Marek's Despite Vaccine?

[BigECarter]

I have lost 5 of 9 of my pullets/roos, which were 2 months old when I got them. A necropsy on one showed consistency with Mareks.

60% loss is consistent for an unvaccinated flock. I have been in touch with the breeder, who has had no losses with his flocks, including those from the se hatch that he still has. I was surprised to hear that the birds were vaccinated for Marek's, which should have resulted in a 10% loss.

My question: with a 3 hen/1 rooster ratio, I need more hens. I will be getting vaccinated chicks, hopefully this fall. Is there a vaccine-resistant strain of Mareks that I may be dealing with? Or can I assume that there probably an issue with the vaccine my chicks received that reduced its effectiveness and I should be ok with new chicks.

Thanks!
E

 

[purpletree23]

Just because it seems like Mareks doesn't mean it is. I would get more chicks and make sure they were vaccinated but I would also get them from another breeder. Unfortunately when it comes to making money not everyone is honest about what is going on with their flock.

Do the usual things with the new chicks as far as temperature and fresh water and please feed medicated feed. This could just be a bump in the road and never happen again.

Sorry for your loss and good luck with the new group.