Do Your Baby Chicks Really Need Marek's Vaccination?

[leadwolf1]

1000 doses of vaccine would cost $19.95 so it's not that expensive to purchase...but, I didn't want the wrong information out there confusing people.

thank for saying this I got scared ! I mean like I didn't want to spend more money on vaccinations for my whole flock!

 

[ManuelsChickens]

1000 doses of vaccine would cost $19.95 so it's not that expensive to purchase...but, I didn't want the wrong information out there confusing people.

Yeah but it's better to save then to waste. Lol.

 

[Going Quackers]

Honestly, i think it's a rather complicated topic. I ended up not doing it with my 4 chicks... i thoroughly discussed it with the place i got them from(small private hatchery) .

Cost was not an issue it's so very inexpensive(15 cents a bird?) but ones has to weigh the pros and cons and take there own set-up into consideration.

 

[ManuelsChickens]

That Is cheap lol.

 

[leadwolf1]

One of the problems with the hatcheries is that they refuse to acknowledge that Marek's is making a comeback in small backyard flocks. I was very vigilent in where I got my birds when I first started out, or so I thought, one slip and wham...I've lost 35+ birds to Marek's in less than a year. If I were to do it all over again, I would have had everyone vaccinated.

Honestly, i think it's a rather complicated topic. I ended up not doing it with my 4 chicks... i thoroughly discussed it with the place i got them from(small private hatchery) .

Cost was not an issue it's so very inexpensive(15 cents a bird?) but ones has to weigh the pros and cons and take there own set-up into consideration.

 

[boyd2011]

Continued debate is fine, but the vaccine is inexpensive and the risk is not worth taking with my flock. The information below is from Wikipedia. Please read the green sentences that say it spreads by dander and that newer vaccines are a combination of turkey and chicken marek's. I still believe the lady I bought from is correct, because she has seen customers mix flocks and loss birds. If we are wrong then we have only erred on the side of caution.



Marek's disease is a highly contagious viral neoplastic disease in chickens. It is named after József Marek, a Hungarian veterinarian. Occasionally misdiagnosed as an abtissue pathology it is caused by an alphaherpesvirus known as 'Marek's disease virus' (MDV) or Gallid herpesvirus 2 (GaHV-2). The disease is characterized by the presence of T cell lymphoma as well as infiltration of nerves and organs by lymphocytes. Viruses related to MDV appear to be benign and can be used as vaccine strains to prevent Marek's disease. For example, the related Herpesvirus of Turkeys (HVT), causes no apparent disease in turkeys and continues to be used as a vaccine strain for prevention of Marek's disease (see below). Birds infected with GaHV-2 can be carriers and shedders of the virus for life. Newborn chicks are protected by maternal antibodies for a few weeks. After infection, microscopic lesions are present after one to two weeks, and gross lesions are present after three to four weeks. The virus is spread in dander from feather follicles and transmitted by inhalation.

Prevention
Vaccination is the only known method to prevent the development of tumors when chickens are infected with the virus. However, administration of vaccines does not prevent transmission of the virus, i.e., the vaccine is non-sterilizing. However, it does reduce the amount of virus shed in the dander and hence reduce horizontal spread of the disease. Marek's Disease does not spread vertically. The vaccine was introduced in 1970 and the scientist credited with its development is Dr. Ben Roy Burmester. Before that, Marek's disease caused substantial revenue loss in the poultry industries of the United States and the United Kingdom. The vaccine can be administered to one day old chicks through sub-cutaneous inoculation or by in-ovo vaccination when the eggs are transferred from the incubator to the hatcher. In-ovo vaccination is the preferred method, as it does not require handling of the chicks and can be done rapidly by automated methods. Immunity develops within two weeks.
The vaccine originally contained the antigenically similar turkey herpesvirus, which is serotype 3 of MDV. However, because vaccination does not prevent infection with the virus, the Marek's Disease virus has evolved increased virulence and resistance to this vaccine. As a result, current vaccines use a combination of vaccines consisting of HVT and gallid herpesvirus type 3 or an attenuated MDV strain, CVI988-Rispens (ATCvet code: QI01AD03).

