Mareks experience needed. prelim results pg 9

[fowlman01]

Mareks is an airborne virus. It doesn't live in the litter or cracks. Oxzine is a marvelous product for most things, but I'm not sure it will work when you have exchanges of air.

Walt

 

[seminolewind]

Marek's is spread in the dander/dust of chickens. It can survive for a long time. It is spread by the air. You can kill the virus by disinfecting surfaces that dander is on (everywhere). If you disinfect your walls and floors in your coop and change the litter frequently, you can lessen the amount of exposure, which may lessen the amount of chickens that die from it.

 

[seminolewind]

Walt, I know very little about breeding for resistance. How would I go about starting this? What worked for you?

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
Generally some of the birds exposed live. You keep breeding from the birds that do not show the effects of the virus......or you get a strain of the breed you have that is already resistant to Mareks. In my case I had to get a new strain of Silkies, but the other breeds I had developed a resistance to Mareks over time. It took a few years. There is no easy fix.

Walt

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Generally some of the birds exposed live. You keep breeding from the birds that do not show the effects of the virus......or you get a strain of the breed you have that is already resistant to Mareks. In my case I had to get a new strain of Silkies, but the other breeds I had developed a resistance to Mareks over time. It took a few years. There is no easy fix.

Walt

Okay. That may mean that my original flock can breed resistant chicks. Maybe that's why my silkies have hatched 3 batches of chicks and those chicks are all now adults. But the last eggs were bought Polish , and the chicks had no resistance. (simply put)

So now that really gives me an edge with silkies. Their offspring will have resistance, AND in 3 hatches, they fail to produce a male, even by 2 different roos. I have 8 silkies that have not hatched a male.

 

[tiki244]

Wow you better keep those silkies.

I bought 8 silkie chicks a couple years ago and 7 were cockerals.

Now I am in need of a roo. Hmph!

Hope you can breed some resistant chicks sem!

 

[WooingWyandotte]

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.

My mistake I called it a cold. Didn't know what else to call it, I'm treating him with duramycin and vitamin and electrolytes in his water. As for cloudy does that mean the eye is clouded over or cloudy around the pupil? Does the gray come in overnight or edge in the eye? Because he does have a blue on the end of his eye...

I don't know what that is.

And klf73 I'm so sorry you lost your English Orp, those are beautiful birds. Sending hugs your way

 

[NewToFarming]

Went to the avian vet today and the initial thought is Mareks. I did have them euthanized there. I could not prolong their suffering. I then took them to the University poultry lab and the vet there was nice too. She will check for everything but explained in detail about Mareks to me. She will call me tomorrow morning to let me know if she found anything initial on them and the labs can take as long as 2 to 6 weeks.
Thanks for making this thread to make others more informed and I will keep you posted on the results I get back.

 

[JusticeFamilyFarm]

I did end up putting my BR pullet, Pixie, down yesterday

and shipping her off for a necropsy (thank you again for the links- that is how I got the info for the lab I used). The prelim results state Marek's seems likely and the histology was sent out to confirm. I posted about it here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=7079294#p7079294

Thanks again for your help and support.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Tiki, let me know if you want to test hatch some silkie eggs. I am curious to see if they continue to lay all females.