Marek's Disease question

[lbidder114]

I lost a few birds over the winter from Marek's (diagnosed by the state lab) but some of my remaining were vaccinated. My question is are they considered carriers of it and should I keep them, can they still spread the disease?
Thanks

 

[Clucksworth]

Were all the chicken diagnosed with marek's killed or removed from your flock?

Marek's is spread by dust, poo and feathers. To make sure none of your other chickens get Mareks you need to make sure all your coops are completely cleaned out so the coop doesn't carry the disease.
Marek's also only effects birds under 8 months old, so if your chickens are older than that they won't get it. However they may carry the disease for a while and could pass it on to younger birds. I'm not sure how long they will carry it for or how to eradicate it quickly.

 

[lbidder114]

The last one I lost was a bit over a year and I have not been able to completely clean out and disinfect the coop due to the freezing temps it's just starting to warm up here but we are due to get another 2-4 inches of snow tonight. I have not culled any, I only have 8 and 3 of them I know were vaccinated and 2 I know are over a year(same age as the last to die) and the others I have no idea how old they are they were given to me buy someone that didn't know much about them or have them very long.