marek's vaccination

[chickbird]

i have placed an order for 50 chicks of various breeds and i'd like to know if i should have the chicks vaccinated for marek's before they are sent??? i have had 3 hens that i purchased as 6 month old hens that have exhibited symptoms described as marek's and would appreciate forum responses... i think i was sold infected poultry, but don't know....i have read that most backyard chicken growers do not vaccinate for any diseases..i have chickens that have not been vaccinated and i'm in a delimina as what to do with the new chicks.... is marek's a live virus vaccine??? would having the chicks vaccinated pose a risk greater than i already have in exposing the other chickens to mareks??? to those of you who have had mareks in your flock how many did you continue to lose ??? did any of you have to destroy your whole flock??? any help would greatly be appreciated...

 

[Skip]

I've never vaccinated any chicks of mine, nor have I had any previous experience with Mareks or vaccinating, but plenty of people do vaccinate their birds and don't have a problem. Really, I'm not one to listen to. Here are some links that might help you out.

http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/page9.htm

https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-diseases-Mareks.html

http://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/2005/spring/mareks.htm

 

[cicene mete]

Here's my understanding of the information. The Marek's disease vaccine (Fort Dodge) is made from the turkey version of the virus, and so inoculated chicks should pose no inherent risk to the flock. However, the vaccine does not prevent contracting the disease, it just prevents the symptoms. As a result, inoculated chickens who are exposed to a Marek's carrier can become carriers of the disease, and then they would be contagious to other flock members.

If you have already had chickens with Marek's symptoms, then it is already in your flock. At this point, if it were me, it would come down to two choices: 1. Have the chicks inoculated at the hatchery. The hatchery vaccine is supposed to be stronger and broader than the one you do yourself. 2. Breed for resistance. This would involve keeping a Marek's survivor or carrier in your flock and culling any chickens that show symptoms until you have bred disease-resistant birds.

If it were me, and I suspected that I already had Marek's my flock, and I was unwilling to go through the lengthy process of culling to breed for resistance, then I would definitely have them vaccinated by the hatchery.

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
in looking at the sited references in the above post, chart says marek's occurs in chicks 16 weeks and less, the chicks i have had with the symptoms were older than 16 weeks. chart said this can be lymphoid leukosis, what do all of you know about this??? says it can be transmitted to eggs...if so , and eggs have been consumed , is this transmittable to humans??? responses would be appreciated. thanks for all of above info.

 

[Skip]

Lymphoid Leukosis is a non-curable disease that, in older hens, causes chronic reduction of laying, enlarged abdomen and loose droppings. The symptoms for 16-week to 6 month do indeed resemble marek's. According to the book I'm reading, lymphoid leukosis is incurable, easily transmissable to other birds and, if your birds make it through the 25% mortality rate, then they won't lay very well for the rest of their lives. Good news is, there is no human health risk.

If you want to protect your chicks from getting this, the only way is to either completely seperate the lives of the two ages, or to cull the older birds and completely disinfect the coop.

I'm getting this all from the Chicken Health Handbook, by Gail Damerow, which is a very reliable source, but I still recommend you do your own research and make your own decisions.

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
could you look to see if you've eaten eggs from a chicken with this , is it harmful to humans??? i read the virus is transmitted to offspring thru the eggwhite and that most chickens in non=commercial flocks carry this virus. my chicken does not have loose droopings or enlarged abdomen but has weakness, does not want to stand up, still eating, seems thin , i thought marek's but since this chicken is past 16 weeks and symptoms similar tolymphoid leukosis that it might be that...

 

[cicene mete]

Chickbird, chickens of any age to get Marek's disease. It is most common in younger chickens, and the assumption is that because the virus is so widespread, most chickens have developed an immunity by the time they get older. However, it is not the case that older chickens are immune. Of the three chickens and our flock that got the disease, one was a year old, one was 19 weeks old, and one was 21 weeks old. We had a necropsy performed, so we know for a fact that it was Marek's disease.

I don't know about the transmissibility of lymphoid Leukosis, but Marek's disease is not transmittable through the egg.

 

[UK Chicken rancher]

I know this is an old post, but found it informative. I'm glad to hear the disease or the vaccine cannot transfer or be harmful to humans thru the egg but what about eating the chicken? Thanx!

 

[jbear]

bumping as well--because I found it helpful to know that Marek's can happen at any age--I believe I have a 9 month old hen that has it, and we are trying to nurse thru it...