Marek's Vaccination

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Yup. Buy vaccinated day old hatchery chicks or hatch them yourself and vaccinate day one. Then you keep the little guys quarantined 3-6 weeks to let the resistance build up.

Sassy, you got 4 chickens but did they have any contact with any chickens before you bought them? That would be how they got it.

It would be hard to tell that one is selling chicks or hens have Marek's if no one has died. This goes for breeders as well.
 
Yes I bought from someone everyone seems to know. She has over 300 chickens and said her chickens are resistant to Merricks because she has never had it. I am very discussed with her because she texted me this morning said she had a hen down last night and was thinking about vaccinating for Merricks but she tube fed her last night with antibiotics and she is sitting up today. Shes not standing just not laying on her side anymore. So she decided its not Merricks and she is not vaccinating. She told me to tube feed him. I have never seen it done or done it so I dont want to hurt him. I know with horses you can kill them tubing them so I am afraid! She told me to stop making excuses and to just do it! That really ticked me off. My first roo I had for 4 mo before he got sick but I bought a roo and a hen. The hen dies in less than a week and she replaced her with a white one. My first hen was a beautiful splash. I then bought 3 more hens from her and my roo got sick a week later. A few days after he died the new splash hen bought got a puffy croop and died the next day. She replaced my roo a few months later. I have had him for under a month and now he is sick. She told me they have to be getting it from my property and I really dont know because I dont know how long it incubates before symptoms. But she told me today she is really upset because she gave him to me and she could have gotton $100.00 for him. I paid $40.00 for all m other 4 month olds why is he (who was 3 mo. when I got him worth so much more!) I am sorry I am venting just very upset and frustrated. I dont want to trash her but she is starting to really tick me off. I will not be getting anymore from her. I am now afraid to get anymore from anyone because if it is my property I dont want to kill anymore. I dont get it! Its only my Roos dying like this. The two hens were not down they just died! Whats up with the Roos!
 
sassy16 said:
Yes I bought from someone everyone seems to know. She has over 300 chickens and said her chickens are resistant to Merricks because she has never had it. I am very discussed with her because she texted me this morning said she had a hen down last night and was thinking about vaccinating for Merricks but she tube fed her last night with antibiotics and she is sitting up today. Shes not standing just not laying on her side anymore. So she decided its not Merricks and she is not vaccinating. She told me to tube feed him. I have never seen it done or done it so I dont want to hurt him. I know with horses you can kill them tubing them so I am afraid! She told me to stop making excuses and to just do it! That really ticked me off. My first roo I had for 4 mo before he got sick but I bought a roo and a hen. The hen dies in less than a week and she replaced her with a white one. My first hen was a beautiful splash. I then bought 3 more hens from her and my roo got sick a week later. A few days after he died the new splash hen bought got a puffy croop and died the next day. She replaced my roo a few months later. I have had him for under a month and now he is sick. She told me they have to be getting it from my property and I really dont know because I dont know how long it incubates before symptoms. But she told me today she is really upset because she gave him to me and she could have gotton $100.00 for him. I paid $40.00 for all m other 4 month olds why is he (who was 3 mo. when I got him worth so much more!) I am sorry I am venting just very upset and frustrated. I dont want to trash her but she is starting to really tick me off. I will not be getting anymore from her. I am now afraid to get anymore from anyone because if it is my property I dont want to kill anymore. I dont get it! Its only my Roos dying like this. The two hens were not down they just died! Whats up with the Roos!
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Get a neocropsy done if you loose another one and find out for sure what's going on.
Hopefully the breeder you got them from will also get one done if her passes so she won't be spreading this. So sorry :(
 
Yes, Sassy. You might want to get a necropsy. The state animal disease laboratory in your state usually does it cheap, and you can call them and get directions for doing it.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard "It's not Marek's because he doesn't have one foot forward and one back". Marek's has some classic symptoms that anyone can spot. Then it's got all the other symptoms that mimic other illnesses. Usually the wasting away one is hard to spot. The chicken just wastes away while appearing to have a good appetite. One day they just get very weak and die. I've had alot do that. Usually the older birds, closer to 8 months to a year. The chicks seem to get it from 6-12 weeks the most common. But these are just numbers, and there's always variation.

I don't tube feed. I feel that if I have to tube feed, maybe it's time to do the humane thing and euthanize. I have , tho, dribbled fluid or smeared oatmeal on the side of the beak. It may get them interested in wanting more.

You can only vaccinate day old chicks that have never had contact with any chickens, and quarantine them for 2-6 weeks.

Older chickens usually develop resistance on their own as they get older.

Next time order hatchery chicks that are vaccinated, and quarantine them. You can't do anything about the ones that are sick now, but you can certainly get vaccinated chicks that won't die on you. Right now 1/2 of my chickens are older, and 1/2 were vaccinated as chicks and are now laying.
hugs.gif
 
I have a pretty small flock, and I have lost 3 chickens to Marek's this year. I didn't realize what it was at first, and two of the chickens are ones that we hatched out ourselves, so they had not been vaccinated. Needles to say, I will be doing it in the future.
 
That was supposed to say needless, not needles. ha, I think I was autocorrected
 
I know this is an old thread but I was debating about the vaccine as I'm only getting 15 chicks and the hatchery will charge $10 minimum charge, that's a bit pricy. How hard is it to vaccinate them myself?
 
I think your best bet is to let the hatchery do it. If you want to vaccinate, it's around $20 for the vaccine plus mailing and ice, and syringes. Also the hatcheries get better vaccine than we can because they do a triple strain vaccine
 
I'm looking to purchase pullets in my area, but all the breeders I've talked to do not vaccinate. So if I want to vaccinate against Mareks I'd have to immunize them myself. The chicks I'm looking to purchase are 6 weeks old. Is that still young enough to immunize, and where would I get the vaccination? I've called the few farm supply shops I know, and they don't carry it.
 

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