Mareks: Long-term prognosis

[leadwolf1]

I don't know about the wild birds but mine got it from somewhere....and, to the best of my knowledge no one else that I know has had problems. We live downwind from several farms and it is very windy. I won't discount anything. I was more thinking that infected feathers could be blown in the wind from nearby farms. I wish there was more research on this...the problem is real and getting worse and it isn't in just a section of the country, it is widespread. I'm just so frustrated! I've lost all my polish, my original silkies and all but one of my OEGBs...I'm just tired and disheartened...

Leadwolf1, I just wonder if a wild bird can pick up and carry enough of a concentration of virus to infect a chicken.

There's just so little written on scientific experiment with on Marek's. I think we find more reading about people's experiences here.

 

[seminolewind]

It's terrible. I have 5 adult Polish that survived it. I had ten 8+weeks olds all die, Polish. Out of 3 recently, one died. Those 3 were vaccinated. But maybe I didn't do it right.

Just keep vaccinating all your hatched, and hatchery birds. That's all you can do right now. Hopefully most of your birds are adult enough to survive it.

 

[centrarchid]

It's terrible. I have 5 adult Polish that survived it. I had ten 8+weeks olds all die, Polish. Out of 3 recently, one died. Those 3 were vaccinated. But maybe I didn't do it right.

Just keep vaccinating all your hatched, and hatchery birds. That's all you can do right now. Hopefully most of your birds are adult enough to survive it.

Young birds seem more likely to die from condition but there maybe more than one strain of Mareks and outcome is a function of Mareks strain, age of birds, bird strain and other stressors.

 

[leadwolf1]

Right now, I have vaccinated everyone and plan on revaccinating...I feel like I'm a broken record...I've said this same thing on so many posts. You and I are usually right there together trying to learn as much as we can. I was on the thread when your last little polish got sick...it was heartbreaking!

I'm hoping that they can survive...most are coming up on a year old now. But, just when I think it's over another starts with symptoms...I'm up to numbers 22, 23 and 24. It doesn't seem to matter how much I clean or whether or not they have been vaccinated. I have a whole brooder full of babies I hatched from my eggs. They were vaccinated at 1 day old...they are now 9 weeks old and all seem healthy and happy. I keep hoping that some resistance was passed on! Some days, as you know, it is just hard to go on knowing that any of them can be next

It's terrible. I have 5 adult Polish that survived it. I had ten 8+weeks olds all die, Polish. Out of 3 recently, one died. Those 3 were vaccinated. But maybe I didn't do it right.

Just keep vaccinating all your hatched, and hatchery birds. That's all you can do right now. Hopefully most of your birds are adult enough to survive it.

 

[ontimeborzoi]

Maybe I am being dense ( always a possibility! : ), but if it doesn't seem to matter whether they have been vaccinated or not, why continue to do it?

 

[seminolewind]

It was my first time vaccinating, and I thought I got it because there was a bit of blood after the shot. The other one I wasn't sure about, and got 2 shots to be sure. The first one died, I think, of Marek's. The 2 shot one was growing nice and got eaten by a hawk. I cried all night.

Maybe that's why the Germans vaccinate twice, to be sure, and for a booster.

I vaccinate them, currently, at a day old, then at 3 weeks old. They are in the house for a month. Then they go on the patio in a small coop for about 6 weeks. Then move out to the chicken area and kept separate in a coop for a few more weeks, then let on the ground to have some fun. I finally put them in a pen. I try to avoid cross contamination for as long as I can, usually do them first for a while.
The ones in the house I mostly do first thing in the morning or after I shower.

After the 10 chicks I lost last summer, I only lost 1 adult. It was a silkie laid and hatched by a carrier. But 6 others were not affected, and the parents are still with me.

I'm pretty sure I may lose one now and then, maybe 6 months apart, or not any.

I know what you mean, Leadwolf, I am feeling breast bones every night, and watch for anyone to separate themselves from the flock.

 

[leadwolf1]

The vaccine is only 90% effective and it is the only way to fight this disease. Just like any other vaccination, some still get it but a milder version, some still get it and it's fatal. It does seem like through our discussions that the vaccine is worthless but it isn't. I haven't lost as many vaccinated as unvaccinated birds. Sometimes, when the going gets rough and you loss yet another favorite, our discussions turn to sounding bleak at best...it's a way to vent. Then we continue to fight and one way to do so in to vaccinate. That, and other husbandry practices, is how large hatcheries have wiped out this disease from their flocks.

 

[leadwolf1]

I never thought I'd get such joy from a well-fleshed breastbone

It was my first time vaccinating, and I thought I got it because there was a bit of blood after the shot. The other one I wasn't sure about, and got 2 shots to be sure. The first one died, I think, of Marek's. The 2 shot one was growing nice and got eaten by a hawk. I cried all night.

Maybe that's why the Germans vaccinate twice, to be sure, and for a booster.

I vaccinate them, currently, at a day old, then at 3 weeks old. They are in the house for a month. Then they go on the patio in a small coop for about 6 weeks. Then move out to the chicken area and kept separate in a coop for a few more weeks, then let on the ground to have some fun. I finally put them in a pen. I try to avoid cross contamination for as long as I can, usually do them first for a while.
The ones in the house I mostly do first thing in the morning or after I shower.

After the 10 chicks I lost last summer, I only lost 1 adult. It was a silkie laid and hatched by a carrier. But 6 others were not affected, and the parents are still with me.

I'm pretty sure I may lose one now and then, maybe 6 months apart, or not any.

I know what you mean, Leadwolf, I am feeling breast bones every night, and watch for anyone to separate themselves from the flock.

 

[seminolewind]

Maybe I am being dense ( always a possibility! : ), but if it doesn't seem to matter whether they have been vaccinated or not, why continue to do it?

No, you are not dense. This has been ongoing learning for most of us. I think we are getting excellent information from eachother here. There is so much to learn.

Vaccinating is the only thing you can do. At least it will keep most chicks from dying. Unfortunately, they can still carry the virus and infect others (not from the vaccine, from exposure to other chickens that are carriers.

The only way not to get it is to hatch your own eggs vaccinate and quarantine for 2-12 weeks, only buy vaccinated chicks from a hatchery, or hatch eggs from others. But once your other chickens are carriers, it won't matter, except that you'll be saving most from dying. So it does matter. I was so burned out by chicks or birds under a year dying, I got real burned out.

 

[seminolewind]

The vaccine is only 90% effective and it is the only way to fight this disease. Just like any other vaccination, some still get it but a milder version, some still get it and it's fatal. It does seem like through our discussions that the vaccine is worthless but it isn't. I haven't lost as many vaccinated as unvaccinated birds. Sometimes, when the going gets rough and you loss yet another favorite, our discussions turn to sounding bleak at best...it's a way to vent. Then we continue to fight and one way to do so in to vaccinate. That, and other husbandry practices, is how large hatcheries have wiped out this disease from their flocks.

You must be devastated by losing so many! And yes, it's frequently one of the favorites.