I wish I knew.. DO YOU KNOW?

[mquadem]

Do you know we have access to a VET LAB that test for Avian diseases by just printing and filling out a form then mailing it along with a SIMPLE sterile Q-tip swab, stool or blood sample in a ziplock bag. Including but not limited to Marek's disease coccidia and many many more serious illnesses that our flocks fall victim to. (Results the same day they receive the package) Cost $18 "priceless" http://www.vetdna.com/

 

[duluthralphie]

I am doubting this place....Or Purdue University and the State Poultry board here in Minnesota is lying to us...

When you said test for Mareks' I had to look at the site. They say they test for it. I have always been told a necropsy is needed to diagnose Mareks..

Purdue U says so too. I think. I thought the tissue sample of the area infected needed to be used. Thus the bird has to be dead.

Diagnosis: Since there is no truly pathognomonic gross lesions of MD and because MD lesions can closely resemble those of lymphoid leucosis (LL), the clinical diagnosis of MD has been considered difficult in practice. Infection of MDV, not necessarily accompanied by the clinical disease, can be detected by virus isolation or agar gel precipitation tests of viral antigen in feather tips or antibody in serum. These are useful features to differentiate Marek's disease from lymphoid leucosis.

https://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/2005/Spring/mareks.htm


I found this also:
https://ask.extension.org/questions/176168

Unfortunately, tests for Marek's disease are done post-mortem (after the chicken has died). The chicken(s) would need to be submitted to a diagnostic lab for the tests to be done. You should contact the University of Colorado's veterinary diagnostic lab - http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/vdl/Pages/default.aspx - to see about testing.
If Marek's is a problem, it would be good to get any new chicks vaccinated for Marek's disease.


Dr. Jacquie Jacob




@casportpony Am I right on this? Have you heard of this?

 

[casportpony]

I did here about a Marek's blood test that available at Texas A and M. To the best of my knowledge UC Davis still checks by necropsy.

@Nambroth or @seminolewind might know more.

 

[duluthralphie]

I had a long talk to the state vet here and had a necropsy done. I thought I had Mareks. It turns out I was right. It affects about 1 in 10 birds of two breeds I have.

New Hampshire Ext service says turkeys will inhibit or prevent Mareks, they are wrong.

Marek's is everywhere, most birds have a resistance to it. It is carried by tweetie birds, it blows in on leaves and dust. It is in the soil. You cannot escape it.

Two breeds of mine seem immune, but I am vaccinating all my birds from now on to prevent losses. Also because I show I should vaccinate for more.

To me vaccinating is double edged, once you start you have to forever because the natural resistance is bred out. What to do.

 

[mquadem]

I am doubting this place....Or Purdue University and the State Poultry board here in Minnesota is lying to us...

When you said test for Mareks' I had to look at the site. They say they test for it. I have always been told a necropsy is needed to diagnose Mareks..

Purdue U says so too. I think. I thought the tissue sample of the area infected needed to be used. Thus the bird has to be dead.

Diagnosis: Since there is no truly pathognomonic gross lesions of MD and because MD lesions can closely resemble those of lymphoid leucosis (LL), the clinical diagnosis of MD has been considered difficult in practice. Infection of MDV, not necessarily accompanied by the clinical disease, can be detected by virus isolation or agar gel precipitation tests of viral antigen in feather tips or antibody in serum. These are useful features to differentiate Marek's disease from lymphoid leucosis.

https://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/2005/Spring/mareks.htm


I found this also:
https://ask.extension.org/questions/176168

Unfortunately, tests for Marek's disease are done post-mortem (after the chicken has died). The chicken(s) would need to be submitted to a diagnostic lab for the tests to be done. You should contact the University of Colorado's veterinary diagnostic lab - http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/vdl/Pages/default.aspx - to see about testing.
If Marek's is a problem, it would be good to get any new chicks vaccinated for Marek's disease.


Dr. Jacquie Jacob




@casportpony Am I right on this? Have you heard of this?

 

[mquadem]

I called and expressed my doubt to regarding testing for Marek's on a live chicken and they assured me that it is possible. With that said, they were happy to explain it to me and to be honest it was all foreign to me

Her test came back negative for what it's worth.

It was a stretch, I am nursing a 3 year old sick hen that has been in the house for 8 weeks, got better and took turn for the worse and has now become weak and very unsteady on her feet. After I first brought her in I seen one worm and treated right away!

I took her to see a avian vet and he ruled out parasites, worms, not egg bound vent is good. He took x-rays and there was a tiny shadow below her ovaries. He said he normally finds much larger tumors in avian reproductive issues however, he quoted it was very "small". To me, it appeared to be her unused ovary . $300 later, we went home with Loxicom for inflammation and pain (today marks 5th day on it and no sign of improvement) I asked for a ANTIBIOTIC he said he didn't feel anything was presenting itself to justify a antibiotic.. This coming from the same vet that over a year ago had a casual conversation with me about being anti-antibiotic in backyard chickens because of the "superbug" I respect that however, she is NOT a meat bird she is my PET

Everything has been removed off the shelves the last 2 years that actually works and is worth anything to treat them without a prescription. After a $300 bill and the stress if caused traveling with her to and from the vet, I can't afford to find another vet and only hope they will actually truly try to TREAT HER!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Texas A&M used to have a link for Mareks testing for under $30. Last year, that seemed to disappear. After doing more research, I think it would be a waste of time to do testing on a live bird for Mareks, since most literature states that is has to be done on feather shafts or tumors obtained from a dead bird. I am not sure how many Mareks tests come back as false negatives either, since many report getting negative results on one chicken, then later another necropsied chicken comes back positive. A friend is head of microbiology at a nearby hospital lab, and he has told me in the past that mycoplasma is very hard to culture, which may mean that many MG positive hens test negative for that as well. I don't know a lot about Elisa testing, which many poultry testors use.

