Help!! Marek's Disease??

[Nambroth]

Say it is merricks? Whats my best option? Culling my entire flock and cleaning all bedding and dust out ans scrub coop with bleach before i get now chickens? Plus get rid of all feed and feeders?

Even if you do as you describe, If you have Marek's, it will not rid your yard of the disease. It is highly viable in the environment, and can live for months or possibly years. It's in the very soil where you live now. The efforts to remove it from your yard, house, and chicken areas would have to be extreme and even then might not fully work.
There are options open to you but they require care. The first logical step is to be sure that you have the virus. There is a link in my signature that shows what I went through with Marek's and how we confirmed that it was in fact Marek's.

If you confirm that you have Marek's:
- It would not hurt to clean the coop and chicken areas well. You cannot reasonably get rid of the virus, but you can reduce its numbers. Your chickens will always shed it, but keeping things clean reduces the amount in their environment. Cleanliness has nothing to do with a bird getting Marek's or not, but anything you can do to reduce stress and disease vectors can only help. It may also reduce the possibility of it being carried on the wind from your location. I use a virucide like OdoBan to clean the coop.
- You can keep all of your current birds, as it must be assumed that they have all been exposed by now. Culling them won't do much to help. Marek's is shed through the dander of the birds and is very, very viable. They will either build immunity and live (but shed the virus forever), or will develop symptoms and then get 'better' and live (some birds live for years after showing symptoms, some weeks or months), or they will pass away.
- You can breed your birds that survive, and hope for them to pass immunity to the chicks. You will probably still lose some chicks. This has worked for others with Marek's in their flock.
- If you buy or get new birds, ou can only ever buy day-old vaccinated chicks, OR chickens that were vaccinated at one day old for Marek's, and hope for the best. It really depends on what strain of Marek's you might have, and what strains they are vaccinated against. The vaccine isn't a cure or a preventative but just a boost to help them build immunity. Vaccinated chicks must not be exposed to the virus for at least 1-3 weeks after hatching.
- If you confirm Marek's, it's important that you never sell or give away your chickens, as it can spread the virus to others. Please be aware that it can also travel on your clothing, shoes, hair, etc... so if you have friends or family with chickens steps might be considered to reduce their exposure (such as changing shoes and clothes, etc).

 

[ems chicks]

Okay thankyou for your help, if i have another die i will try to get a necropsy to confirm, i hope i dont have merricks in my coop, i am going to try putting my hen back on redcell to boost her vitiamins incase she has a deficiency, i have purina layer pellets i can give her allthough the agway crumble is supposed to be a complete nutrition and i always have extra grit outfor them. I did see somthing on another thread about st johns wort curing merricks, worth trying i guess id rather do that than watch a bird suffer.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote: OMG!!!! I thought you were more experienced than Haunted and me!!! It's good to see you're just the same experienced!
I would say MAREK'S Too, but it's worth trying everything there is before saying it's Marek's. I would start with some vitamins, and anything else anybody can suggest.

What I did as well is I got 2 shipping coolers, and called the state animal disease lab for instructions and send a form to fill out. This way, I am well prepared to send a chicken off without problem or hesitation. I know one day I'll use them. Ems chicks, this is not aimed at you, it's just easier to not start another post, LOL. Just saying it's easier when you're prepared.

 

[seminolewind]

Hi, and thanks a lot.

This disease is really confusing.

If i vaccinate my chickens they can still get infection but they will not suffer the simpthoms of illness and they become a carriers and can infect others- right?

Yes, but not from the vaccine.

In this case its crazy. have to vaccinate all from this now or start my flock from beginning.

You can't start over, if you have it, it's on your property.
And there is no guarantee that in vaccinated chickens i buy is no disease...
I have about 20 vaccinated chickens. Since I started, not one has died from Marek's. .

Its interesting that i had also turkey chickens living together and they didnt get sick. (ore they become carriers without simpthoms?)
Thanks again and have to say- best forums and posts- really helpful!
I believe that turkeys may give chickens some resistance. Also , right now, I've hatched 2 chicks from my exposed birds and sat on by my exposed bird, and not being vaccinated. The sitting hen is one who was an egg laid by an exposed hen, and hatched by an exposed hen, did not get the symptoms. Her and 6 others.

It's confusing .

 

[seminolewind]

Quote: DITTO

 

[SilkiesnFrizzle]

Seminolewind....How prevalent is Mareks in Central Florida?

 

[Haunted55]

Say it is merricks? Whats my best option? Culling my entire flock and cleaning all bedding and dust out ans scrub coop with bleach before i get now chickens? Plus get rid of all feed and feeders?

Okay, from the picture of the Barred, this may be Marek's, but the descriptions of the symptoms 'healing' with Duramycin really, really give me pause. So many of these disease, that chickens, get mimic each other. Unless you have one necropsied, you will never know for sure. Regardless, the is something going on there and let's assume it is Marek's just to answer your questions.

If you do go the culling route, you need to make sure that the area this is done is completely cleaned up after. Cleaning the coop is going to be a bit of a chore. First, get some Oxine with the activator. http://www.revivalanimal.com/Oxine-Fogger-and-Oxine-AH.html This is where I got mine and if you do some research on the product, you will find that it kills the Marek's virus in one application. Bleach will kill it as well but it will be a long, drawn out, process as bleach only absorbes so far and then you have to scrap and apply more and then wait some more. There are other products out there that will also get rid of it eventually but if time is important to you, go with the Oxine.

