Big Bad Mareks

[Debbie292d]

I guess it's time for an update. Since my last post I have had 1 symptomatic cockerel who we ended up culling just a couple weeks ago. Out of my 14 silkies, I have now lost 2 cockerels and 6 pullets. It is so hard knowing there's nothing I can do to fix them and make them better. I've been focusing on nutrition, I found the organic feed I was using was low on vitamins so they are now on a more complete feed with poultry cell crumbles, immune support herbs and baicilin. They do not like their additives, but I'm hoping they help. I have just 2 pullets remaining who are laying very well, they're doing an egg a day, 6 days a week. The one pullet has started laying smaller eggs the last two weeks, I'm not sure if that means anything or not.

I set a ton of eggs late January, of my silkies, 17 eggs hatched, a whopping 12 chicks were from my chocolate frizzle pullet! I also hatched 3 layer cross chicks from my laying flock. I also hatched 5 silkies from shipped eggs, and a few other chicks from a local breeder. Everyone got the Mareks vaccine and I am hopeful for their health and longevity!

I had a lot of extra silkie hatching eggs so when @Debbie292d mentioned she would be setting eggs a few weeks back, the eggies got excited and jumped in a box to go find a warm incubator! To be safe, I sanitized all the packing materials with Odoban, including dipping the eggs BEFORE shipping so this is a really interesting test. So far Debbie292d had one egg she has removed and a few that are questionable at the day 7 candling.

I will be setting more eggs this Saturday, some from Debbie292d, over 2 dozen silkies from my girls, and 2 dozen layers from my flock, plus some more from the local breeder. The testing with Odoban continues to see if hatching eggs can be safely dipped, rinsed, and hatched. So far it seems very promising.

I had noticed the necropsy did not have Mareks actually tested for, so I had a sample sent out for PCR testing, and it came back positive. I have sample collection kits heading my way to be able to do PCR testing on about 6 individuals from my various groups of chickens. Since I've had Mareks diagnosed, my indoor brooded chicks have remained indoors. I'm hopeful they will be negative, they are vaccinated but they were vaccinated at 1 week and 8 weeks old. I also will be testing 1 bird each from my layer coops, it will be interesting to see the results and help me plan my flocks future better.

I do have a new coop, in a new area, all the indoor chicks will be moving out to as soon as the run is complete.

This sounds so exciting starting over in a way in a whole new location. It'd be maddening though to have to start changing shoes/pants between "villages." I saw long sleeve poly blend healthcare scrubs on clearance at Walmart yesterday. I'd think this is what I'd do, and get oversized ones so they're easy on, easy off.

I didn't know you had to vaccinate them twice or that it was even a thing. Is the second one like a booster to the first, so they are even more resilient to Mareks?

 

[TwoCrows]

I guess it's time for an update. Since my last post I have had 1 symptomatic cockerel who we ended up culling just a couple weeks ago. Out of my 14 silkies, I have now lost 2 cockerels and 6 pullets. It is so hard knowing there's nothing I can do to fix them and make them better. I've been focusing on nutrition, I found the organic feed I was using was low on vitamins so they are now on a more complete feed with poultry cell crumbles, immune support herbs and baicilin. They do not like their additives, but I'm hoping they help. I have just 2 pullets remaining who are laying very well, they're doing an egg a day, 6 days a week. The one pullet has started laying smaller eggs the last two weeks, I'm not sure if that means anything or not.

I set a ton of eggs late January, of my silkies, 17 eggs hatched, a whopping 12 chicks were from my chocolate frizzle pullet! I also hatched 3 layer cross chicks from my laying flock. I also hatched 5 silkies from shipped eggs, and a few other chicks from a local breeder. Everyone got the Mareks vaccine and I am hopeful for their health and longevity!

I had a lot of extra silkie hatching eggs so when @Debbie292d mentioned she would be setting eggs a few weeks back, the eggies got excited and jumped in a box to go find a warm incubator! To be safe, I sanitized all the packing materials with Odoban, including dipping the eggs BEFORE shipping so this is a really interesting test. So far Debbie292d had one egg she has removed and a few that are questionable at the day 7 candling.

