I sold a young rooster to someone in February. They recently texted me to let me know that he died and the vet who did the necropsy said it was Marek's (No PCR test). Their flock is small and was vaccinated, so it's assumed by the vet the Marek's originated in my flock.
I was shocked because I have never seen any signs of Marek's in my flock. Last year we had two unexplained death's of a young pullet (necropsy didn't show anything obvious) and an older Rooster (did not necropsy, but assumed heart trouble/failure) but the rest of the twenty-odd chickens in the flock haven't shown any signs of being anything but healthy. So my question is, how possibly or likely is it I have a flock of chickens with Marek's with no visible health issues and this one rooster that has been out of my care for months dies from Marek's?
This is not a who to blame post, but one of concern for my flock and my peace of mind since it doesn't seem like there's a reliable test I can do if the Marek's is dormant. They free range, so it's not unlikely they've been exposed.
I was shocked because I have never seen any signs of Marek's in my flock. Last year we had two unexplained death's of a young pullet (necropsy didn't show anything obvious) and an older Rooster (did not necropsy, but assumed heart trouble/failure) but the rest of the twenty-odd chickens in the flock haven't shown any signs of being anything but healthy. So my question is, how possibly or likely is it I have a flock of chickens with Marek's with no visible health issues and this one rooster that has been out of my care for months dies from Marek's?
This is not a who to blame post, but one of concern for my flock and my peace of mind since it doesn't seem like there's a reliable test I can do if the Marek's is dormant. They free range, so it's not unlikely they've been exposed.