 

[casportpony]

Maybe someone with a known positive bird could get the test done?

 

[duluthralphie]

Maybe someone with a known positive bird could get the test done?

I had a known Positive bird, BUT I had to kill the bird to check it.

I watched the necropsy, it was interesting, I think I could make an educated guess if I was to do a necropsy on one. The State vet showed me where to look for it.

The state told me in Minnesota every flock will lose 5-10% of the birds to Marek's. Most people will not even think it is Mareks. Mareks is just that common.

There are 6 strains of Mareks now, 100 years ago it was one strain. The last 5 have mutated since the early 80's.

You will read literature saying Turkeys wll help prevent Mareks,,,that is a wives tale. I have a ton of turkeys, they live right with my chickens. I still had at least one mareks death this year and I suspect 10 or so. I raise a LOT of birds, 10 would be 3% of what I kept.

Also the state vet (with a ton of Mareks experience) Said if you have a bird die between 12-25 weeks it is most likely Mareks.


Another common myth is the Marek's vaccine will give your flock Mareks...... Not possible. The vaccine used is a turkey disease closely related to Mareks. It is not a live Marek's disease.

Mareks is not transmitted vertically. It is horizontal. If you have a clean incubator, hatcher and brooder the chicks will not have Mareks. Until they go outside or see another bird....BY CLEAN I mean disinfected, that includes the eggs before going into the incubator. and the equipment.

Mareks takes about 10 weeks to incubate.

I am debating vaccinating, I have no idea what to do. If I vaccinate I run the risk of ruining the resistance and immunity most of my birds have. If I do not I will lose 5-10% every year.

Once I start vaccinating I must continue. For me this is mainly about my flock. The chicks I sell are well isolated and never outside with the other birds. Some here say I go overboard on disinfecting, I do not think so.


Mareks will last years in the soil and on litter. A bird that is resistant or immune will transmit to other birds. If you go to a fair or bird show, you will bring Mareks home. A Tweety bird flying over and crapping will drop mareks...

Mareks is to the bird world what the cold or flu is to humans. Most will get it and you will not notice. Some wll die and you will notice.

Do not think avoiding other birds will keep mareks away. It will not. One trip to the farm store or TSC will bring Mareks home to you if you do not have it..

The state vet told me it makes not difference what you do because all flocks have it.


Testing is a waste of time to me. I now figure. Dead bird under 7 months Mareks. Wry Neck Mareks.... Lame leg or limp...Mareks... Drooped wing Mareks.

I plan to blame everything on Mareks after learning about it..

I asked the state vets why they do not kill flocks or quarantine for Mareks,,,,their reply. Because every flock has it. We would have to kill every bird in the state and keep the state bird free for 60 years...

 

[casportpony]

I had a known Positive bird, BUT I had to kill the bird to check it.

I watched the necropsy, it was interesting, I think I could make an educated guess if I was to do a necropsy on one. The State vet showed me where to look for it.

The state told me in Minnesota every flock will lose 5-10% of the birds to Marek's. Most people will not even think it is Mareks. Mareks is just that common.

There are 6 strains of Mareks now, 100 years ago it was one strain. The last 5 have mutated since the early 80's.

You will read literature saying Turkeys wll help prevent Mareks,,,that is a wives tale. I have a ton of turkeys, they live right with my chickens. I still had at least one mareks death this year and I suspect 10 or so. I raise a LOT of birds, 10 would be 3% of what I kept.

Also the state vet (with a ton of Mareks experience) Said if you have a bird die between 12-25 weeks it is most likely Mareks.


Another common myth is the Marek's vaccine will give your flock Mareks...... Not possible. The vaccine used is a turkey disease closely related to Mareks. It is not a live Marek's disease.

Mareks is not transmitted vertically. It is horizontal. If you have a clean incubator, hatcher and brooder the chicks will not have Mareks. Until they go outside or see another bird....BY CLEAN I mean disinfected, that includes the eggs before going into the incubator. and the equipment.

Mareks takes about 10 weeks to incubate.

I am debating vaccinating, I have no idea what to do. If I vaccinate I run the risk of ruining the resistance and immunity most of my birds have. If I do not I will lose 5-10% every year.

Once I start vaccinating I must continue. For me this is mainly about my flock. The chicks I sell are well isolated and never outside with the other birds. Some here say I go overboard on disinfecting, I do not think so.


Mareks will last years in the soil and on litter. A bird that is resistant or immune will transmit to other birds. If you go to a fair or bird show, you will bring Mareks home. A Tweety bird flying over and crapping will drop mareks...

Mareks is to the bird world what the cold or flu is to humans. Most will get it and you will not notice. Some wll die and you will notice.

Do not think avoiding other birds will keep mareks away. It will not. One trip to the farm store or TSC will bring Mareks home to you if you do not have it..

The state vet told me it makes not difference what you do because all flocks have it.


Testing is a waste of time to me. I now figure. Dead bird under 7 months Mareks. Wry Neck Mareks.... Lame leg or limp...Mareks... Drooped wing Mareks.

I plan to blame everything on Mareks after learning about it..

I asked the state vets why they do not kill flocks or quarantine for Mareks,,,,their reply. Because every flock has it. We would have to kill every bird in the state and keep the state bird free for 60 years...

Great post! In California Marek's was the number one cause of death in all birds necropsied.