Know Mareks in flock with new babies arrived

[Tor14]

Hello!

We just got our necropsy back of our 1 year old hen we put down last week due to prolonged illness. Turns out she had Mareks which caused tumors and egg yolk peritonitis. We were new chicken owners and lost a few this year which we now figure were most likely Mareks related.

2 questions: how can I support my existing flock of 9 to be the healthiest they can be and diminish the likelihood of Mareks symptoms developing throughout their lives? I know it’s somewhat inevitable that they may get sick with it as it’s in their system, but we won’t be culling our flock

2. We JUST got our new chicks from the hatchery unvaccinated. What, if anything, can we do to best support them when it’s time to add them to our flock, beyond keeping them separate for their whole lives?

Thank you and any tips going forward to support our flock is appreciated!

 

[SilverBirds]

The only way to prevent against Mareks is by medicating them. Mareks is spread through dust/dander that the chickens breathe in. This makes it fast moving and it can kill flocks quickly. It can take a few days for a chicken to start show symptoms but once it does there is no cure. It is very rare that chickens survive from Mareks and if they do they can't live with a flock anymore as they are forever carriers of the disease.

You need to keep your chicks away from the other hens. Thoroughly sanitize when interacting between the two. You can feed them medicated chick food.

If they really DO have Mareks the contaminated flock needs to be culled. Most of them will die anyways and it reduces the spread between your baby chicks and other peoples flocks.

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

I’m so sorry!

 

[Tor14]

The only way to prevent against Mareks is by medicating them. Mareks is spread through dust/dander that the chickens breathe in. This makes it fast moving and it can kill flocks quickly. It can take a few days for a chicken to start show symptoms but once it does there is no cure. It is very rare that chickens survive from Mareks and if they do they can't live with a flock anymore as they are forever carriers of the disease.

You need to keep your chicks away from the other hens. Thoroughly sanitize when interacting between the two. You can feed them medicated chick food.

If they really DO have Mareks the contaminated flock needs to be culled. Most of them will die anyways and it reduces the spread between your baby chicks and other peoples flocks.

Just one hen had confirmed Mareks. What I had read led me to believe that then it’s most likely all other chickens in the flock have it in their system as well. Is that a correct assumption?

Is it too late to vaccinate chicks at home?

 

[SilverBirds]

Just one hen had confirmed Mareks. What I had read led me to believe that then it’s most likely all other chickens in the flock have it in their system as well. Is that a correct assumption?

Is it too late to vaccinate chicks at home?

If one hen has it, they all mostly likely have it. Giving your new chicks medicated feed and keeping them away from the other hens is your best bet.

I'm really sorry.

 

[aldarita]

I'm sorry you were caught into this situation. You didnt know you had Marecks in your flock until your hen's necropsy was done.
I myself have been dealing with this for several years. I do have 18 hens of different ages, they go from 9 years old to 1 year old. Having Marecks in your flock does not necessarily mean all will die of it. Some will have a long life, like my main hen who is 9 years old but definitely a carrier. The problem is the young ones, they usually get sick at an early age. I am only getting vaccinated chicks and my flock is closed. They can still get Marecks but it is not totally devastating.

Unfortunately you are too late to vaccinate your chicks. All you can do is watch them and hope they develop resistance and survive. You will lose some however. Hopefully the strain of virus in your flock is not very virulent.
Separating your chicks from the rest of your flock in my opinion is not a good option. There is no way you can effectively keep them free of marecks. You will have to keep them in a complete different environment very far away from your existing flock and still you can bring the virus in your clothes and remember, this virus is air born and transmits easily.
Now that you know the virus is there, you have to make all precautions, like keeping a closed flock and only get vaccinated.
chicks. Throughout the years I have lost chicks and adult chickens, some of them I know had marecks, some others died of other unrelated issues. I still enjoy having my flock. I keep them as healthy as possible trying to avoid stress as much as I can so stress won't weak their immune system.

 

[Tor14]

I'm sorry you were caught into this situation. You didnt know you had Marecks in your flock until your hen's necropsy was done.
I myself have been dealing with this for several years. I do have 18 hens of different ages, they go from 9 years old to 1 year old. Having Marecks in your flock does not necessarily mean all will die of it. Some will have a long life, like my main hen who is 9 years old but definitely a carrier. The problem is the young ones, they usually get sick at an early age. I am only getting vaccinated chicks and my flock is closed. They can still get Marecks but it is not totally devastating.

Unfortunately you are too late to vaccinate your chicks. All you can do is watch them and hope they develop resistance and survive. You will lose some however. Hopefully the strain of virus in your flock is not very virulent.
Separating your chicks from the rest of your flock in my opinion is not a good option. There is no way you can effectively keep them free of marecks. You will have to keep them in a complete different environment very far away from your existing flock and still you can bring the virus in your clothes and remember, this virus is air born and transmits easily.
Now that you know the virus is there, you have to make all precautions, like keeping a closed flock and only get vaccinated.
chicks. Throughout the years I have lost chicks and adult chickens, some of them I know had marecks, some others died of other unrelated issues. I still enjoy having my flock. I keep them as healthy as possible trying to avoid stress as much as I can so stress won't weak their immune system.

I really appreciate this encouragement and you sharing. Getting into chicken keeping we researched a ton but clearly weren’t well versed in all the pieces as there is so much to learn. Would you be open to chatting more one on one about this?

 

[aldarita]

I really appreciate this encouragement and you sharing. Getting into chicken keeping we researched a ton but clearly weren’t well versed in all the pieces as there is so much to learn. Would you be open to chatting more one on one about this?

Yes, I will be happy to help you sharing my experiences of several years. I don't know if you can still PM me (I used to do this years ago) but I don't know if it is still available in the forum. Fell free to contact me

 

[rosemarythyme]

If one hen has it, they all mostly likely have it. Giving your new chicks medicated feed and keeping them away from the other hens is your best bet.

What medicated feed in the US counters Marek's? Medicated feed in the US usually contains amprolium, for coccidiosis.