Mareks experience needed. prelim results pg 9

[klf73]

no results yet. I had dh cull the one orp that couldn't walk and put him in the box to the lab. I will update when I get the results....I sent a silver laced brahma and the blue orpington, I wanted to send one from each pen

 

[ReikiStar]

Just wanted to let you two know how much I feel for you. It was only one hen that we had rescued that had it, but I miss her every day!

My heart really goes out to you guys, it's so hard to watch them deteriorate and then make the decision to "set them free". I'm just so sorry you're both dealing with multiple birds too.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Krista, I wonder if culling would interfere with the results-I'd rather cull the little guy. He's just sleeping all the time, maybe that's a good thing.

Reikistar, thankyou for the kind words. It's a sad thing. I have 5 out of 10 left, and out of the 5, one seems recovered, and one's dying. I hope this is the end of it.

 

[Erica]

I've just read this thread, with interest. I haven't got a lot of experience with Marek's, but I do seem to remember many people saying that if you keep the ones that don't show symptoms, and breed from them, you get resistant birds. Apparently Marek's resistance is highly heritable.

It seems to me this would be a good option rather than culling; you could also avoid the drudgery of giving vaccines. Of course I'm not trying to tell anyone else what they should do, and if saving every bird is the goal then vaccines would be the best way. It's just that if Marek's resistance is strongly genetic, then after the first generation of losses you shouldn't lose many birds at all. (I also seem to remember reading that quarantine is virtually impossible with Marek's, and no amount of hygiene will get rid of the virus clinging to dander and dust...

)

I also remember reading (on a scientific site) that scientists bred a Marek's vaccine that kills at nearly 100% mortality in 2 weeks from hatch. This was a big cause of celebration for the lab, as it gave them an incredibly lethal pathogen to test vaccine strength against. However I do wonder what happens if that virus gets out...

Good luck whatever you do, and I'm sure you're doing things the best way for your situation... Sorry also for the awful situation you're in. I'm not wholly sure what I'd decide and think you're dealing with it with great clarity and strength.

Erica

EDIT:
Here's a link to a patent for the process I mentioned (where the first stage of vaccine production is to selectively breed a virus of extreme lethality, i.e. death from neoplasms within 10 days). I couldn't find the original material but this at least spells out what happens during the process of vaccine creation. http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/3981771.html

 

[seminolewind]

Well, I believe that the virus entered my flock by way of my silkies, because I had purchased a pullet, and the rest were hatched here. A few months after adding her to the flock, my roo bacame paralyzed, gray eye, wasting, paralysis moving higher and higher. From that point, the other 4 silkies, the purchased one died. I had a roo and 2 pullets left, and hatched 4 more, no problems. Then 2 more, no problems. However, the Polish chicks were in with them, and started dying with Marek-like symptoms. The 9 silkies are fine. I'll bet the younger ones that were hatched had immunity (6 more), the 3 original did not show any symptoms. But the Polish chicks were hatched by the silkies. The silkies may have the immunity, but still shed the virus-my theory.

 

[klf73]

Quote:
Krista, I wonder if culling would interfere with the results-I'd rather cull the little guy. He's just sleeping all the time, maybe that's a good thing.

Reikistar, thankyou for the kind words. It's a sad thing. I have 5 out of 10 left, and out of the 5, one seems recovered, and one's dying. I hope this is the end of it.

they told us culling by cervical dislocation (or beheading) won't affect anything. They told us not to worry about blood loss because they take blood directly from the heart. Ours was wasting away so we culled.

 

[seminolewind]

Good. Because the little guy is suffering, he can barely hold his head up, and he has this neck/head tremor. Poor baby.
I don't know if I can get him out in the mail today. Can he keep in the fridge til Monday?

 

[seminolewind]

Krista, did you buy a box anywhere special? Or just a regular people cooler?

 

[klf73]

Quote:
the closest agricultural college had it, I just called and they had it for me when I got there....

 

[klf73]

ok, BAD NEWS......

I just got the preliminary report,

the necropsy shows Mareks on the brahma, the orp was inconclusive, they are going to do a histology to check the orp

that means dh will be culling close to 75 chicks

he is waiting on the histology first, but these were all birds I was going to give away but don't want to risk infecting someone else's flock. It will not be a good day at all

I am waiting for them to tell me when the histology will be done, I just gave permission to do it and accepted the responsibility of all extra costs to test. This just sucks on so many levels