Mareks Vaccine

[ochochicas]

Jim, I agree with you that vaccinated chicks do not transmit virus. They are vaccinated with a strain of Turkey virus which elicits an immune response in the chicks. Turkey virus does not replicate in the chicks and they are not capable of shedding or transmitting it to other birds. There seems to be a lot of rumor going around lately that says otherwise, but turkey virus does not grow in chickens.

The only thing I can assume is that the hens you had shipped from Texas were never exposed to any kind of Marek's virus and therefore never developed any immunity to it before you got them. It is not common, but it is possible. Apparently the virus thrives in damp environments, so perhaps the farm in Texas was very dry and they never had Maren's there. Are you positive they died from Marek's, or could it have been something else?

Personally, I keep my chicks isolated for 6 weeks after vaccinating them. That said, I still had one die at 14 weeks. I also had two chicks develop signs of Marek's and then fully recover! After having a 95% death rate in one hatch I don't believe in letting the "weak" ones die off and only letting the resistant ones survive. If I did that I would have almost no chickens left.

My Marek's probably came from one bird I bought from a back yard breeder in Seattle. I still have the hen and she's never been sick. He called me after I'd had her for about 8 months to tell me he wasn't selling chicks anymore because he though he had some die from Marek's.

 

[JimH99]

You know that is what I decided as well with the hens I shipped from Texas is they had never been exposed. I still have about 4 more same age from same place that are perfectly healthy.
I like the six weeks idea. I keep them at least 30 and sometimes longer. I have only had about six fowl total get it and it is just like one here and one there. Haven't had a mass outbreak so far.
Everything is getting vaccinated now. I bought a thousand bird dose bottle to vaccinate a batch getting ready to hatch Friday. About ten is all if all hatch.

 

[chookaholic]

It's a well known fact that chicks vaccinated with the Turkey version of the Mareks virus don't shed virus and they don't become carriers. The turkey version of the Mareks virus is all that is available to small hatcheries.

However, commercial hybrids are now vaccinated with a version of the chicken Mareks Disease virus and these chicks are lifelong carriers and will shed virus all their lives. Google will find sources for you - it's still quite new research and it's not yet in books.

 

[ochochicas]

You know that is what I decided as well with the hens I shipped from Texas is they had never been exposed. I still have about 4 more same age from same place that are perfectly healthy.
I like the six weeks idea. I keep them at least 30 and sometimes longer. I have only had about six fowl total get it and it is just like one here and one there. Haven't had a mass outbreak so far.
Everything is getting vaccinated now. I bought a thousand bird dose bottle to vaccinate a batch getting ready to hatch Friday. About ten is all if all hatch.

If you have a way to keep everything sterile, you can actually split the vaccine wafer in halves or quarters and save the rest for your next hatch. If you want more details feel free to PM me.

Good luck with your babies!

 

[JimH99]

If I hatch chicks under a hen that has never been vaccinated, but exposed to it on the yard I assume. I vaccinate chicks and put back under hen in private pen she should be ok herself is what I am understanding., correct? Since this Turkey vaccine will not affect other fowl.

 

[ochochicas]

If I hatch chicks under a hen that has never been vaccinated, but exposed to it on the yard I assume. I vaccinate chicks and put back under hen in private pen she should be ok herself is what I am understanding., correct? Since this Turkey vaccine will not affect other fowl.

Do you think you already have Marek's in you birds? Or are you vaccinating the chicks as a precaution?

The turkey virus causes the chick's body to produce antibodies to all marek's strains. The turkey virus does not replicate in chickens and it will not spread to other birds in the flock.

There are rumors running around that the turkey virus is shed by vaccinated chicks, but this is NOT true.

 

[ochochicas]

If I hatch chicks under a hen that has never been vaccinated, but exposed to it on the yard I assume. I vaccinate chicks and put back under hen in private pen she should be ok herself is what I am understanding., correct? Since this Turkey vaccine will not affect other fowl.

I just read you earlier question. Sorry I am so forgetful.

If you have a broody hen raising your chicks and you suspect there is Marek's on your property, after you vaccinate the chicks you should try to isolate the hen and chicks on a "clean" part of the property that has not had birds housed on it before. Can you fence off a different area of the yard where your birds have not been hanging out before?

My vet told me I could never raise chicks with a broody again since my farm is contaminated with a very virulent strain of Marek's. However, I did let my broody raise chicks this summer. I vaccinated them at day 0 and put them in a well ventilated trailer (with windows) for 2 - 3 weeks. They had a new bag of bedding and the cleanest hay bales I could find. The chicks are just shy of 20 weeks and all of them survived. I'm 99% sure one of them has Marek's but she seems to have fought off the virus and is thriving now.

Keep us posted on how your chicks are doing.

 

[NikkiW]

Thank you so much for your post. We vaccinated our newly hatched babies today and I am really glad to be reassured that we did the right thing for them. We have had a problem with Mareks in the past and I am really hoping we can keep it away this time.

 

[joannavonholten]

I bought 13 chicks, thy came as different ages 1- 4 weeks old, i noticed blood on shaving right away, so the guy at bj poultery farm wher i got them said thy had cocci. so i treated them many weeks later ,seemed i would see blood for a while and then it would stop, but it was off and on, finally , other symptons , cant walk, cant eat, etc. i complained but all i got was , thy were healthey when i shipped them. thy had their shots. well all the choclate group 6 chickens died of marekes as i had an autopsy done. bj still insists thy had shots and not his fault. the othe group and thy are all together seem fine. he feels he owes me nothing, so i would be careful dealing with this guy, you get what you pay for and i got chicks from him as he was cheaper, wish i had paid more and got healthy chicks.

 

[chookaholic]

Vaccination never is 100%.

If the chicks were exposed to the virus before they were able to develop immunity they can get Mareks. Were they quarantined from all other poultry for a fortnight after vaccination? If not that could be the problem.

If some chicks were 4 weeks old and others only 1 week and the seller used the Mareks vaccine the commercial poultry farms use these days (not the turkey virus) the younger chicks would have been infected with Mareks by the older chicks as vaccinated birds are life long carriers of the virus and the younger ones would not yet have developed immunity.

It's always best to buy from someone who's been recommended, not necessarily from the cheapest source.

Regarding the coccidiosis: if there was blood in their poos and you were not able to treat them immediately their health will be compromised for the rest of their lives due to scar tissue in their intestines. I always have Coxiprol at hand, just in case. Usually only 1 bird is affected to start with and if all birds are treated immediately they are likely to come through unscathed (possibly with the exception of the one bird who showed symptoms first).