I will be setting more eggs this Saturday, some from Debbie292d, over 2 dozen silkies from my girls, and 2 dozen layers from my flock, plus some more from the local breeder. The testing with Odoban continues to see if hatching eggs can be safely dipped, rinsed, and hatched. So far it seems very promising.

I had noticed the necropsy did not have Mareks actually tested for, so I had a sample sent out for PCR testing, and it came back positive. I have sample collection kits heading my way to be able to do PCR testing on about 6 individuals from my various groups of chickens. Since I've had Mareks diagnosed, my indoor brooded chicks have remained indoors. I'm hopeful they will be negative, they are vaccinated but they were vaccinated at 1 week and 8 weeks old. I also will be testing 1 bird each from my layer coops, it will be interesting to see the results and help me plan my flocks future better.

I do have a new coop, in a new area, all the indoor chicks will be moving out to as soon as the run is complete.

I am so happy for you and @Debbie292d Debbie on the exchanging of hatching eggs, this is exactly what BYC friends are for. I can't wait for all these "Exchange Students....I mean Eggies" to hatch!!!

Thanks for the update Tink, I am confident your flock is getting past this bump in the road! ❤

 

[2ndTink]

This sounds so exciting starting over in a way in a whole new location. It'd be maddening though to have to start changing shoes/pants between "villages." I saw long sleeve poly blend healthcare scrubs on clearance at Walmart yesterday. I'd think this is what I'd do, and get oversized ones so they're easy on, easy off.

I didn't know you had to vaccinate them twice or that it was even a thing. Is the second one like a booster to the first, so they are even more resilient to Mareks?

Oh, just one shot, although I have heard of people doing a second round 2 weeks later. I had 1 week old and 8 week old chicks when I learned my flock had Mareks, so I vaccinated them "late". The older birds were way easier to vaccinate than the day old chicks, they are SO tiny and you have to wet down the fluff enough to get to their skin, pinch it up and get the needle just under the skin. And, you only have 1 hour to use the vaccine solution.

 

[Debbie292d]

Oh, just one shot, although I have heard of people doing a second round 2 weeks later. I had 1 week old and 8 week old chicks when I learned my flock had Mareks, so I vaccinated them "late". The older birds were way easier to vaccinate than the day old chicks, they are SO tiny and you have to wet down the fluff enough to get to their skin, pinch it up and get the needle just under the skin. And, you only have 1 hour to use the vaccine solution.

OH, okay. I misunderstood somewhere thinking you were vaccinating some twice.

A couple of weeks ago I watched the NPIP tester lay each of my 14 adults on their sides, pull up a wing, and draw blood from under there. I was thinking of you when she was doing that. I'm sure it's a lot easier than trying to get a needle under the skin of a tiny little chick. Plus, the adults didn't squawk about it, but those babies must be screaming. Not fun I'm sure.

 

[Debbie292d]

I am so happy for you and @Debbie292d Debbie on the exchanging of hatching eggs, this is exactly what BYC friends are for. I can't wait for all these "Exchange Students....I mean Eggies" to hatch!!!

Thanks for the update Tink, I am confident your flock is getting past this bump in the road! ❤

"Exchange students"

Awe, it's fun! I'm excited to see some different silkies and different breeds of chickens altogether! I don't get to do that very often.

 

[2ndTink]

OH, okay. I misunderstood somewhere thinking you were vaccinating some twice.

A couple of weeks ago I watched the NPIP tester lay each of my 14 adults on their sides, pull up a wing, and draw blood from under there. I was thinking of you when she was doing that. I'm sure it's a lot easier than trying to get a needle under the skin of a tiny little chick. Plus, the adults didn't squawk about it, but those babies must be screaming. Not fun I'm sure.