 

[pips&peeps]

The current vaccine available to small poultry farmers is the HVT vaccine.

Hatcheries vaccinate with the rispens (it is freeze dried and needs to be kept in liquid nitrogen) and it has been studied and it does not spread bird to bird. I asked asked a vet at Fort Dodge about it before I started vaccinating my flock because I wanted to see if there would be any "flock immunity" by adding hatchery birds vaccinated with the rispens.

 

[GardenerGal]

I will never buy chicks that have not been vaccinated. Marek's is a horrible disease and I have lost a lot of chickens to it. Once your flock is exposed (and it is very easy for that to happen if there are other backyard chicken owners in your area, or if you go to shows, tailgate swaps, poultry auctions and other situations where there are live chickens or people who own and are in contact with live chickens), it's there to stay unless you get rid of your infected flock and douse the entire area with powerful bleach and start over. My current flock is vaccinated or are the offspring of vaccinated chickens (brooded by immunized hens) and I will not bring in new chickens of any age that are not vaccinated. This seems to have kept the disease at bay for almost four years at this time.

As was already pointed out, vaccinated chickens are NOT carriers. The vaccine is made from a strain of virus that affects turkeys. It is similar enough to the chicken virus that chickens' immune systems will make antibodies that are effective against the chicken virus strain. I don't know whether I would keep turkeys with chickens that are Marek's vaccinated, though, just in case the turkey strain virus gets "loose." Anyone have any insights into that?

 

[leadwolf1]

My daughter keeps turkeys with some vaccinated chickens. The turkeys are fine. The chickens cannot shed a virus that cannot live in their bodies.

To date, I have lost 35+ birds to Marek's. There is no way that you can bleach your entire neighborhood in order to get rid of the virus. It is everywhere since it is spread by the wind through the dander of the infected bird. It is also spread in the feces and saliva. How would you manage to get rid of it???? I wish I could. Anywhere you walk, you are speading it...anywhere your kids, dogs, other pets walk, they spread it.

I will never have unvaccinated birds but, I am finding that the vaccine isn't even much help depending on the viral strength of the Marek's that your flock is exposed to. I have lost 5 out of 9 hatchery vaccinated pullets from this spring.

Marek's is a nightmare!!!! The only thing we have in our arsenal to try and fight it is vaccination and keeping a strict code of biosecurity. Had I know what I know now, I would have started my flock with hatching eggs purchased from a reputible breeder. Remember, even though Marek's doesn't cross through eggs, other nasties do, like LL. I was just starting my flock and purchased chicks from what I thought were clean flocks..apparently one of them wasn't. I am left to pick up the pieces.

 

[CAjerseychick]

My daughter keeps turkeys with some vaccinated chickens. The turkeys are fine. The chickens cannot shed a virus that cannot live in their bodies.

To date, I have lost 35+ birds to Marek's. There is no way that you can bleach your entire neighborhood in order to get rid of the virus. It is everywhere since it is spread by the wind through the dander of the infected bird. It is also spread in the feces and saliva. How would you manage to get rid of it???? I wish I could. Anywhere you walk, you are speading it...anywhere your kids, dogs, other pets walk, they spread it.

I will never have unvaccinated birds but, I am finding that the vaccine isn't even much help depending on the viral strength of the Marek's that your flock is exposed to. I have lost 5 out of 9 hatchery vaccinated pullets from this spring.

Marek's is a nightmare!!!! The only thing we have in our arsenal to try and fight it is vaccination and keeping a strict code of biosecurity. Had I know what I know now, I would have started my flock with hatching eggs purchased from a reputible breeder. Remember, even though Marek's doesn't cross through eggs, other nasties do, like LL. I was just starting my flock and purchased chicks from what I thought were clean flocks..apparently one of them wasn't. I am left to pick up the pieces.

Good points Leadwolf1- I too have a daughter, pets, and 4 unnvaccinated birds (off of Craigslist- they were first hatch of a pair someone had-- maybe I will be lucky and that pair was vaccinated?)- have had them for a few weeks so if one of them has it the area is pretty much infected I guess...I learning alot more now too, but already have these birds-- my 10 day olds are all vaccinated however and seperate from the older birds although they are using the same brooder crate the first set did....