Best way to cull whole flock?? Possible Mereks

[Pampered Chicken]

I think I’m going to cull my whole flock. I’ve only been raising chickens for about a year and a half and I’ve already had to deal with a number of issues.

Cocci
Egg bound
Bumble foot
Lice
Scaly Leg mites (brought in by some birds I purchased)
Predator attack
And now I think I have Mereks disease.

I’ve contact our dept. of Ag and am waiting to hear back on where I can get a necropsy done to determine the exact cause.

I purchased 2 birds from a swap. Quarantined them for about 5 weeks. About 3 weeks after I combined them I found one down. He dies within 48 hours. The second birds I bought from the same person died about a week later. It was fine in the morning by the next morning it was dead. I then had a young bird about 4-5 weeks old in a different pen become paralyzed. I keep him going for several days with no sign of improvement and then culled it. I now have another 4-5 week old that was down this morning.

So my question is what the best way to mass cull a flock ages 4 weeks to 1 ½ years old?

Should the carcasses be burned?

I’m so sad some of the birds are really special to me. I’ve spend way too much money to try to get the breeds I want and now this.

I do have a few that are on the other side of the yard that I’d like to save but I’m wondering if there is a way to test them for Merek’s if that’s what it is.

 

[shelleyb1969]

Just do a search here in BYC...there's LOTS of info regarding Marek's disease. Culling your whole flock, in any manner, won't remove the disease from your premises...nothing will. Once it's on your property, it's there forever. Marek's can, and most often is, transmitted by wild birds...so they even could have contracted it after you bought them. And you really don't have to cull your entire flock...just do a little research on the disease. There's actually MUCH worse diseases out there. Normally, if a bird has Marek's, stress (such as in a move) will cause the disease to present itself. I would think that if the birds had the disease when you actually bought them, it wouldn't have taken them so long to come down with visible signs of the disease...it would've happened much sooner.

 

[Yvonne37894]

I would wait to see what the necropsy comes back with.
It takes 4 to 6 weeks for answers.
While waiting maybe you could clean the coop, disinfect, dig some dirt out and replace it.
Even if culling the flock I would do this.

I've read of things like hydrated lime, oxine AH and Bleach for disinfecting.
If you have had lice, you may have an infestation in the coop.
Also, Could you have a mold problem in the coop?

 

[Pampered Chicken]

Quote:
Yes I plan on waiting the results before i do anything.

I've thought of mold but they were in different coops. I had planned on getting a load of sand and lime put in the runs but haven't yet.

 

[Pampered Chicken]

Quote:
I have read about Mereks and i know it could have come from someplace else. Just strange it was the first 2 that came from a swap.

I realize some birds can live with it but that make's them carriers. I really wanted to be able to sell chick/birds to help pay for my hobby. I also want to show some of my birds and I really feel it would be unethical to bring them if I think they are carriers.

 

[ZooMummzy]

Quote:
I agree with all of this. I have done extensive research on this disease. Marek's has a 10-20% death rate in flocks - normally. Stress, weaker birds, etc will bring out the disease and those are the ones likely to die from it (if that is what you truly have). You will not lose all your birds to it but you will never get rid of the disease. It is airborn - wild birds, the flock down the road, etc will bring it to your flock. There is a theory that every single flock has been exposed to Marek's. I would definitely wait till you get the results back before jumping the gun, so to speak. We usually get results back here in about a week. From all the issues you've had, I definitely look at other problems like mold, parasites, etc.

 

[Pampered Chicken]

Spoke with dept of Ag and she gave a University to bring it to. So when it passes I'll bring it there. It's about a 3 hour drive and looks like it will be around 70-100.00 but it only take a few days to get the results. Checked in on it at lunch and it was walking but it acted drunk. I'm going to clean the coop with bleach and give new shavings and give them vitamin water. Any other suggestions?