Darkling Beetle

[wenracr]

After keeping chickens for my entire life, I have had my first encounter with Merek’s in my flock. Tears flowing. So naturally, I began looking into causes of the virus. (I discovered chickens that have been vaccinated can still get one of the 6 mutated strains of it, and my Bielefelder who recently died was indeed vaccinated.)
The information on spreading the virus said that the Darkling beetle and its larvae (mealworm and superworm) can spread it. Many posts I read at various places online have said they give their chickens mealworms and I also raise superworms from the darkling beetle for my chickens. They have also eaten the beetles themselves.
The information I’ve read talked about the broiler houses being overrun by darklings and that they eat all kinds of old and nasty things, whereas mine do not. They have a clean diet. So could they have been the cause of a Merek’s outbreak? I’m very upset that I have potentially been the cause of their demise.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your diagnosis. Were all of your chicks vaccinated at the hatchery? Have you obtained any chicks or pullets from a breeder? I’m not sure how you could pinpoint the source of Mareks, but darkling beetles do tend to spread diseases in poultry houses. Some people have ordered chicks from a large national hatchery who were supposed to all be vaccinated, but have still lost chicks to the disease. There could have been a vaccine failure or some could have been missed. A Mareks vaccine takes 2 weeks to give immunity. The commercial vaccine available online apparently is not as good as the vaccine given in most hatcheries.

 

[wenracr]

Sorry about your diagnosis. Were all of your chicks vaccinated at the hatchery? Have you obtained any chicks or pullets from a breeder? I’m not sure how you could pinpoint the source of Mareks, but darkling beetles do tend to spread diseases in poultry houses. Some people have ordered chicks from a large national hatchery who were supposed to all be vaccinated, but have still lost chicks to the disease. There could have been a vaccine failure or some could have been missed. A Mareks vaccine takes 2 weeks to give immunity. The commercial vaccine available online apparently is not as good as the vaccine given in most hatcheries.

Yes, they were vaccinated both from a reputable breeder and a hatchery. I’m reading up on the disease, and everything says they can still contract Merek’s even if vaccinated since there are 6 mutated strains of it. Information I’ve read says they can contract it through wild birds, other chickens, and the darkling beetle. I have wild birds galore here and I also have live darkling beetles in beetle and larvae form. It is indeed impossible to pinpoint the exact source as you said. The reason for my post is to inform others that live darkling beetles and their larvae i.e mealworms and superworms, are more dangerous to have around than not. Up until now, I had no idea that the larvae and beetle could potentially be so dangerous. Thank you for your response, as it reminded me that it’s nearly impossible to pinpoint exactly where it came from, and in turn, I can ease up a bit on berating myself so much.