuz why not right? After all this heartbreak though, I won’t get another silkie that hasn’t been vaccinated. I started keeping a journal of the treatments I did on each chicken and am hoping my little Marsha Mellow will be a success story. Thank you again for putting this out there!

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/4/1039

This link is a fairly comprehensive compilation of studies done on livestock (including chickens) with Baicalin (the medicinal compound in Chinese Skullcap) and Chinese Skullcap as a herb. What I took away was that one study added it to the feed @ 200mg per kg of feed with favorable results as a prophylactic.

I'm still researching.