Cleaning up post-Marek's

[rechtash000]

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?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mareks is shed in feather dander. It can blow in on the wind or can be brought in by wild birds. You can never totally irradiated it. Keeping stress low on growing birds can help them build immunity instead of becoming symptomatic. The reality of chicken keeping is you always lose your favorites whether sooner or later. Clean up, house your birds properly, don't crowd, feed a good fresh ration, and provide clean water, and that's all you can do.

 

[Folly's place]

Marek's disease virus will live in the soil and coop area, for months or maybe years. I hope your new chicks do well, but be prepared for issues with them over this.
Buying vaccinated chicks from a hatchery, and having them TOTALLY isolated from your environment for two or three weeks, will give them a chance to survive the Marek's infection they will be exposed to at your coop. They will be infected, but will be very unlikely to develop the tumors caused by the Marek's virus.
Call your state veterinarian/ poultry expert about this issue; how long will the virus survive in my climate?
Mary

 

[Nambroth]

Unfortunately, there is no realistic way for the average backyard/farm keeper to clean up after Marek's has been on the property. It has been shown to live for years as the virus is encapsulating. Here's part of the FAQ I wrote:

How long can the Marek's virus live without a host, such as in the soil or surroundings?

Marek's virus has been shown to be very long-lived outside of a host, as many herpesviruses are. It has been documented to live for 65 weeks (that's over a year and a half!) with no host, in an uncleaned environment. Research seems to indicate that Marek's virus lives the longest in DRY environments, such as inside coops, homes, anywhere dust can accumulate, and also in more arid climates and drought stricken areas. It seems to break down more quickly in wetter environments, such as in the soil and in moist climates where it is exposed to the elements. There are many factors at play that determine exactly how long the virus can live, so it is important to 'assume' that it will be there longer than you expect. While we can get things such as coops and non-porous surfaces clean with proper cleaners (see section as to what cleaners kills Marek's virus), it is impossible for most backyard chicken keepers to clean the soil and surrounding environment, and so it must be assumed that any place that an infected chicken has been also is laced with shed virus that can live for over a year and a half at a minimum. Though it has been documented to live for over a year and a half, there are those that think it may live for over 7 years in an uncleaned environment (such as indoors, or in a dusty coop, etc). There are other factors that may come into play with how long virus might live; however it has been shown to survive even very hot summers and cold winters, so you cannot rely on your environment alone to negate it.
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The rest of the FAQ is here, if you are interested: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

I'm sorry that there is no clear and easy answer to this, as unfortunately, there's still a lot we don't know for sure about the virus, and there are just too many variables at play on any given property.