Marek's testing in living birds

[orrpeople]

IF we had a less expensive test here...it would be more appealing than a formal lab necropsy, which is $200 plus from what I understand. (ouch!)

UC Davis is $20 for up to two birds.

 

[staceyj]

There was a thread about this several weeks ago.

www.vetdna.com
If I remember correctly ,
The feather sample testing was around $20.

 

[staceyj]

Just an FYI
There is a test for mareks in living birds

http://vet.uga.edu/pdrc

Does them
Two types

Serologic antigen test about $6/ sample (agp) instructions at bottom

Tests for the mareks antigen
A positive is a positive
But a negative might just not have enough antibodies to be detected
Note: vaccinated birds will test positive with this test

The second test is a mareks pcr test that requires a yanked out primary feather
It tests for the actual disease and is quite accurate
But
It's $100.46 per sample

Instructions for the blood agp test
"
Please spin the blood to separate the serum from the blood clot. ONLY send the serum in an eppendorf sera tube. To perform the testing, we need .5 mL of sera, but we can get by with .25 mL on a small bird.


Please fill out our accession form in its entirety. Place the sera plus the accession form in a Styrofoam shipping container with ice packs. The package needs to be overnighted (not 2 day shipping) to the following address:


Harmony Seahorn

PDRC Diagnostic Lab

953 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605"

This is the
Poultry Diagnotic Research Center at the University of Georgia at Athens.
They have a fantastic vet / agricultural program.

 

[rottlady]

I just called them wow!
It's the same test!
$18

You get a drop of blood from bird onto a clean but of paper
Seal in a bag and mail with this form!!!
http://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf

 

[microchick]

I don't know if Missouri has a state ag funded program. I know they have an AI monitoring program that offers discounted services but the Dr at Columbia didn't know if it would include Marek's monitoring.

When I looked up necropsy services for agriculture there were only two places that came up. One was a state lab in Springfield. The other was Mizzou's veterinary college. I think, if memory serves me correctly, the ag lab in Springfield was some cheaper than Mizzou's services but not by much.

I'd gladly pay 20$ or even 45 but 150 dollar is 3 months worth of chicken food budget for me.

I may contact the Home Extension Office and see what I can find out from them but in all honesty, as stated. I know what is in my flock right now. Sadly, I just got back in from feeding and watering. Nobody dead this morning but my last pure bred Buff Orpington Rooster isn't looking good at all. Keel bone rating of 0, ocular Marek's in one eye, he is eating well and drinking.....he's drinking weird, tho, plunging his beak into the water then tossing his head back rapidly so I suspect something neurological is rearing its ugly head.. I stood and watched him for a minute. I really should put him down but..............he hasn't crossed that line yet where he is actively dying. That is usually what I watch for.

Yes I know, he's shedding virus at an alarming rate. The mind knows that but the heart keeps hoping he'll stabilize again.

 

[hswolfwoman]

No I was looking for such a test since reading it was available in the U.K.
Just found this yesterday
Had a very good long conversation with the lab

Which test did you have done? Do you have a phone number for this lab?

 

[rottlady]

Which test did you have done? Do you have a phone number for this lab?

My first bird the state lab sent out to a university doing research

I’ve had a bunch of living birds tested since then and I use RAL in Texas

 

[JennyHeidewald]

My first bird the state lab sent out to a university doing research

I’ve had a bunch of living birds tested since then and I use RAL in Texas

I know this is an older thread, but I been reading it with interest. I have some questions! I have birds I want to get tested, can you give more info on the process?
Do you do feather or blood test? You mentioned getting a drop of blood, but I thought that the feather one was the accurate one? How do you collect blood? Thanks!

I found this:
“Levels of vaccine and virulent MDV are greater in the feather tips than in other chicken organs. Feather tips are easily collected from young chickens, and we can readily isolate DNA. Feather samples are much more convenient than blood or spleen samples. We can also measure levels of vaccine and virulent MDV in samples of poultry house dust, which gives an overall picture of the level of the vaccine and virulent virus for the whole flock.”
From a UK page 2013
So I could just cut a feather? I hate the thought of pulling one. I am going to contact the RAL too.

 

[JennyHeidewald]

I finally remembered to call RAL, usually when I get home and actually remembered, they are closed in Texas! I didn't catch the gentleman's name, but he said the feather test was inaccurate because the sample has a lot of contaminants, it'll pick up everything or it has a lot of everything? This is why I 'd rather communicate via e-mail, easier to refer to what was said.
He said the most reliable is the drop of blood (from a talon), or I could do a clocal swab, but the swab is more likely to have other contaminants. He said they offer more tests than are on the site, the internet folks are behind in adding them!

 

[PNWskye]

I finally remembered to call RAL, usually when I get home and actually remembered, they are closed in Texas! I didn't catch the gentleman's name, but he said the feather test was inaccurate because the sample has a lot of contaminants, it'll pick up everything or it has a lot of everything? This is why I 'd rather communicate via e-mail, easier to refer to what was said.
He said the most reliable is the drop of blood (from a talon), or I could do a clocal swab, but the swab is more likely to have other contaminants. He said they offer more tests than are on the site, the internet folks are behind in adding them!

What were your results?