Mereks...vaccinate or not??

[Cottage Rose]

I had a couple adult bantam chickens die of Mereks a couple years ago.
Had a necropsy done at Mich. State so know for fact it was Mereks.
I've had chickens for over 30 yrs. and never had any problems then bammo...it strikes.

No deaths in 2008 but earlier this week one of my Marans chicks appeared to have it. We put her down.

I've been too busy to spray with Oxine.
Hope to get to it tomorrow.
I was thinking maybe I should just start vaccinating everything but then got to thinking maybe it would be better to not vaccinate and go with the "survival of the fittest" policy but then what if they all get wiped out?
I dunno.

Your thoughts....

 

[miss_jayne]

i don't vaccinate or treat for anything. i prefer the 'survival of the fittest' myself.

no matter what, you have to do what you feel comfortable with.

 

[Lilywater101]

Hi, It might be a good idea to vaccinate but you do have to be extremely careful when you do it, there is a certain procedure to it. Or you wait a couple of years until you try raising chickens again.(Most "chicken diseases" will "die" after some years with no chickens being present)OR take a chance and let the "survival of the fittest" take action.

 

[jaybme]

I called the state bird people (CA) about Marek's, and they said it is everywhere, sooner or later, and you have two choices:

1) Vaccinate (must be done the first two weeks, preferably first day)

2) Survival of the fittest. Eventually you develop a flock that is Marek's resistant, though you still will lose a few occasionally.

Since I can only have 4 chickens and do not want to have to wait to develop the resistant strain I chose to vaccinate- $10 and easy to do.

Hope this helps and Good luck!

 

[Beau coop]

Quote:
Will Oxine help with Mareks?

 

[Eastins Eggs]

If there is a history of Mareks in your area I would vaccinate, if there isn't I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Cottage Rose]

Re. Oxine:
Not sure but it kills ALOT of bacteria and viruses.
Mereks is a form of herpes virus as I recall.
This website has goos articel on Oxine
and I think one on Mereks too:
http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/contents.htm

 

[chickenzoo]

I vaccinate, for the little cost it's worth it to me. I think of it like vaccinating animals for rabies, most don't ever get bit by a rabid animal, but if they do, you are glad you vaccinated.

 

[Smoky73]

If you have had a history of Mareks at your place, you should vaccinate, unless you do not mind having some die. I have had Mareks in my flock years ago, and I still lose them if I do not vaccinate the babies. So I have been vaccinating for the last 3 years.
Its easy to do.

 

[tinners204]

Where do you get the mareks vacine from for $10.00?