Marek’s management

[rebrascora]

I wish you luck.
You will no doubt be aware that silkies and cream legbars are two of the more susceptible breeds so you may have your work cut out trying to protect them but if you are able to site them away from the others, it is certainly worth a go. I would do your best to create as much space for them as possible. Cramped conditions don't help with Marek's.
Unfortunately a large percentage of private breeders will have Marek's in their flock to a greater or lesser extent and NPIP doesn't cover it, so it is probably in their interests not to get necropsies done so that they can say that they have not been diagnosed with Marek's.... it's a bit of a head in the sand, cop out, because ethically, if they have a Marek's diagnosis, then they shouldn't be selling birds from their flock, although there is no law, as such, to prevent it.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I keep a closed flock and never bring in new birds. I've also never dealt with Marek's.
Your mixed breed chickens that have been exposed to Marek's are of no value to anyone except you as pets. The pure breeds may have value. Many of your birds likely have already been exposed and are resistant.
If it were me, I would immediately remove and cull any with symptoms. Clean out coops with new bedding and disinfect feeders/waterers. Breed for resistance. Even those with resistance may fall prey if they are affected by other disease.
If you are keeping silkies, I'd put them in separate quarters far from those where the other birds are kept.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I keep a closed flock and never bring in new birds. I've also never dealt with Marek's.
Your mixed breed chickens that have been exposed to Marek's are of no value to anyone except you as pets. The pure breeds may have value. Many of your birds likely have already been exposed and are resistant.
If it were me, I would immediately remove and cull any with symptoms. Clean out coops with new bedding and disinfect feeders/waterers. Breed for resistance. Even those with resistance may fall prey if they are affected by other disease.
If you are keeping silkies, I'd put them in separate quarters far from those where the other birds are kept.

Yes, a closed flock sounds really great right now, but, at this point that’s closing the barn door after the horse has run out. I’ve heard silkies are most susceptible but hadn’t heard about the cream legbars. Makes sense as I’ve lost two of three of the youngest cream legbar pullets. I am trying to figure out what to do now from a management perspective. The main coop has group 1 and 2 birds, no disease there yet, but it is close to the tractor, where the gull with Marek’s was housed. That’s why I want vaccinate this group, because there have been so Marek’s signs yet and that’s where silkie and cream legbar pullets are kept. Our silkie cockerel was with the Marek’s death gull. He is in the tractor alone now, but he’s very lonely. That can’t be great for stress, no signs in him yet. That’s why I thought about housing him with black copper Marans 2 mo cockerel, although I don’t currently have housing for all of these separate groups...

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I wouldn't waste my time with vaccinating the birds you already have.
The Marek's vaccine is in a race with the Marek's in your environment. If chicks are exposed to virulent Marek's before the vaccine can give resistance, they can succumb.
Every day after hatch minimizes the effectiveness of the vaccine. It won't do anything to help birds over a week of age and very minimal effectiveness past one day.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm so sorry!
Moving forward, it's a trade-off between introducing your birds to each other now (slowly) when they are younger, or doing it later, when they may be less tolerant of newbies.
I guess vaccine may do no harm, but it's likely way too little, too late for your current flock. Good food, good living conditions, and minimizing other issues are what you can do, and I would also euthanize any who become ill.
You can try the 'breed for resistance' thing, realizing that you will have more losses every year, can't rehome any birds, and try to get your affected % lower.
Newly purchased chicks, or incubated chicks, can be vaccinated as day-olds, and then completely isolated from your environment for two or three weeks, to develop immunity.
I would probably go that route, and avoid Silkies, for example.
I've been very careful about biosecurity, and lucky, and have avoided this curse for a long time. I do necropsies on dead birds too!
All the best,
Mary