I have birds with Maraks disease and they act normal

[adladladl]

Years ago, we got Mycoplasma and culled our entire flock. It was devastating but it was what we were told to do since we breed birds to sell. We culled even the healthy ones.

Now, I have 100 birds. Two got sick. I took them to be tested when they died and it was Maraks disease. I think 2 more got sick and died but the rest are healthy. Never get sick. Run around acting normal.

I know they don't pass it to the eggs but what do I do with the rest. I can't sell them. It would be different if they acted sick but nothing acts sick--every though there's a good chance they all got it. I know that I can breed them and sell the babies but the vaccination is almost impossible to use when you hatch different days. You have to discard it after 2 hours.

Can you tell me what you did with your healthy flock? We need to be able to sell birds eventually. I'm just amazed at so few dying and the rest being so healthy.

Besides that, I am told, if I get rid of them, that there is a good chance of getting Marak's' again since my girls free range. I read something like 80% of chickens not in a commercial chicken house have some form of Marak's disease. If we cull these, we might get it again with the next bunch so we have defeated the entire thing by culling.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would stop trying to raise chickens to sell. Your birds even without symptoms will infect other flocks if sold or rehomed. You have Mareks in your environment, and it could last for months to years after the last chicken is gone. They all have been exposed. It is wonderful that no others are showing symptoms at this time. I would not cull them, but enjoy the chickens and their eggs. It is unfortunate that they got Mareks, but many on this forum deal with it in their flocks. They seem to have some birds who are immune to the symptoms. You may see some get symptoms later on, especially in times of stress. Mareks is worldwide, many handle it in their own way. Some vaccinate any new chicks, while others don’t.

There are many opinions, and some misinformation among chicken owners. Do you own research with scientific articles and not be by reading opinions here. Some people here on BYC are very educated and I respect their opinions, but there are many posts that are not accurate or backed up with scientific facts. I can recommend articles for you to read if interested.

 

[adladladl]

I would stop trying to raise chickens to sell. Your birds even without symptoms will infect other flocks if sold or rehomed. You have Mareks in your environment, and it could last for months to years after the last chicken is gone. They all have been exposed. It is wonderful that no others are showing symptoms at this time. I would not cull them, but enjoy the chickens and their eggs. It is unfortunate that they got Mareks, but many on this forum deal with it in their flocks. They seem to have some birds who are immune to the symptoms. You may see some get symptoms later on, especially in times of stress. Mareks is worldwide, many handle it in their own way. Some vaccinate any new chicks, while others don’t.

There are many opinions, and some misinformation among chicken owners. Do you own research with scientific articles and not be by reading opinions here. Some people here on BYC are very educated and I respect their opinions, but there are many posts that are not accurate or backed up with scientific facts. I can recommend articles for you to read if interested.

I did say that I did not plan on selling the ones that I have now. There is nothing wrong with selling the babies--as they don't spread it unless they are near the other chickens.
Selling chickens is how I make my living. It is my side job so not raising chickens to sell is not an option.
I'm just trying to decide what to do with these cause they are so healthy and it would be a shame to cull them. I culled every single chicken with Mycoplasma--even the ones not sick. I can't legally sell them or give them away--or these. I can their babies.
As for the ground, it lives in it 5 months up to years but there's a cure. It's called Oxine and I have the ability to spray everything from the chicken houses to yard with that. That's my plan once I figure out what to do with these--my plan before I start over.

 

[Debbie292d]

I did say that I did not plan on selling the ones that I have now. There is nothing wrong with selling the babies--as they don't spread it unless they are near the other chickens.
Selling chickens is how I make my living. It is my side job so not raising chickens to sell is not an option.
I'm just trying to decide what to do with these cause they are so healthy and it would be a shame to cull them. I culled every single chicken with Mycoplasma--even the ones not sick. I can't legally sell them or give them away--or these. I can their babies.
As for the ground, it lives in it 5 months up to years but there's a cure. It's called Oxine and I have the ability to spray everything from the chicken houses to yard with that. That's my plan once I figure out what to do with these--my plan before I start over.

Oxine does not kill Marek's.

I recently did research, an experiment, then wrote this article. I know two people personally who are now doing this. Odoban kills Herpes 2/Marek's.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/sterilizing-hatching-eggs-from-mareks-mdv.79104/

 

[Eggcessive]

Any chicks you sell would have a chance of being carriers unless those eggs are hatched elsewhere. I would be horrified to buy chicks from someone with a Mareks positive flock, no matter how much you try to keep them from exposure. Mareks is spread in feather dander, and you know that stuff gets everywhere. It can remain infectious for months to years.

There is a product that kills Mareks and other pathogens in coops and barns called Virkon S tablets added to water in a spray bottle. Here is a link for Amazon, and QCSupply has it a bit cheaper:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...ZsDy-2PtRBZqgTHTFzyBOBPW50hBnDexoCOOcQAvD_BwE