That's amazing the adults didn't fuss. The chicks fight, some more than others, and they are so tiny and hard to hold. I can't say it went perfectly, I will share here that we lost two, we were using the vaccine gun but placing the needle correctly was harder to feel. We got through about a dozen before having a bad stick, did a few more perfectly then had a bad stick again so went back to single syringe / needle setups. It was pretty traumatizing, and you can't just stop, they all have to be done within an hour before the vaccine times out. We will do just the single syringe/ needles from now on. I wish we didn't have to vaccinate, but it is necessary so we had to pull our big girl pants up and power through.

My flock will be NPIP tested in April, it's so crazy to me what few things they test for.

 

[2ndTink]

I am so happy for you and @Debbie292d Debbie on the exchanging of hatching eggs, this is exactly what BYC friends are for. I can't wait for all these "Exchange Students....I mean Eggies" to hatch!!!

Thanks for the update Tink, I am confident your flock is getting past this bump in the road! ❤

Yes! I'm so excited to maybe get a Marsha I will love every single one that hatches, no biases toward a Marsha baby... never...

I am also hopeful for a chocolate as I'm having trouble getting good chocolates to start a chocolate pen with. Maybe I'll just have a mauve + chocolate pen.

I am really hoping Debbie gets some of those "what in the world color is this chick?" to pick and choose who she wants to keep and who she'll sell. I expect this second hatch of mine to be just blues and blacks, but I could be surprised! I wouldn't be surprised if my blue is hiding who knows what under those gorgeous blue feathers!

 

[2ndTink]

"Exchange students"

Awe, it's fun! I'm excited to see some different silkies and different breeds of chickens altogether! I don't get to do that very often.

Yay Chonkers and Fizzy chicks!

The two Chonkers chicks I have are HUGE! They dwarf the silkies. Seargent Pepper isn't growing much, he's half the size of the other silkies and even the bantam Ameraucanas are bigger than him now. I have high hopes he'll be ok though.

 

[Debbie292d]

Yes! I'm so excited to maybe get a Marsha I will love every single one that hatches, no biases toward a Marsha baby... never...

I am also hopeful for a chocolate as I'm having trouble getting good chocolates to start a chocolate pen with. Maybe I'll just have a mauve + chocolate pen.

I am really hoping Debbie gets some of those "what in the world color is this chick?" to pick and choose who she wants to keep and who she'll sell. I expect this second hatch of mine to be just blues and blacks, but I could be surprised! I wouldn't be surprised if my blue is hiding who knows what under those gorgeous blue feathers!

I'm excited for both of us!
Yes, my eyes will be very large when I see different-looking chicks hatch.

As I mentioned, I won't keep any different breeds (I say that now) but am going to see what hatches, then see what my neighbor farmer lady may want, and I'll just give them to her, and sell what she doesn't want. She has a barn with about a 10x10' milk room in it that's insulated. She hatches and raises chicks, quail, ducks, and geese over there. She told me if I ever need more room for anything, to bring it there. Oh boy, do not tempt me!

You are definitely going to get straight-run chocolates in there.

When mine from that pen hatch 3/9, it should be indicative of what you'll get, except I didn't have the black hen in there back then, so you'll get a few from her too. Dang I'm excited!

 

[2ndTink]

I'm excited for both of us!
Yes, my eyes will be very large when I see different-looking chicks hatch.

As I mentioned, I won't keep any different breeds (I say that now) but am going to see what hatches, then see what my neighbor farmer lady may want, and I'll just give them to her, and sell what she doesn't want. She has a barn with about a 10x10' milk room in it that's insulated. She hatches and raises chicks, quail, ducks, and geese over there. She told me if I ever need more room for anything, to bring it there. Oh boy, do not tempt me!

You are definitely going to get straight-run chocolates in there.

When mine from that pen hatch 3/9, it should be indicative of what you'll get, except I didn't have the black hen in there back then, so you'll get a few from her too. Dang I'm excited!

I'm so thankful for all the hope, fun, and excitement through this bumpy patch.

I'm super excited to see what hatches from your eggs and also what you get from mine! Your eggies are supposed to arrive today!!!! I already have permission from my boss to leave early tomorrow to go pick up eggies from the local breeder, they are about an hour drive from work, then a 35 min drive back home. Setting eggies in just 48 hours!!!!!