Marek's Disease...?!

[orrpeople]

Yes...they are then carriers. Nice, huh?

Although, less so than those who are in full outbreak form. So, technically those birds who are not vaccinated are more aggressive carriers of the disease once they have it.

 

[orrpeople]

The vaccine does not infect a bird with the disease. It is a form of the Marek's virus from a turkey strain.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

The vaccine does not in fact a bird with the disease. It is a form of the Marek's virus from a turkey strain.

Correct! The Turkey Marek's virus... I believe is even administered in dead form... not live virus.

Birds with the vaccine are not necessarily "carriers" or infected. But if they do become infected carriers... you simply may not ever know if you have the vaccine on board.

 

[orrpeople]

It's true that they can still get it... and you just wouldn't know. It's the development of the tumors that is rare... once vaccinated. They could have it and you just won't know... again my point that the vaccine ALLOWS it HIDE in your flock... just a little bit easier than without... since it can hide even when not vaccinated.

I completely agree that a 4 week quarantine is NOT nearly enough for MANY things to present themselves. And more than that... many of us don't have enough space to truly implement a PROPER quarantine. It was 8 weeks after getting those chicks that Marek's presented. Did it come from them or already here??? One set of chicks I got I didn't realize were broody hatched until it was too late. Same time frame, none of them presented.

They say Silkies are more susceptible (not sure I buy it). Both my losses last year were a Silkie and a Silkie cross. Maybe coincidence. So far none of this years juveniles have presented. And I breed Silkies. Though I like to think I'm breeding and selecting for resistance... it's possible that the strain I saw was not very viral. My vet said I should still have sent the body for necropsy to check for any secondary issues even though I was pretty sure it was Marek's, as was the state vet I talked with by phone.

To me things like infectious bronchitis are far more scary than Marek's... now that I have dealt with it. MAYBE that would present in a 4 week quarantine. And you can take care of lice and worm type stuff.

Even if you buy at the feed store... you GOTTA know your feed store. Both mine to sell chicks from locals on occasion and that equals possibilities in my mind. Possible their site is contaminated.

I think there's a happy "in the middle" here. To prevent major losses, (also to spare me a lot of feed, since pullets regularly do not show signs until POL and you've put a lot of $ toward them already) I vaccinate about 75% of my flock. The other 25% are my "canaries in the mine" if you will. I watch them closely for any signs of sickness. If one gets sick, then I will know they're all potentially carriers. (Although I strongly believe it's probably in every flock, just dormant.)
Like @EggSighted4Life said, keeping your flock happy, healthy, clean, and stress free are the keys to avoiding an outbreak.

 

[AnimalGeek23]

Thank you all!
I’ll be sure to vaccine my chicks, just in case.

(I also just figured out how to use these emojis.

 

[HonaHelp]

I think there's a happy "in the middle" here. To prevent major losses, (also to spare me a lot of feed, since pullets regularly do not show signs until POL and you've put a lot of $ toward them already) I vaccinate about 75% of my flock. The other 25% are my "canaries in the mine" if you will. I watch them closely for any signs of sickness. If one gets sick, then I will know they're all potentially carriers. (Although I strongly believe it's probably in every flock, just dormant.)
Like @EggSighted4Life said, keeping your flock happy, healthy, clean, and stress free are the keys to avoiding an outbreak.

I've had a happy, healthy flock for a year and 4 months. Never an issue. None vaccinated. They are still fine...BUT--my new bird(only one left from 4 shipped in pullets now)--is still away from them...she seems just fine --SO FAR. I'm really crossing my fingers that my flock has already been exposed outside...from wild birds, maybe?..and will sail right through introduction. It;s that or culling her. Can't keep her in the garage forever. It's been 7 weeks!!!. My fear is that they will not sail through and I will lose my whole Svart Hona flock. Eeeek. Who knew my little hobby of keeping chickens would be so stressful??!!!

 

[orrpeople]

Research all you can is all I can say. I had a 'closed flock', like a dummy--I got 4 new birds...and while on week SIX of quarantine...lost 2, have one sick now. So--now--the virus is ON my property...if it wasn't already. It blows in on the wind, comes in on shoes, clothes, hair... Are my original flock resistant? Who knows. I guess I will find out eventually. I could lose them all, or not. This disease stinks. Marek's incubation period...from the time a bird is exposed to it--is 3 to 25 WEEKS before they show signs. So---a 4 week quarantine is NOT long enough for this virus to rear it's ugly head. Once you have it--you have it. A 'vaccinated' bird, CAN --although rare--still get it. ..once exposed definitely can spread it.... It lives for a very long time in the environment. I never even heard of it, until my new birds got sick. I'm no expert, but--have researched and am still researching...... never stop learning.

Did you have a necropsy to confirm. There are other ailments that mimic one another.

 

[bikergirl]

Is this Marerks disease???

 

[rebrascora]

@bikergirl That appears to be a newly hatched chick from what I can make out of the photo, in which case, no it cannot have Marek's. There is a 3 week minimum incubation period with Marek's and it cannot be passed down through the egg, so a chick under 3 weeks cannot have Marek's.

@AnimalGeek23 The only thing that others have not mentioned is that there is a school or thought and scientific study which proposes that the Marek's vaccine may be contributing to the "hotter" strains of the virus which seem to be becoming more prevalent. Since the vaccine is imperfect and does not prevent infection of the bird by the virus, there is the opportunity for it to live longer in the bird and therefore potentially mutate into a more aggressive form.