Bad news...thoughts?

[RyRe2010]

Wow. What a tragic learning experience. My heart goes out to you.
I am going to look at a pullet next week to add to my flock and am for sure going to quarantine her.
My question is: will Marek's or any other disease (New Castle, etc.) show up in the 30 day period?
My chicks were vaccinated against Marek's but I am well aware that they could still contract it as no vaccine is 100% effective.

Unfortunately, Mareks isn't something that usually comes to light in 30 days. As rebrascora has said, it's very common in the world of birds. It's carried by any number of wild birds and passed easily by dander with several routes of transmission.
It can cause immune suppression, so if a bird has it, it can be hard to tell if it's Mareks or several comorbidities in association with it.
Now, the quarantine is more for things like worms, coccidia, and other illnesses that can present after a 21 day incubation period.
The Purdue ADDL told me basically that Mareks is SO common, that even at poultry shows and swaps, most of the birds will have it and expose a bunch of others.
Now, just because they are a carrier, doesn't necessarily mean they will become ill from it but they can shed the virus.
Their recommendation is to vaccinate all new chicks on day 1 of hatch. That the Mareks vaccine is the most effective vaccine for chickens and pretty much the only one they really pushed on me.
Hope this helps?

 

[DobieLover]

Unfortunately, Mareks isn't something that usually comes to light in 30 days. As rebrascora has said, it's very common in the world of birds. It's carried by any number of wild birds and passed easily by dander with several routes of transmission.
It can cause immune suppression, so if a bird has it, it can be hard to tell if it's Mareks or several comorbidities in association with it.
Now, the quarantine is more for things like worms, coccidia, and other illnesses that can present after a 21 day incubation period.
The Purdue ADDL told me basically that Mareks is SO common, that even at poultry shows and swaps, most of the birds will have it and expose a bunch of others.
Now, just because they are a carrier, doesn't necessarily mean they will become ill from it but they can shed the virus.
Their recommendation is to vaccinate all new chicks on day 1 of hatch. That the Mareks vaccine is the most effective vaccine for chickens and pretty much the only one they really pushed on me.
Hope this helps?

Yes it did and thank you. Mine were vaccinated so my quarantine will be for all the other nasties.

 

[Geena]

I'm so sorry you are having to deal with these issues. Personally I would euthanize all of them, sanitize everything inside and out, wait awhile, then start over. Not because of the Mareks, but because of the Listeria, which can be dangerous to you and your family.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm sorry this has happened to you, but I'm glad you've posted about it.
You just can't explain to people how devastating a disease like this can be.
Every day, more or less, I read on these forums posts from people who have just gone and bought some chicks, or hens, and rarely do they mention quarantine and rarely do those people who advise them on how to integrate the new comers into the existing flock mention it either.
It's rule 1 in my opinion.
It's a very hard lesson you're going through and I do feel for you.

 

[RyRe2010]

As someone who has Marek's in their flock and has been dealing with it for 4 years I can say that I would not cull and have not culled, just euthanized terminally ill birds. I have also had some that have recovered from quite severe attacks of it and go on to have good quality of life. I do have one of the milder strains though.

The Herpes virus that causes it can live in the environment for a considerable length of time, possibly years without a host, so it is not like you can start with a clean slate just like that. You could cull all these birds, clean up as best you can and get new birds in a year or two and still get Marek's again. I breed from the survivors and I lose less each year. I know how heart breaking it is but those healthy birds that you are being recommended to cull may be the genetic answer to the situation. It is believed that it is the vaccine that is probably responsible for the more aggressive strains of the virus, like you are experiencing. Nature has a way of balancing out these issues if we let her, but it is your decision. I would cook all eggs thoroughly.... no dippy yolks and make sure to practice good hygiene after doing chores etc with the chickens. A healthy immune system should be able to deal with these challenges. A good healthy diet is the basis of a strong immune system.

I wish you luck whatever you decide.

Thank you for responding. Thats what I asked them! Because Mareks can be present up to 5 years or more in the environment! So, that's why I was like, not quite sure how I feel about that! Listeria, worms, coccidia...those are all found outside. So killing them all and starting new in the spring doesn't do a whole lot! I don't want to wait 5 years...or longer.
I just don't feel right killing all my birds. There are going to be the ones that do make it and thrive, as you have said about your own flock. Just really stinks to watch this take place.

 

[townchicks]

I'm sorry you are going through this. If it were me, I would not cull them. You have the virus in your environment now, and it won't be gone soon. It is even conceivable that it did not come from the new birds, but wild ones, and the stress of adding new additions pushed everyone over the edge. Who knows? Starting over is no guarantee you will not get it again, anyway, as the wild birds in your area have now been exposed, if they weren't already. They say you can even bring it in on your shoes, from going to the feed store, when someone that has it in their flock has been there. I am a big believer in quarantine, for lots of reasons, but I don't think, from what I've read, that it will prevent Mareks from getting to your flock. The only way, as I understand it, to be sure you won't get it in your flock, is to not have chickens. I think rebrascora has the right approach.

 

[Kat2141]

Is there a chance that an essential oil could be used to eliminate the virus? Some of them are anti-viral as well as anti-bacterial. I'm just wondering... It's sad.. it sounds like there is no treatment.

 

[Kat2141]

I just did a little bit searching and found one article that was disturbing - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/tthis-chicken-vaccine-makes-virus-dangerous

here is a super-long but VERY informative article that is already on BYC
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Grits&Eggs]

Good lesson - sorry to hear about your troubles!

 

[RyRe2010]

Pretty crazy to think that we have perpetuated the worsening of this disease. You would think that if we have known for so long that the vaccine is "leaky", then why not work to fix it?!