California - Northern

[The Yakima Kid]

Question for you Kathy, is there a difference between ocular Marek's and leukosis?

I'm not Kathy, but yes, they are two entirely different diseases. Lymphoid leucosis and Marek's are caused by separate viruses; there is no immunization generally available for Leukosis.

Here is one of the best information sources for poultry:

http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disviral.htm

ANY time you have a question about poultry, do a google search combining the words "extension" and the specific issue. America's land grant colleges have extension services to serve you, the chicken owner, the home owner, whatever. Extension sites are a great source of sound information about everything from home canning, through laundry, to back yard chickens, and how to manage a 100,000 acre ranch.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

He had a very good life while alive, so I feel pretty good about that. What I found interesting was that when I did a cloacal exam on him I could actually feel some of the tumors, so I was not surprised by what I saw when I opened him.

-Kathy

He also had pretty clear follicle tumors, too, visible without opening him up.

Unfortunately, chickens die, no matter what we do. For that matter, so do people.

I'm sure full of cheer and optimism tonight.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Farmers feed in Gilroy said next week on Thursday. I've been calling for a couple weeks already to find a companion for mine. I went in today hoping to find one and they said they still weren't old enough to let go. Too delicate and that today's shipment of Palm turkeys didn't come in for some reason, but as I went looking through and around the other chicks I found one in the leghorn group. It was the only baby turkey there and it was like fate because they didn't know they had it till I pointed it out. They were thinking the new ones were there only I guess and didn't notice it. They couldn't tell me what breed, but maybe you can.

Watch for blackhead. It is an old custom, from maybe the mid-20th Century, to put a turkey poult in with baby chicks. The turkeys tend to carry a virus closely related to Marek's in chickens that does not make chickens ill, but does provide cross immunity for some strains of Marek's disease. Another traditional "immunization" was to scatter lots and lots of turkey feathers in chick bedding. Unfortunately, chicks frequently carry the organism that causes blackhead in turkeys and rarely, if ever, causes disease in chickens.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Watch for blackhead. It is an old custom, from maybe the mid-20th Century, to put a turkey poult in with baby chicks. The turkeys tend to carry a virus closely related to Marek's in chickens that does not make chickens ill, but does provide cross immunity for some strains of Marek's disease. Another traditional "immunization" was to scatter lots and lots of turkey feathers in chick bedding. Unfortunately, chicks frequently carry the organism that causes blackhead in turkeys and rarely, if ever, causes disease in chickens.

Note: using poults to "immunize" chicks wasn't particularly effective, but in an era where 80% flock losses weren't rare, anything was considered worth trying.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

The vaccine reduces the cancer death by 3 to 5%. It does not stop the initial infection.

10 to 15% of chickens that have Mareks initial infection(Herpes virus) will develop and die of cancer at about two years old.

We cannot stop this from happening. If you own chickens, some will die of Mareks Cancer.

I agree. I do not vaccinate either. Have not really had any issues except 2 that I can think of.

 

[DoubleMM]

Hi everyone.
I'm in N. Cal. Cottonwood. Just south of Redding.
I am new to chickens and I currently have 10 5-6 week chicks.
I am addicted to them.

Hello Lacey,

Build a big coop... you'll soon learn about "Chicken Math"

Welcome

 

[ronott1]

Hi everyone.
I'm in N. Cal. Cottonwood. Just south of Redding.
I am new to chickens and I currently have 10 5-6 week chicks.
I am addicted to them.

Hello Lacey,

Build a big coop... you'll soon learn about "Chicken Math"

Welcome

 

[casportpony]

 
how do you know it's ocular mareks? is it the contraction of the pupil? or is it the black color outside of the pupil? i thought the color outside was called leakage, but could be wrong

Note irregular shape of pupil. Note purple comb. Take a very, very careful look at the entire eye and head of the poor chickie, and tell me what you see.

I'm curious, what else did you see? Do I need to look at the picture again with my glasses on?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Good point about blackhead (histomoniasis)... The first two poults I brought home from Farmers had it and both died, but not before I spent several hundreds of dollars at three different vets in treating them. I also brought home a yearling Royal Palm hen that had it, but I managed to save her. The loss of the two poults and the money spent was painful, but I did learn how to treat blackhead and have been able to save many since then.

What Farmer's won't tell you is that they lose the majority of their poults and many of their chicken chicks, but they never have necropsies done, so who know what they die from.

I suspect the poults die from either blackhead or coccidiosis, so if I ever get another chick or poult from there it will get started on a round of Corid whether or not it needs it.

-Kathy

Edited to correct spelling.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Lalo is the Mexican man that works the register. I have two beautiful hens from their stock!

-Kathy