Moving Forward- Breeding for Resistance to Marek's Disease

[seminolewind]

This is Clarence. First thing I noticed that his pupil was oval. It was not real obvious but it made his eye look different for some reason. He wasted and died. That's the only oval eye I've had. Lola in my avatar has always had what looks like leakage. But she's 6 years old and it was noticed 3 years ago, and nothing ever happened. Probably born with it.

 

[speckledhen]

Yeah, so it's pretty difficult to say what is causing it sometimes. I had a bantam hen with a blown pupil not long ago, but she also had a scratch across the cornea and at the top of the scratch, a fluid filled blister-bubble. The state vet said he thought it looked like an injury and to get some ointment for it, but with all the other discussions and things happening, you can bet I grabbed every single bird on this property and examined both eyes on every one of them. Nothing. Just her. And it makes sense because she's been ostracized by the rest of the flock for a few months relentlessly, so probably some other bird pecked her in the eye and scraped it.

 

[seminolewind]

I posted Clarence here because of how hard it was to see an oval pupil.

 

[speckledhen]

I posted Clarence here because of how hard it was to see an oval pupil.

Yes, it is hard, Karen. When I asked a breeder years ago about that cockerel, he said most folks wouldn't have noticed it. And an oval is even harder to see.

 

[Northie]

Was mentioned a while back that no one had seen or heard of a resistant strain of Cornishx meat birds. I actually have seen reasoning to not bother even vaccinating these birds because they were supposed to be butchered at such a young age. The hatchery pamphlet I read this in recommended all of the other breeds be vaccinated (and have their beaks "trimmed") but it was optional and unnecessary for meat birds. Didn't buy anything from them at the time because I'm not keen on beak trimming.

 

[chooks4life]

That's interesting Northie, does make some sense. It'd not be a concern for most Cornish X's, you'd need a serious outbreak of one of the fastest-acting and most virulent forms of the disease to hurt your operation there, I guess.

 

[lalaland]

in the interests of breeding for resistence to Mareks, I have a question based on these prelim necropsy results from the univ path lab on a grey eyed hen who wasn't doing well, and an asymptomatic rooster:


The eyes are still being examined because the processing is different from other organs. Both birds have coccidiosis and I recommend treatment with Amprol. No evidence of Marek's disease in the internal organs. Keep in mind that the eye histology has not been completed and will be the last segment of the report.

The original bird necropsied also had cocci and had a Mareks diagnosis without a pcr.

Trying to decide whether to treat for cocci or to withhold treatment and see who survives?

 

[Eggcessive]

in the interests of breeding for resistence to Mareks, I have a question based on these prelim necropsy results from the univ path lab on a grey eyed hen who wasn't doing well, and an asymptomatic rooster:


The eyes are still being examined because the processing is different from other organs. Both birds have coccidiosis and I recommend treatment with Amprol. No evidence of Marek's disease in the internal organs. Keep in mind that the eye histology has not been completed and will be the last segment of the report.

The original bird necropsied also had cocci and had a Mareks diagnosis without a pcr.

Trying to decide whether to treat for cocci or to withhold treatment and see who survives?

I realize that you prefer natural treatment (if you remember I used to post on that same thread,) but coccidiosis is one of those things that I don't understand people not wanting to treat for. Corid is pretty harmless, not an antibiotic, and compared to sulfa antibiotics it is much less likely to harm. Even organic farmers use it if they have cocci in their soil. I'm just like others that don't want to medicate unnecessarily, but that is one thing I would treat. It can lead to enteritis later on, and there are chronic forms that cause chickens to never grow well or lay well.

 

[lalaland]

I remember you, but wasn't sure from which threads!

I think I am borderline "natural" - want to do everything I can to have healthy chickens, like to avoid processed feeds, but don't want to withhold medical treatment when it is needed. Its interesting because of the wide spread between " treat always and often with everything you can" and "let the strongest survive".

I had a very easy time raising chickens for the first decade or so...but the last two years have been very very hard. Has made me consider life without chickens. It could be that I've had mareks for two years without knowing it.

I kind of follow with chickens what I do for myself: I can't afford strictly organic food for me, and I don't get it for my chickens. I don't treat colds, headaches, fevers, etc with otc meds. If I have pneumonia, I am gratefully taking antibiotics. guess that makes me a moderate!

I didn't realize that Corid was acceptable in organic chickens. I have some at home from trying to save mrs. murphy, and I will add it to the water tomorrow, unless convinced that I would have a healthier flock if I didn't!
thanks

 

[speckledhen]

I agree with Eggcessive. I use Corid when a rare case of cocci pops up in chicks during a protracted wet period. It is amprolium, a thiamine analog. It messes with the B vitamin that the oocysts that cause cocci feed off of and you only give it for 5 days. Not an antibiotic at all. I've never needed to treat adults, though. Usually, by 12 weeks they are immune to the varieties that are in their soil and unless exposed to a new strain they've never encountered, they shouldn't fall prey to it as adults. I suppose it could happen when the immune systems are severely compromised, as with Marek's or other serious diseases.

I have heard of people breeding for resistance to cocci, however, those are some hard and, to me, truly unnecessary losses since they do develop natural immunity even if treated for a bout of it as chicks.