Empty coop of feeders, waterers, etc., these can be put into something with hot water and bleach and left to soak. 1 cup bleach to 1 gal. of hot water. Keep everyone and thing away from this, as this strength is toxic to pets and people. Anything else that can be taken from the house should be at this point. Roosts, nesting boxes, anything you can get out of there. If there is power going to the coop, this is the time to shut it off. Next I use a powerwasher to clean everything. Even with this you may have to scrap. You need to get into the corners, any cracks, windows, everywhere. If the roosts don't come out, you will need to do the top, bottoms, sides, every surface. Same with the nesting boxes if they don't come out. Once you have everything down to paint or bare wood, walk away and let it dry. If your coop is bare wood a day or two as you want to wood dry so it will soak up the Oxine when you apply it. Take the time to scrub up the feeder and waterer when the water is cool enough to do so. Do not rinse, set in the sun to dry. Once they are dry plastic bag them for later. Any lights and bulbs you have used in their house will also have to be cleaned, in fact anything used for them has to be considered infectious and either trashed, burned or cleaned. Look around and make sure nothing is overlooked. After the building is dry, you can apply the activated Oxine. An apple tree sprayer works well for this. You will want to have a painters suit [Home Depot or any building supply store has the 1 use suits for fairly little money], goggles and a face mask while doing this as this stuff is a serious cleaner and disenfectant. Saturate the inside of their house, as in puddles on the floor, everything in there. Walls, ceiling, windows and especially the corners. Once done inside, go out and do the outside of the building as well. Also do the ground around the building, heavy saturation. Any runs that your chickens used should be removed from the building and the ground turned over and over with a rototiller and lawn lime. You will need to get down a good 2' adding the lime over and over. The lime will burn the virus out of the ground. You can also use a lawn spreader to apply the lime to the rest of the area your birds have been in the past. Another thing that can work is one of those propane ice melters. If your temps are still going below freezing at night, this may work. Marek's can be killed with rapid heating and then freezing. It bursts the cell walls. After the temps drop to below freezing, take the melter out and heat the ground up well, anyplace you know the birds have been. You will want the steam to stop coming from the ground so you will know it has been heated well. I would do this a couple of times to be sure.

Once the house is cleaned and sanitized and dry, paint it inside. No bare wood anywhere. You can even make up a whitewash to paint if you choose. Whitewash is simply hydrated lime mixed with water until you get a nice 'paint' consistancy. Paint it on or make it a bit thinner and it can go on with a sprayer. Whitewash is cheap and also serves the purpose of repelling bugs, sealing up porus wood surfaces and it's safe to use around animals.

TMI? Yeah, I know, but this is the reality of Marek's. Also, even though you have done everything above, you are still not ready for new chicks. Nope, you will need to wait for a couple of months at least before new birds can be safely put into that house. You need to let the lime work on the ground as well. Something else that is also missed with Marek's, if this is in fact Marek's, it's in your house as well. I tell everyone that if their birds do have Marek's, then they had better start thinking they have Marek's as well. No we can't get the virus, but we sure as heck can carry it around on our clothes, hair, skin.....Your birds have Marek's, you spend time and care for these birds, you become a carrier. No way around it. Super cleaning your house will help get rid of most of it. Lysol will get rid of it after a few applications, deep or constant vacuuming goes a long way as well.

 

[Haunted55]

I forgot to mention the poop, i know in the flock the poop is usually solid enless i feed them corn then they get diarrhea i have not checked the poop in the cage she is in right now, i just dump it every coubble of days and add fresh bedding, i will check it tomorrow as i just added new bedding not long ago.

Wait....you feed them corn and they get diarrhea? Is this the only time? How long does it last? You may be looking at aflatoxin poisoning and not Marek's. Symptoms can be the same. Stop giving them the corn you now have. Assume it's that and start them on vitamins. Apples, broccoli can be given and will help purge and soak up any toxins in the system. This would also explain why the Duramycin helped them get better.

http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AnimalHealth/statevets.aspx use this link and find your State Vet and contact their office to see if this is an issue in your area. Save the bag of corn and see what it would cost to have it analyzed. Here in Maine it's sent out so it runs around 35.00. It may be cheaper for you. If your birds start showing improvement after taking the corn away and adding in vitamins, apples and broccoli, I would seriously think about having it tested. If you still have the bag it came in the lot number and date of production is printed on the bottom where it is sewn together. You need these.

I have to do chores now, but afterwards I will get you some info on the aflatoxins.

 

[ems chicks]

I put my sick hen on redcell vitiamin additive and she is trying to stand this morning, i only give them corn about once a week and they usually get diarrhea for a few hours maybe the rest of the day at most. I just switched from the starter grower feed to the purina layer pellets, unfortunately i just gave them more corn i had not read your post yet.

 

[Nambroth]

To clarify what I was saying... I think it is safest to assume you have Marek's or similar viruses (leukosis, etc) if similar symptoms present, and practice associated bio-security, while treating for other possibilities.

What I mean by this is act as carefully as if you have the virus present (closed flock, precautions against spreading it). Treat any birds presenting symptoms for other associated diseases, based on the best guess as to what it could be. That way if the bird does not have Marek's there is a chance to cure it, but if it does have Marek's, you are preventing the spread thereof, and be prepared for necropsy and/or testing if the bird perishes.

I apologize if it seemed that I was jumping the gun; it's just that the posture of the bird photographed above combined with the losses and symptoms of the other chickens is very suspicious. That in itself is not a diagnosis though. I do hope it is not Marek's and something more easily treated.