Mareks in the flock - but now we’re moving!!

[Folly's place]

Marek's disease doesn't pass in eggs, but will be on the shells. I agree with @Egghead_Jr , and I'd also destroy any equipment that can't be bleached/ sterilized. Boots, car tires, everything that can be actually cleaned, fine. Don't take anything else to your new place!
It's sad, but a great opportunity to start over, with lessons learned.
Mary

 

[davidmpenning]

Marek's disease doesn't pass in eggs, but will be on the shells. I agree with @Egghead_Jr , and I'd also destroy any equipment that can't be bleached/ sterilized. Boots, car tires, everything that can be actually cleaned, fine. Don't take anything else to your new place!
It's sad, but a great opportunity to start over, with lessons learned.
Mary

I didn’t even think about all my chicken stuff!! Looks like I’ll take my waterers and main feeder, and that’s it. Definitely unfortunate, but better to not continue the spread. Thanks for your response!

 

[3KillerBs]

Cull everything- do not sell or gift birds. Burn the coop. Start over.

Disease is not a gift to pass on to others. Moving is a perfect opportunity to stop possible spread of the current situation and starting fresh in a new area is ideal.

This, exactly.

It would be deeply irresponsible to take any risk of infecting your new neighborhood with a disease.

 

[3KillerBs]

I didn’t even think about all my chicken stuff!! Looks like I’ll take my waterers and main feeder, and that’s it. Definitely unfortunate, but better to not continue the spread. Thanks for your response!

I personally think that you should trash everything and start new.

Bag it up so no one can scavenge it from the trash and infect their flock.

 

[Iluveggers]

I personally think that you should trash everything and start new.

Bag it up so no one can scavenge it from the trash and infect their flock.

Better yet, bleach it, break it & crack it first, then bag it up.

 

[centrarchid]

According to advice given I should have culled my flock years ago. I can get them checked and they now come up negative. The recommendations you can find via extension services were developed first and foremost for commercial flocks kept under conditions where Mareks is exceptionally virulent. The virus is everywhere in the environment.

 

[davidmpenning]

I personally think that you should trash everything and start new.

Bag it up so no one can scavenge it from the trash and infect their flock.

Yup…probably :/ As much as I’d love to save those items (and my wallet!!), I would rather be safe than sorry. There’s no point to risk bringing any of that dander with me.

 

[bhawk-23]

I agree with starting over. And not bringing anything with, absolutely nothing. And cleaning shoes and clothing that are used for cleaning the coop or better yet, toss those too.

We have a Mareks positive flock also and a fresh start would be magnificent. But it is not possible for us right now.

Extra question, if you remove all the chicken items and burn the coop, will you inform the next owners? They will have an infected flock if they decide to get chickens so that may decide on vaccinating chicks if they do. It’s in your dirt, environment and possibly the house.

This is also my dilemma for when we sell our house.

 

[davidmpenning]

How far should I go with trashing things? We do a lot of gardening, projects, and we have 3 kids under 5 yrs old - so we have a lot of stuff in our yard. And our flock free ranges pretty regularly, so they’re in, on, and around it all. We obviously can’t afford to throw away all our kids’ stuff and gardening equipment…

So where would you draw the line for what you keep and what gets trashed?

 

[davidmpenning]

I agree with starting over. And not bringing anything with, absolutely nothing. And cleaning shoes and clothing that are used for cleaning the coop or better yet, toss those too.

We have a Mareks positive flock also and a fresh start would be magnificent. But it is not possible for us right now.

Extra question, if you remove all the chicken items and burn the coop, will you inform the next owners? They will have an infected flock if they decide to get chickens so that may decide on vaccinating chicks if they do. It’s in your dirt, environment and possibly the house.

This is also my dilemma for when we sell our house.

When we first move, we’ll keep this house as a rental property - so the coop will go back to being a garden shed. But if our tenants want chickens, then yes, I’ll inform them of the risks and everything I’ve learned. Before we move, I’ll make sure to do deep cleans with pressure washers, vacuuming, and oxine/vikron-s (both known to kill the Mareks virus) in the coop, run, and other places in the yard. And really, Mareks only lives in the environment for maybe 6 months (according to all the research I’ve read). So after a year down the road, this property should be fairly safe. If we end up selling it within the year or two, I’ll definitely say something to future buyers. If it’s years down the road, well…I hope I remember!

And I’m sorry y’all are going through this too. It’s horrible. If/when you do start over and the land has had time to rest and cleanse, will you only buy vaccinated birds? That’s something I’m considering…I don’t want to go through this again.