MJ's little flock

[RoyalChick]

I didn't know you were dealing with this @RoyalChick ; so sorry. Have you posted the backstory on it somewhere?
I once thought my flock had it, but now I think either it didn't, or the flock has become resistant.

A few years ago now I went through a very distressing period where one after another my lovely chickens turned up their toes and died.
I sent in some swabs from the chickens and from the coop and the only one that came back positive for Marek’s was dust in the coop.
It was all very odd and I wasn’t sure what to believe. False positives are rare with PCR tests but can happen if there is cross contamination in the lab for example. But also odd was that no chicken ever tested positive even when they were clearly on their way out.
A couple of my original flock survived this grizzly period as well as Bernie from a later batch of chicks all of whom died apart from Bernie.
The two older ones were hatchery stock and production breeds and both were already having laying issues.
My beloved Maggie died after surviving nearly two years after her first bout of lash eggs and my worry was that soon Bernie would be all alone.
So a dear BYC friend gave me two slightly older pullets - Eli and Babs and shortly after I got 5 vaccinated day old chicks locally which Eli adopted as her own.
Eli went from wildly healthy to dead in a very short period of time and I sent her body in for a necropsy. That came back with a definitive diagnosis of Marek’s.
So now I know.
Breeding for immunity would be appealing to me until I consider the enormous toll along the way. So for now at least I am resolved only to introduce vaccinated birds.
Bernie is still with us - large and in charge. And the five babies that Eli adopted make up the rest of my flock.
I am always amused that the five still do some of the things that only Eli did and I watched her teach them when they were little.

 

[MaryJanet]

A few years ago now I went through a very distressing period where one after another my lovely chickens turned up their toes and died.
I sent in some swabs from the chickens and from the coop and the only one that came back positive for Marek’s was dust in the coop.
It was all very odd and I wasn’t sure what to believe. False positives are rare with PCR tests but can happen if there is cross contamination in the lab for example. But also odd was that no chicken ever tested positive even when they were clearly on their way out.
A couple of my original flock survived this grizzly period as well as Bernie from a later batch of chicks all of whom died apart from Bernie.
The two older ones were hatchery stock and production breeds and both were already having laying issues.
My beloved Maggie died after surviving nearly two years after her first bout of lash eggs and my worry was that soon Bernie would be all alone.
So a dear BYC friend gave me two slightly older pullets - Eli and Babs and shortly after I got 5 vaccinated day old chicks locally which Eli adopted as her own.
Eli went from wildly healthy to dead in a very short period of time and I sent her body in for a necropsy. That came back with a definitive diagnosis of Marek’s.
So now I know.
Breeding for immunity would be appealing to me until I consider the enormous toll along the way. So for now at least I am resolved only to introduce vaccinated birds.
Bernie is still with us - large and in charge. And the five babies that Eli adopted make up the rest of my flock.
I am always amused that the five still do some of the things that only Eli did and I watched her teach them when they were little.

It was just so awful. Your resilience was inspiring.

 

[MaryJanet]

Not my experience - let me know if you reach that stage!

Oh no. I was pinning a lot of hope on clearing up all those little bits of metal.

 

[RoyalChick]

Oh no. I was pinning a lot of hope on clearing up all those little bits of metal.

To be fair the number of pieces went down over time. But I still got some big ones. Last time I went out I got an ancient horseshoe.
I think the chickens turn the soil so new items get exposed.

 

[MaryJanet]

To be fair the number of pieces went down over time. But I still got some big ones. Last time I went out I got an ancient horseshoe.
I think the chickens turn the soil so new items get exposed.

Makes sense. I just hope I can reduce it to the point chicks won't get sick!

 

[Perris]

A few years ago now I went through a very distressing period where one after another my lovely chickens turned up their toes and died.
I sent in some swabs from the chickens and from the coop and the only one that came back positive for Marek’s was dust in the coop.
It was all very odd and I wasn’t sure what to believe. False positives are rare with PCR tests but can happen if there is cross contamination in the lab for example. But also odd was that no chicken ever tested positive even when they were clearly on their way out.
A couple of my original flock survived this grizzly period as well as Bernie from a later batch of chicks all of whom died apart from Bernie.
The two older ones were hatchery stock and production breeds and both were already having laying issues.
My beloved Maggie died after surviving nearly two years after her first bout of lash eggs and my worry was that soon Bernie would be all alone.
So a dear BYC friend gave me two slightly older pullets - Eli and Babs and shortly after I got 5 vaccinated day old chicks locally which Eli adopted as her own.
Eli went from wildly healthy to dead in a very short period of time and I sent her body in for a necropsy. That came back with a definitive diagnosis of Marek’s.
So now I know.
Breeding for immunity would be appealing to me until I consider the enormous toll along the way. So for now at least I am resolved only to introduce vaccinated birds.
Bernie is still with us - large and in charge. And the five babies that Eli adopted make up the rest of my flock.
I am always amused that the five still do some of the things that only Eli did and I watched her teach them when they were little.

That sounds like a tough time, especially when the cause for the deaths was unknown. I sympathise with your wanting to avoid the collateral losses that come with breeding for immunity too. I need to learn more about Marek's disease.

 

[BY Bob]

Oh no. I was pinning a lot of hope on clearing up all those little bits of metal.

How many years have humans lived there? Probably a lot of debris and chickens are very good at scratching it to the surface.

Remember, regardless of whether you ever get it all, you are doing the right thing getting it out of their environment.

 

[MaryJanet]

I'm taking a break from a befuddling flat pack.

I'm glad I made it to step 5 because the first 4 steps were not to be sneezed at, but ... That's a weird hinge. And it seems they skipped the hinge step in the instructions.

Cuppa tea time.

 

[Perris]

the 'weird looking hinge' looks like one of the end pieces to me, should hold the lid open when up or ensure slow closing, I'd guess. There should be 2 of them.

 

[MaryJanet]

the 'weird looking hinge' looks like one of the end pieces to me, should hold the lid open when up or ensure slow closing, I'd guess. There should be 2 of them.

Yes, that's right. But it's the one with three sections I'm puzzling over. I've never seen one like that before. I think it attaches to the bottom piece on two sections, attaching to the lid with the third section.

It's the only way that makes sense.

I'm going to go and do my evening chicken chores and finish the flat pack later on.