Moving Forward- Breeding for Resistance to Marek's Disease

[chickengr]

GOOD NEWS!

my little roo hasn't got marek's!

he has a condition called anisocoria. he can live with that. his vision is ok. there is a possibility that his chicks (especially males) can inherit it. I will not use him for breeding but he stays with me.

 

[rebrascora]

Great to hear that! Marek's is not a disease I would wish on anyone.

 

[alibabba]

this little roo only had some respiratory issue (rattling sound, not lethargic, ate well, etc). I have recently noticed that the colour of his eyes changed and they look strange. what do you think:
View attachment 1045556 View attachment 1045557

Old I know, reviewing...
That eye is odd, my one that had eye symptoms was a large drippy looking pupil I think.

 

[alibabba]

That is going to be hard to do as the Herpes virus responsible for Marek's disease can live in the soil for years.

You can thoroughly clean your coop using Oxine , but as the virus is transmitted through chicken dander you have. to be careful to get every speck of dander out of your coop.

I've read that for the soil, you can scrape the first 6 inches off of the topsoil and discarding it.

You have to remember tho that even if you manage to remove the virus from your run and property (remember, Marek's is airborne) you stand the chance of being reinfected if the virus is being carried in by the wind from another location. And the virus can travel up to 5 miles.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/help-mareks-disease.752961/page-11

Will answer all your questions about sanitizing your run from Marek's. It's going to be hard, if not impossible to do as the virus is going to be shed from birds remaining on your property or from an outside source.

The Genie is out of the bottle and it's impossible to get it back in again.

Agreed. Cleaning outside would be ineffective.

 

[feather13]

Thank you for this thread. I'm at my wit's end with Marek's cropping up every few years, even with a clean, disinfected (so I thought) coop. I love raising chickens, but this disease is very dispiriting.

 

[alibabba]

What do you think? I have Mareks resistant chicks to sell, and Sweet Mareks resistant Roos... should I post as such? Now it's no guarantee, because maybe 1 out of 25 chicks might succumb, and my strain would be different than someone else's.
Thoughts?

 

[alibabba]

Thank you for this thread. I'm at my wit's end with Marek's cropping up every few years, even with a clean, disinfected (so I thought) coop. I love raising chickens, but this disease is very dispiriting.

If chickens go outside... Mareks
Plus very little kills the virus.
Check out breeding for resistance maybe..

 

[rebrascora]

What do you think? I have Mareks resistant chicks to sell, and Sweet Mareks resistant Roos... should I post as such? Now it's no guarantee, because maybe 1 out of 25 chicks might succumb, and my strain would be different than someone else's.
Thoughts?

If they are chicks, how do you know that they are resistant or that only 1 in 25 might develop it? Stress triggers an outbreak. Moving to a new home or flock could trigger the majority of them to break out, whereas staying in the environment they know might mean they remain healthy for months or years.

Selling chicks from a Marek's infected flock is batting on a sticky wicket in my opinion. I know I would not be happy buying chicks from a Marek's infected flock and I have Marek's.
Also, even if they are resistant to the strain of Marek's you have, they may succumb to other strains in a different location or they may carry your strain to their new home and infect the birds and the ground in that area.

I have read posts on here of people buying chicks which were sold as Marek's resistant and then developing symptoms and infecting other members of their new flock. Then the head slapping moment when they realise that breeding for resistance means that the chicks they bought have been exposed to the virus. Saying they are resistant is a "con" in my book because it leads people to believe that they may be better than other chicks, when in fact they may harbour the disease.

It's fine breeding for resistance within your own flock to increase flock size or replace lost birds but selling them to other people and marketing them as resistant is dangerous ground. Most people posting on this thread know the heartache of this disease and would not wish to contribute to others sharing that heartbreak...... even a 1 in 25 chance although I would challenge you to explain how you can possibly get such a figure.

Just my opinion!

 

[chickengr]

Old I know, reviewing...
That eye is odd, my one that had eye symptoms was a large drippy looking pupil I think.

you didn't see the other post where I wrote that he was born like that. his condition is called anisocoria. he can live with it without any problem but he might pass it to the chicks, especially to the cockerels. no breeding for him.

 

[microchick]

X2 with rebrascora.

You need to close your flock. None in unless they are chicks that you breed from your own resistant birds or if you wish, vaccinated chicks, and do not sell or give away your birds if hey have been exposed to Mareks and showing symptoms.

I talked to a University of Missouri pathology doctor who told me that the only way you can tell if a bird is resistant is if they manage to live 3 years or more without the disease killing them. By then many hens are not laying as well and considered to be elderly birds and some roosters will be less fertile. Still it should be possible to get fertile eggs from them.

I'm one of those people who naievely bought chicks from 'resistant' birds and am now fighting the disease.

I had also planned to sell off extra chicks and roosters but no. Absolutely not now that I know what my birds are carrying. I have a pen full of beautiful and friendly Old English Game Bird cockerels that are young and symptom free at this time. They will not leave the property but will live out their lives here as pets.

Marek's is a game changer and wrecker of plans and dreams. I don't want anyone to go through what I've gone through with my chickens.

Please do not sell your birds. Use them to breed your own resistant flock. You will rest easier if you do.