Mareks disease

[Sandrina]

I found out recently ( by necropsy) that my flock has been in contact with mareks. It’s my first year w chickens and this news has been heartbreaking. I lost a few birds with similar symptoms over the summer so I was suspecting as much but the confirmation is so devastating. One by one they seem to be showing lameness and within 2 weeks need to be culled. My question is how do I disinfect a sand coop (10X12) and run ( 10 X 30) to try and save the birds I have left? I’m culling another hen today I will have 23 birds.
The vet recommends Vikron but where do I start?? Does all the sand need to be replaced? Also, it’s cold out (Ontario, Canada) do I really want to be spraying their coop? Doesn’t seem right. Help!

 

[azygous]

Since you are not going to cull your entire flock at this time and start over there is no need to disinfect. Your chickens have all been exposed to the virus and now carry it. Disinfecting won't remove the virus from their cells.

You might decide to maximize the health of you surviving chickens and see how it goes over this next year. There's no hurry to make any decisions about culling and starting over. Not every chicken carrying Marek's will die from it.

If this is a very powerful strain and does end up sickening the rest of the chickens, then you can decide to cull the ones that are left and disinfect. It probably would involve removing all of the sand and doing a deep disinfecting with something along the lines of activated Oxine. Then you would need to give the premises time to rest. Usually one year is enough, two is better. Unfortunately, Marek's is one of the longest to live in soil. Time and disinfecting and sunlight can remove what's left of the virus. But to be safe, I strongly suggest buying only vaccinated chicks to start a new flock.

 

[Sandrina]

Since you are not going to cull your entire flock at this time and start over there is no need to disinfect. Your chickens have all been exposed to the virus and now carry it. Disinfecting won't remove the virus from their cells.

You might decide to maximize the health of you surviving chickens and see how it goes over this next year. There's no hurry to make any decisions about culling and starting over. Not every chicken carrying Marek's will die from it.

If this is a very powerful strain and does end up sickening the rest of the chickens, then you can decide to cull the ones that are left and disinfect. It probably would involve removing all of the sand and doing a deep disinfecting with something along the lines of activated Oxine. Then you would need to give the premises time to rest. Usually one year is enough, two is better. Unfortunately, Marek's is one of the longest to live in soil. Time and disinfecting and sunlight can remove what's left of the virus. But to be safe, I strongly suggest buying only vaccinated chicks to start a new flock.

Thank you for your reply. It makes complete sense. The vet also told me any new chicks I add need to be vaccinated. I will ride out the year and see how they fare, focusing on keeping their health strong through good nutrition. I guess it’s all I can do at this point. Thank you again!!

 

[azygous]

Good luck, and keep a positive attitude. You are not alone in this. Many of us have either Marek's or lymphoid leucosis in our flocks. We're here to offer moral support and advice in keeping a healthy flock.