- May 16, 2018
- 8
- 8
- 54
Hi, all!
I am in desperate need of your wisdom. It is sort of a long story how I acquired Marek's on the property, but I'll try to keep it concise. My friend had an old english mix hen who had an uncanny ability to lay and hatch out eggs. This hen went missing, they thought she had been killed by a predator(par for the course in this are), but it turns out she had holed up in the wall of their coop and hatched out 12 eggs. We found the chicks, didn't know how long they had been there, so I offered to take them off their property to give them a chance away from the disease to at least grow up. I knew they had Marek's, there was no way they couldn't. Anyways, half of them died, the other half showed no symptoms and my friend was SUPPOSED to take them back. I didn't have any chickens, or a coop. They were in a brooder. Well, they didn't want them back and I was stuck with them. I built them a coop and they became free range and then this year a combination of a fox and a possum wiped them out except for one roo. I gave him back to my friend.
Now, I am chicken free except for some chicks in the garage. They have probably been exposed, but they had been in a Marek's free zone for weeks before bringing them to the property so I'm hoping they are strong enough to fight it to some extent. Despite this, I want to give them the best chance I can. I've got a blue frizzle cochin I would be devastated to lose. I plan on cleaning the coop with oxine from top to bottom, and it needs some updating anyways. My main concern is the soil. Can Marek's live through the winter? I live in MN and it was a VERY cold winter this year. Any other tips to give my new flock a chance?
I am in desperate need of your wisdom. It is sort of a long story how I acquired Marek's on the property, but I'll try to keep it concise. My friend had an old english mix hen who had an uncanny ability to lay and hatch out eggs. This hen went missing, they thought she had been killed by a predator(par for the course in this are), but it turns out she had holed up in the wall of their coop and hatched out 12 eggs. We found the chicks, didn't know how long they had been there, so I offered to take them off their property to give them a chance away from the disease to at least grow up. I knew they had Marek's, there was no way they couldn't. Anyways, half of them died, the other half showed no symptoms and my friend was SUPPOSED to take them back. I didn't have any chickens, or a coop. They were in a brooder. Well, they didn't want them back and I was stuck with them. I built them a coop and they became free range and then this year a combination of a fox and a possum wiped them out except for one roo. I gave him back to my friend.
Now, I am chicken free except for some chicks in the garage. They have probably been exposed, but they had been in a Marek's free zone for weeks before bringing them to the property so I'm hoping they are strong enough to fight it to some extent. Despite this, I want to give them the best chance I can. I've got a blue frizzle cochin I would be devastated to lose. I plan on cleaning the coop with oxine from top to bottom, and it needs some updating anyways. My main concern is the soil. Can Marek's live through the winter? I live in MN and it was a VERY cold winter this year. Any other tips to give my new flock a chance?