Thank you!!! I really appreciate this. In your experience/opinion, can they recover from Marek’s once they have it or should I just cull him? I will if I have to but I’d like to know what it is first. My dad and brother are pretty gung go/insistent I just kill him ASAP all of a sudden just because they read a few articles but I’d like to know for sure that’s what it is. Does he have to be dead to test him?? I really don’t want to risk my other birds or let him suffer and feel like I should just cull him but if there’s a chance he might recover then idk. I will be making a new thread in a second and posting some pictures and videos of him so maybe you or others could help confirm this is what it is??
Thank you.
does he have to be dead to be tested?
Oh yeah, I wasn’t planning on selling these babies anyway. They’re staying. But that said, they are also inside the house and have never come in contact with any of the other chickens so I doubt they have it.
I don’t know anyone else that has chickens
was gonna go to the feed store at some point but I’ll hold off on that.
Sorry if your Birds have Marek's. It's been in my flock for about 9 years. I've had times of babies die and times they haven't. That's what's confusing. This virus has a mind of it's own.
If you have a chicken who's positive for Marek's , your whole flock has it and it will never leave. It's spread by dander, so it's everywhere. The best you can do is Vaccinate day olds or buy chicks from a hatchery vaccinated and quarantine for at least 4 weeks. Or keep a closed flock. No one in , just the original flock. If you add another chicken from a non hatchery, it's easy to get Marek's. If a hen hatches eggs, there is nothing to protect them from Marek's.
If you have a chicken added they can infect the flock. Whether the chicken has symptoms or not. If a vaccinated chicken is with a flock that has Marek's , they are exposed and will not die of it but can carry the virus and expose others to it. . But a vaccinated chicken will not spread Mareck's from the immunization itself.
You can guess if your bird has Marek's. Some symptoms are blatant.
Like leg paralysis., inability to aim for food and pick it up. I've had some that had gasping before they got paralysis. Some have lost nerve control of other things such as wings or neck . I've had a year old vaccinated hen that died and was diagnosed with Marek's.
If I hatch from an incubator and keep those chicks completely quarantined absolutely, they are still saleable. Any chick that has not had contact with your flock in any way shape or form, they are sellable. I have used an apron and gloves when handling , as well as hatching in a non contaminated room and actually had hatched in my closet because that was still untouched.
Culling the chicken it's too late. Your flock has it by contact. Many adult birds can survive it because immunity they've developed over time.
I think you can get a blood sample for Marek's. For bodies, I recommend Bronson animal disease clinic, in Kissimmee Florida. They have done more than 10 for me. For $50 or less, they do a full necropsy. If you think Marek's, they will diagnose for that as well. I really like them. The overnight or 2nd day air is expensive, however Bronson animal disease lab has a plan where they pay it and it's cheaper for them. (that's something new)
If anyone has any Marek's question, ask me . I've lived with it for 9 years and read every piece of information as well. And I think that chicken people want the book stuff but also the true life of been there, done that. In my signature my friend has put the Marek's information -all of it in one spot and did it some years ago. I think it's the best info we can get at this time. I could go on and on if asked but I'll stop here for now.
