Breeding for disease resistance

[MagnoliaKate]

Thanks Poultry Friend for your scholarly research. I plan on reading all these articles in hopes of finding some little "pearls"of wisdom. Your hard work is appreciated!

 

[Poultry Friend]

It is really interesting, that is for sure. If I can figure out a place or lab that can test chicken blood group that would help for sure.

For now, it looks like I will need to shift my focus from fast growing and high laying birds to birds of smaller size and lower production in favor of maintaining a healthier flock.

I am sure I can have birds with pretty good weight, but they will be slow growers. I am fine with that, though!

 

[leadwolf1]

I can only tell you through what I have experienced. I have been fighting Marek's in my flock for over a year. I have lost 40+ birds. I brought in only vaccinated birds this Spring from Ideal. I have lost 70% of them. The vaccine is supposed to be 90% effective. What they aren't telling you is that Marek's is mutating and the vaccine may no longer work. At Christmas, I hatched out 17 chicks from my own eggs. I lost 1 of the 17 to Marek's. I did vaccinate day 1 just to be safe. That is the highest success rate that I have seen. I will now breed and hatch only from my survivors. I may never have purebred chickens again but, I will be happy knowing that what I do have will be Marek's free and healthy.

 

[Poultry Friend]

I can only tell you through what I have experienced. I have been fighting Marek's in my flock for over a year. I have lost 40+ birds. I brought in only vaccinated birds this Spring from Ideal. I have lost 70% of them. The vaccine is supposed to be 90% effective. What they aren't telling you is that Marek's is mutating and the vaccine may no longer work. At Christmas, I hatched out 17 chicks from my own eggs. I lost 1 of the 17 to Marek's. I did vaccinate day 1 just to be safe. That is the highest success rate that I have seen. I will now breed and hatch only from my survivors. I may never have purebred chickens again but, I will be happy knowing that what I do have will be Marek's free and healthy.

Yes, that is my thought and seems to be the thought process of breeding disease resistant birds in the industry as well, however it takes so long and so many birds die at first that they would rather medicate them to the hilt and kill them early before they show any real symptoms then bother with doing this- added to that, birds with strong immune system are smaller and grow slower, so they feel that they are not cost effective. *rolls eyes*

I know at first I will loose a lot of birds, but the birds who survive will survive for a reason (and I mean birds that were sick and lived, since just being around a disease does not mean that they got it and actually have resistance to it)

I would bet flocks that are left in a mainly free range or feral state have some natural immunity to most diseases already, and that by refusing to offer more then food/water/shelter and breeding the birds that can live in this way, I will be selecting for birds with stronger immune systems. I will also avoid processed foods and separating young birds from old. Being exposed to pathogens early and often will only strengthen the immune system and give me a healthier flock.

 

[leadwolf1]

In the case of Marek's, all that are exposed, developed symptoms or not, are carriers. Therefore, their immune system had to have been strong enough to fight off the disease and win. Out of my coop of 37, only 7 are left. I will continue to use their eggs and the eggs of their offspring to hatch. I've lost many birds but, that isn't always the case. I know of some who only lost a couple and have enjoyed success with hatching out resistant birds. Good luck! I know this is the way I will proceed from now on...my only problem is what to do with the roos??? Can't sell them and I won't eat them...I've seen too much death to kill a bird just for being the wrong sex. I have 3 bachelor coops and I really don't want any more!

 

[Poultry Friend]

In the case of Marek's, all that are exposed, developed symptoms or not, are carriers. Therefore, their immune system had to have been strong enough to fight off the disease and win. Out of my coop of 37, only 7 are left. I will continue to use their eggs and the eggs of their offspring to hatch. I've lost many birds but, that isn't always the case. I know of some who only lost a couple and have enjoyed success with hatching out resistant birds. Good luck! I know this is the way I will proceed from now on...my only problem is what to do with the roos??? Can't sell them and I won't eat them...I've seen too much death to kill a bird just for being the wrong sex. I have 3 bachelor coops and I really don't want any more!

