Biosecurity Dilemma.

[mrsmistoffelees02]

What would you do in this situation?

Got chicks from breeder last April, lost quite a few. Purchased more from same breeder, assuming it was normal to lose a few chicks. Breeder situation is an older lady running a poultry farm my herself, very knowledgeable from experience, but probably not as knowledgeable about biosecurity/disease science.

I lost 3 hens in November within days of each other, cause of illness unknown, all deaths similar (sudden weakness, lethargy, couldn’t stand but not paralyzed, then death).

In December, someone posted on an FB group about how chickens she got from the same breeder I got my flock from tested positive for Mareks.

If mine do have Mareks, they would have natural immunity to the disease strain. If I bring in chicks from the same breeder, I’m worried they could have a strain of Mareks or disease that my flock isn’t immune to and make everyone sick. If I bring in chicks from a different hatchery, I’m worried they wouldn’t be immune to Mareks and would die. Am I overthinking?

Considering purchasing from the original breeder because 1) breed variety 2) has babies right now 3) affordably priced and 4) she has become a dear friend to me.

 

[springvalley123]

5) the birds are immune to the strain of mareks you're dealing with.

I'm no expert on mareks, but if you search BYC for mareks resistance, you should find some advice that the birds that survive, are by definition, immune to that strain of mareks. BTW you can also test positive for mareks by receiving the vaccine, I **THINK**. The vaccine is known as a leaky one, meaning that because by design it doesn't kill the virus, it causes mutations to develop, just how viruses work.

 

[mrsmistoffelees02]

5) the birds are immune to the strain of mareks you're dealing with.

I'm no expert on mareks, but if you search BYC for mareks resistance, you should find some advice that the birds that survive, are by definition, immune to that strain of mareks. BTW you can also test positive for mareks by receiving the vaccine, I **THINK**. The vaccine is known as a leaky one, meaning that because by design it doesn't kill the virus, it causes mutations to develop, just how viruses work.

5) the birds are immune to the strain of mareks you're dealing with.

I'm no expert on mareks, but if you search BYC for mareks resistance, you should find some advice that the birds that survive, are by definition, immune to that strain of mareks. BTW you can also test positive for mareks by receiving the vaccine, I **THINK**. The vaccine is known as a leaky one, meaning that because by design it doesn't kill the virus, it causes mutations to develop, just how viruses work.

This is my understanding, also. But I just don’t know if my chickens have the same strain of the virus that the new chicks could potentially have, if that makes sense… Maybe mine are immune to the liver cancer type, but maybe the chicks bring the ocular type to the flock.

Or maybe I’m overthinking!

 

[Eggcessive]

I disagree with birds testing positive for Mareks because they have had the vaccine. I wish you well with your new chicks. If you get new hatchery chicks that are vaccinated, keep them far away from your coop or birds for the first 2 weeks of brooding. It is hard when you already possibly have Mareks to know what to do about future chicks. If I had a rooster, and some hens I wanted to breed, I would just breed my own birds who seemed to not get Mareks symptoms. But first, I would try to find out if my chickens really have Mareks. You can do that 2 ways, either by having a necropsy done by your state vet, or contacting a lab, such as RAL or Univ. Of Ga or others that do the PCR blood test for Mareks. They send you the material, you then collect a blood sample from a trimmed toenail or other way, and you send it in for the testing. Here is a link for one lab:
https://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf