Eat or not to eat because Marek's

[Chickythom]

Hello all. Me again. We have Marek's in our flock. Females tend to spontaneously die and our males tend to present with neuro/ abnormal gate. I know it is not transferable to humans or dogs. I know eggs are ok too. We currently have a 10lb ish bird with the inability to walk. Should we eat him? Would you? Should my dogs? Also, it is possible some in our flock have tumors we are unaware of and may detect during processing. Should/would you eat them? We are new to this. Seems to be various schools of thought pertaining to my questions. Anyone with personal experience? Thanks in advance!

 

[rebrascora]

Marek's birds usually suffer muscle wastage, so there isn't enough on them to make it worth while processing them by the time you realise it's Marek's or try to save them and fail. If you have a 10lb cockerel exhibiting symptoms of Marek's and planned to eat him anyway, then go ahead before he starts wasting. From what I have read there is no problem eating a Marek's bird and I would have no concerns about it. If they start to exhibit sickness and stop eating, then that usually indicates that there is a secondary infection (possibly E coli) but being careful with hygiene whilst processing and cooking well, should negate the risks.

 

[Chickythom]

Thank you!

 

[Chickythom]

So this also leads me to ask... our "sudden death" cases...we intend on culling the females for the freezer too. When processing them, beyond obvious tumors, what else should we look for to ensure we are not eating tainted meat? Often we have no idea they are suffering of any illness (beyond the known Marek's) until we find three dead. Thoughts?

 

[rebrascora]

If they are alive and look healthy on processing day (apart from any Marek's paralysis, which as discussed, we are going to ignore) then it is reasonably safe to assume they are healthy. The liver will usually give you the best indication from looking at their internal organs. If the liver doesn't look healthy then that would indicate a problem, but not necessarily spoil the meat for consumption. Just wash and cook everything thoroughly. The fact that there are birds with Marek's within the flock does not mean they all have it or will get it.

I'm curious if these are a meat bird flock or dual purpose breeds?

 

[Chickythom]

If they are alive and look healthy on processing day (apart from any Marek's paralysis, which as discussed, we are going to ignore) then it is reasonably safe to assume they are healthy. The liver will usually give you the best indication from looking at their internal organs. If the liver doesn't look healthy then that would indicate a problem, but not necessarily spoil the meat for consumption. Just wash and cook everything thoroughly. The fact that there are birds with Marek's within the flock does not mean they all have it or will get it.

I'm curious if these are a meat bird flock or dual purpose breeds?

As always, you are a wealth of information. They are dual purpose. Beautiful BO stock. Our vet has advised us not to take them to our new land so we are hoping to at least eat them so not to waste the animal. The symptoms/feathers seem to come in waves. No stressors to pin point other than sexual maturity and Texas summer heat. Breaks my heart. The recently affected roo was just starting to develop his sickle tail feathers. I hate this disease.

 

[rebrascora]

Yes I hate it too. The rush of hormones and ensuing unsettled behaviour at adolescence seems to be the trigger for most of my outbreaks but I recently had a 2 year old bird come down with it, I believe due to confinement after being previously free range.... she was a leghorn cross and flighty, so being penned did not suit her, but we had avian flu restrictions imposed here last winter and shortly after being penned, she started going lame. She bravely battled it for 4 months with my support but sadly lost in the end when a bacterial infection set in. No meat on a leghorn at the best of times but she was skin and bone in the end.
I think you are doing the right thing in processing them, so that they do not waste, but very sad never the less and I don't envy you the task. At least your big guy should still be reasonably tender if he is only just getting his sickle feathers. You will want to leave him to rest for a couple of days after processing though before cooking or perhaps, put him in the freezer until the processing is a more comfortably distant memory.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi.

Sorry you are having issues. The research I did also says the meat is safe to eat.

I'm not sure I would eat a bird that actually passed without knowing for sure that was the cause. I also do not envy your task and think that is probably sound advice from your vet.

I recently had to cull a juvenile bird (maybe 11 weeks old) this week with Marek's. I made a kill cone out of a 2 liter bottle and it worked quite well. Tiny bird went in the trash. I wonder if that was the right choice.. hmm.. I use a bleach bottle for my normal sized birds.

Hang in there!

 

[Chickythom]

Thank you! It is hard to tell how big they are given how fluffy they are but when I picked him up he is heavy! Hopefully not just a bunch of tumors. He is still being a chicken but on his haunches. Our first two cases we isolated in the house but after the diagnosis of Marek's I have been more lax. We have one guy with a droopy tail and an abnormal gait we left with the flock as he seems to get along fine and is able to access food and water. He has some ladies who cuddle with him and the main roo seems to leave him alone. He has been holding his own for about a month, surprisingly. The most recently affected roo we put outside of the enclosure with food and water. He likes to stay close the the flock. Our free rangers keep him company too. I have read different schools of thought on this too pertaining to viral load/shed. We simply don't have the room indoors for massive birds who don't realize they are ill.

 

[Chickythom]

Hi.

Sorry you are having issues. The research I did also says the meat is safe to eat.

I'm not sure I would eat a bird that actually passed without knowing for sure that was the cause. I also do not envy your task and think that is probably sound advice from your vet.

I recently had to cull a juvenile bird (maybe 11 weeks old) this week with Marek's. I made a kill cone out of a 2 liter bottle and it worked quite well. Tiny bird went in the trash. I wonder if that was the right choice.. hmm.. I use a bleach bottle for my normal sized birds.

Hang in there!

I am sorry you too are dealing with this nasty disease. We don't eat the sudden deathers as I agree not ideal. We burry them. I know it is recommended to burn them but we don't have a safe way to do that and are often in a burn ban.