Mareks experience needed. prelim results pg 9

[seminolewind]

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Like Krista said , having a cold is not a symptom of Marek's. And with the eyes, it's usually one eye that turns gray or cloudy. I hope you find out what your chicken had.

 

[fowlman01]

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I don't know what breeders do. I really don't know what I would do since I don't sell chickens. I think if you had a problem, you would know by now. So it's hard to worry about something that may not be there. But if you are Marek's free, then I'd be careful about who you add to your flock. The only safe thing is to hatch eggs.

Mareks is pretty much everywhere here in California. I would guess that is the case everywhere else as well. I have been a breeder for over 40 years and I have used breed resistance for over 35 of those years. I don't worry about selling birds and have never had anyone say that my birds have had problems. It has pretty much become a non issue here now. I have birds over 10yo here.

You have two choices: vaccinate or create breed resistance. This article is a simple explanation of the virus. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index … word=marek
vaccination is not 100% effective.

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
Like Krista said , having a cold is not a symptom of Marek's. And with the eyes, it's usually one eye that turns gray or cloudy. I hope you find out what your chicken had.

Look for an irregular pupil in the eye. It will not be round or oval, but rather a strange shape.

Walt

 

[klf73]

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Krista, it's certainly NOT your fault. I just hope it's not taking any more of your birds.

Unfortunately I lost my first 100% English orp last night

. The other 5 will probably pass as well soon. I have been watching them and noticed they look/act like the other affected birds. I wish I figured it out sooner as I may have been able to spare these ones. These were hatched weeks after my first affected ones.*sigh*
My 10 to son cried last night when we lost it

. I was supposed to hatch this fall and I don't think I can handle any more, this is so much work and heartbreaking...

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Krista, it's certainly NOT your fault. I just hope it's not taking any more of your birds.

Unfortunately I lost my first 100% English orp last night

. The other 5 will probably pass as well soon. I have been watching them and noticed they look/act like the other affected birds. I wish I figured it out sooner as I may have been able to spare these ones. These were hatched weeks after my first affected ones.*sigh*
My 10 to son cried last night when we lost it

. I was supposed to hatch this fall and I don't think I can handle any more, this is so much work and heartbreaking...

I'm sorry , Krista. I've had several different symptoms going on.
I would cry too.
I have 9 eggs in the bator and knowing they will be vaccinated is helping me move on.
It's super heartbreaking. I know eventually (maybe now) that things are slowing down or stopping.
I don't think you could have prevented this from happening at some point. And now you know what to do to prevent more deaths from Marek's. Like me, try to focus on what you can do, rather than what you can't do or change.
I would hate to not continue to admire the breeds you have. They are really special.

 

[tiki244]

So sorry for your pure English Orps. What a beautiful breed.


I am very disgusted with the source, whomever they are. This is very maddening!!!

ETA: In the Chicken Health Handbook Gail Damerow says there is a blood test that can be done to see if chickens have a certain b factor that is genetically inherited to resist this disease. Unfortunately it will not do much good for the time being.

 

[tiki244]

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I don't know what breeders do. I really don't know what I would do since I don't sell chickens. I think if you had a problem, you would know by now. So it's hard to worry about something that may not be there. But if you are Marek's free, then I'd be careful about who you add to your flock. The only safe thing is to hatch eggs.

I believe, but not completely sure if this is accurite, that if you have Turkeys you will not have mareks. The vaccine is made from a turkey base (not to be confused with turkey baster)

 

[tiki244]

I just thought of something else that can be tried. The use of Oxine in the drinking water and sprayed around the birds and disinfecting everything (without the activator). http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/oxine.htm A friend of mine, who shows silkies, uses oxine at the shows. She spritzes it on her bird right when she coops in. She starts the chicks out on day one with oxine in their water and swears by their health. And in the incubator mixed with the water. She also has sebrights and they can be somewhat delicate chickens and she has a healthy flock of them too. I started using oxine also, although I do not show very much. Spraying it in their face when they breath in would be benificial for them. As would useing a vaporiser in the coop. I think the link I gave gives the intsructions for this. I am sure it will not cure the total problem, but may bring some relief to some birds, maybe enough to be able to hatch a new batch and then cull the older ones. Hope this helps a little.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
I don't know what breeders do. I really don't know what I would do since I don't sell chickens. I think if you had a problem, you would know by now. So it's hard to worry about something that may not be there. But if you are Marek's free, then I'd be careful about who you add to your flock. The only safe thing is to hatch eggs.

I believe, but not completely sure if this is accurite, that if you have Turkeys you will not have mareks. The vaccine is made from a turkey base (not to be confused with turkey baster)

I love a good sense of humor!
If turkeys were the answer, everyone would have turkeys and there would not be any nasty Marek's
The good thing is that the older a chicken gets, the more natural immunity from age they have.
The vaccine has stuff in it both from turkeys and chickens. And it's a live vaccine. SoI imagine that the virus in the vaccine has been genetically altered.

 

[seminolewind]

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Tiki, good point. I think Oxine is great for disinfecting, and combined with frequent removal of dirty shavings, it would certainly cut down on the spread and probably the severity.
I'm not sure I would want to spray it in their faces, I would do some research on that before I do it.
But you have given me a good idea about spraying the coop walls and such on a schedule.