HELP ME PLEASE!! I've already lost 2 girls from Marek's. I need guidance for future PLEASE

[Kiki]

The best thing you can do is keep your flock as stress free as possible. Stress alone, of adding to a flock, can cause the disease to rear it's ugliness.

Keep your flock on a balanced diet. Don't over feed treats. Balanced diet alone can prevent other serious problems.

 

[TillyPeeps]

Thank y'all for your responses. I should have clarified... the vet that did the first necropsy did say it could be Marek's OR avain Leukosis... that both diseases present the way Parmesan's cancer was.
I THOUGHT he also said Marek's caused Avian Leukosis... but I'm probably confused and it was just that Marek's was the cause of the tumors/ cancer.
So, here are my new questions... and thank yak in advance for any guidance. I have researched this subject A LOT and am finding so much conflicting information. I feel like it helps to get the info from real people and go from there...

1) Is it important that I definitively diagnosis Marek's vs Avian Leukosis? Would there be different approaches for one verses the other?

2) I've been running on the assumption I shouldn't add and new girls to this flock because they are infected. I know I can't give any away but I'm VERY interested in the responsibility I have for the health of potential new babies. I've been under the impression that once this flock has all gone to the Rainbow Bridge I'd have to undergo very intense decontamination and wait anywhere from a few months to YEARS before getting any new girls.

3) Obviously my girls are adored pets and their well-being is paramount. I worry about any of my current flock suffering with tumors but since they are such stoic little buggers, I'm unaware of any pain they are experiencing. I check them thoroughly for signs (fading color of comb, not eating, poopy butt...) but I'm not sure if that's enough. What else can I do for them?

I know I'm throwing a lot out there, lol. Again, thank y'all for feedback and education. I'm sure there will be more questions to follow...lol.

Marek's and Avain Leukosis are very different. Your chicken can NOT get Marek's from hatching eggs, but can get Avain Leukosis. Marek's do more damage to young chicks, while Avain Leukosis mostly kills adults. There are 3 types vaccinations for Marek's, but no vaccination for Avain Leukosis. Marek's virus can survive in environments for up to a year or even longer, and Avain Leukosis virus will die very soon in environments. You most likely have Avain Leukosis in your flock. If that's the case, you can wait until your current chickens passed way and start a new flock right away. I have Marek's in my flock, so I just have vaccinated chicks and had no problem ever since. Depends on the strains of Marek's virus, the vaccination not always works well. I can just say it works for my case. Of course, all may chickens are carriers. But I don't sell or give away my chickens. They are just family pets.

 

[Kiki]

I don’t believe future chickens need to be vaccinated. That may make things worse in the long term. Long term, you want to breed a flock that’s naturally resistant to Mareks. Breed your survivors that don’t develop symptoms. In a couple of generations, your birds may not ever show signs of ever having it.

I agree with this.

 

[Jezalilly]

I don’t believe future chickens need to be vaccinated. That may make things worse in the long term. Long term, you want to breed a flock that’s naturally resistant to Mareks. Breed your survivors that don’t develop symptoms. In a couple of generations, your birds may not ever show signs of ever having it.

I don't have a rooster, so breeding isn't on the table. This is the first time I've heard anyone say not to vaccinate. What are the pros/cons of vaccination?

 

[Kiki]

Read these both:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/neoplasms/marek-s-disease-in-poultry

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/neoplasms/lymphoid-leukosis-in-poultry

 

[Kiki]

I don't have a rooster, so breeding isn't on the table. This is the first time I've heard anyone say not to vaccinate. What are the pros/cons of vaccination?

Vaccinating doesn't prevent the disease. It can prevent some of the symptoms of the disease.
If you have vaccinated chicks you may not know you have the disease continuing on in your flock.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Thank y'all for your responses. I should have clarified... the vet that did the first necropsy did say it could be Marek's OR avain Leukosis... that both diseases present the way Parmesan's cancer was.
I THOUGHT he also said Marek's caused Avian Leukosis... but I'm probably confused and it was just that Marek's was the cause of the tumors/ cancer.
So, here are my new questions... and thank yak in advance for any guidance. I have researched this subject A LOT and am finding so much conflicting information. I feel like it helps to get the info from real people and go from there...

1) Is it important that I definitively diagnosis Marek's vs Avian Leukosis? Would there be different approaches for one verses the other?

2) I've been running on the assumption I shouldn't add and new girls to this flock because they are infected. I know I can't give any away but I'm VERY interested in the responsibility I have for the health of potential new babies. I've been under the impression that once this flock has all gone to the Rainbow Bridge I'd have to undergo very intense decontamination and wait anywhere from a few months to YEARS before getting any new girls.

3) Obviously my girls are adored pets and their well-being is paramount. I worry about any of my current flock suffering with tumors but since they are such stoic little buggers, I'm unaware of any pain they are experiencing. I check them thoroughly for signs (fading color of comb, not eating, poopy butt...) but I'm not sure if that's enough. What else can I do for them?

I know I'm throwing a lot out there, lol. Again, thank y'all for feedback and education. I'm sure there will be more questions to follow...lol.

I can't find the post, but there's a woman that had the same thing happen to her flock. She added chicks from healthy flocks within a five mile radius( Amish barn yard mixes that had fighting birds) and now doesn't have the issues with birds getting sick.

 

[Kiki]

Also in order for the vaccine to actually work you cannot bring vaccinated day old chicks home where you have the disease on the land. The vaccinated chicks must stay away from the disease for the first few weeks of life in order for the vaccine to help prevent some of the symptoms.

 

[Jezalilly]

Marek's and Avain Leukosis are very different. Your chicken can NOT get Marek's from hatching eggs, but can get Avain Leukosis. Marek's do more damage to young chicks, while Avain Leukosis mostly kills adults. There are 3 types vaccinations for Marek's, but no vaccination for Avain Leukosis. Marek's virus can survive in environments for up to a year or even longer, and Avain Leukosis virus will die very soon in environments. You most likely have Avain Leukosis in your flock. If that's the case, you can wait until your current chickens passed way and start a new flock right away. I have Marek's in my flock, so I just have vaccinated chicks and had no problem ever since. Depends on the strains of Marek's virus, the vaccination not always works well. I can just say it works for my case. Of course, all may chickens are carriers. But I don't sell or give away my chickens. They are just family pets.

Great info! Thank you.
I'm really wanting to get a couple of the "giant" breed hens. There is a breeder here in New Orleans area that I've talked to. It was only puzzling to me that he does not vaccinate any of his birds. I've read that if the bird is not vaccinated immediately after hatching, there is no point in doing it later. Still trying to understand that...

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I don't have a rooster, so breeding isn't on the table. This is the first time I've heard anyone say not to vaccinate. What are the pros/cons of vaccination?

Vaccination doesn’t stop the spread of the virus. It only makes it more likely that the virus won’t be fatal. That means a chicken may live a longer life as a carrier and spread the virus for the duration of its life. Natural immunity, on the other hand, can actually stop the virus from taking hold.

One problem with vaccination is that it will make it not practical for you to tell the difference between a chicken that’s naturally immune or resistant vs a chicken that is carrying and shedding the virus that otherwise would have died but for the vaccine.

There is a strain of thought among some biologists, which I agree with, that the Mareks vaccine is the primary reason Mareks is so common today. Had the vaccine never exited, carriers would have likely lived short lives and not spread the virus much and would have also been removed from the gene pool so that naturally resistant birds would have been doing most of the breeding and passing their immunity on.