I would have to beg to differ since all the research articles I just read made it a point to say that especially with Marek's they had a very hard time infecting the chicks (they were doing this on purpose to breed resistant birds) and that the only way they were able to get 100% infection was putting drops of infected blood into the eyes of day old chicks or injecting them with ground up tumors.

While there is a chance that the birds who show no sickness are immune, you cannot assume that they are, which is why (the articles say) breeding resistant birds is so hard. You have to make sure the birds are infected and then only a few survive to breed.

As for the roos- keep them until they are adults and then butcher them for stew. I will not be culling my male chicks until they are at market weight. The broiler chicken industry is so cruel and the birds to abused that as hard as it will be to kill them, it will be better for them and the other chickens I will not be eating.

 

[leadwolf1]

I don't eat my chickens, sorry. That's my choice..they have been living in a bachelor coop for 9 months with no problems.

I have read many articles. Through my own research, I have found that quite a few of those articles have incorrect or outdated information in them. I hatched 17 chicks from my eggs in December...I have lost 1. That is proof enough for me. I don't have to have a research article tell me what I can reproduce real time. My profession, has been for the last 27 years, a research tech. I can run my own experiments. I have lost 40+ birds. I didn't say it was easy but neither is it impossible. I'm not the only one who has had results such as these. Vaccinated chicks from the hatchery don't stand a chance with the Marek's that is infecting my flock. I lose up to 80% of them. Sometimes even more.

You may disagree if you like. But, I have found that experience beats the heck out of research articles hands down. They are not working in a natural environment in real time. Been there, done that many many times. I will continue with my experiment and successes. You may do the same with yours.

 

[Poultry Friend]

I don't eat my chickens, sorry. That's my choice..they have been living in a bachelor coop for 9 months with no problems.

I have read many articles. Through my own research, I have found that quite a few of those articles have incorrect or outdated information in them. I hatched 17 chicks from my eggs in December...I have lost 1. That is proof enough for me. I don't have to have a research article tell me what I can reproduce real time. My profession, has been for the last 27 years, a research tech. I can run my own experiments. I have lost 40+ birds. I didn't say it was easy but neither is it impossible. I'm not the only one who has had results such as these. Vaccinated chicks from the hatchery don't stand a chance with the Marek's that is infecting my flock. I lose up to 80% of them. Sometimes even more.

You may disagree if you like. But, I have found that experience beats the heck out of research articles hands down. They are not working in a natural environment in real time. Been there, done that many many times. I will continue with my experiment and successes. You may do the same with yours.

I am sorry if I offended you, that was not my intent, and I respect you for not eating them, to be honest, we haven't yet had to kill any and we often talk about how we will not be able to do it (if I can't, I guess I will stop eating chicken!)

I was not meaning to imply your breeding efforts were in vain, at all. Clearly, less deaths is a success. It can be very hard in text to read emotion or intent, and mine was not to mock or ridicule you, but to point out the results that I saw in those papers. (I was assuming you had not read them, and I am sorry for making such an assumption)

Again, I was not meaning to upset or anger you and I apologize if I did.

 

[leadwolf1]

Thanks. I get really upset by Marek's. I've spent the last year in tears almost every day. So, have my two sons. Right now, I have 6 that aren't doing well. I was told that vaccinated chicks if isolated for 6 weeks would be fine. How wrong that poultry specialist was. Seriously, my only hope is with these chicks that hatched and with my older flock that survived. The strain of Marek's that I am dealing with is brutal. I want to call the Poutry lab and explain my losses but, I am petrified that they will want to destroy my entire flock in hopes of stopping this strain. I won't allow that.

At this point, I've probably invested over 5K in these guys..trying everything possible to stop this disease. I have built 5 separate coops just so I never have to integrate. Integration scares me to death...To mix chickens, to me, is a death sentence. I've kept my hatched chicks in my basement for 9 months. Finally, we built coops to house them. The amount of work that has gone into isolated them has been excruciating.

I'm sorry I snapped. It sounded to me that you were denying that I have achieved some immunity. I will be hatching again in the Spring....hopefully, the trend will continue.