Hi there- we've had several deaths in our flock that look suspiciously like Marek's disease but all of the deceased birds had their father in common- a silver EE rooster who ultimately succumbed to the disease himself. No other birds have been effected... could there be a link or am I just trying to make sense of random losses? Thanks!
The disease itself spreads horizontally. The virus is not transmitted thru the eggs (inside). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_disease_transmission The genetic (lack of) resistance by definition is propagated vertically. In classic Marek's, diseased animals fail to reproduce. Your rooster would have to be somewhat resistant already. The chicks get infected in their first days by the dust from the old/other animals. The hatching eggs should be incubated dustfree for that reason, and the chicks should be raised away from the other animals' dust for a few weeks.
