Can I just say.....

[Roseyroberts]

That Mareks disease sucks!! I'm so sick of seeing my girls waste away.
.

 

[N F C]

That must be awful, I'm sorry you're having to go through this.

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, you can say that. I am so sorry.

I know how hard it is to watch your flock suffer from something you can't do anything about. Many hugs to you!

 

[Isaac 0]

Im feel so bad for you and your chickens.

 

[rebrascora]

You have my sympathies too and I totally agree, Marek's sucks!

 

[azygous]

My flock carries something similar, lymphotic leucosis. It claims a chicken every couple years, and in between, tumors cause a whole variety of disabilities that can be heartbreaking.

I discovered in spite of these incurable poultry viruses, it's possible to have a more or less normal flock. You just need to work around it.

In your case, keep your flock as healthy as possible by feeding probiotics and vitamins and vaccinate new chicks.

 

[rebrascora]

I agree with anzygous. Whilst the individual cases are really upsetting, don't be too discouraged as I also find that you can work around it too. I seem to have 2 or3 losses to it each year but I also have many healthy chicks that survive it and promoting a healthy immune system through good nutrition and a happy, stress free lifestyle for them definitely helps. I don't vaccinate but breed from my surviving stock. I lost 2 out of 56 chicks hatched last summer to it and a third has fully recovered his first attack but may meet the butchers knife before he has chance to suffer a second.

Hopefully things will level out a bit for you once the initial outbreak has run it's course. That was what I found.

Good luck with the remaining ones

Barbara