Not an Emergency...Marek's in the Flock

[Haunted55]

I'll apologize ahead of time if this sounds rude, but now all of a sudden you think it might not be Marek's? Seems sort of convenient. I hope it isn't, but if you're avoiding the truth so as to be able to sell eggs in good conscience, please do your future customers a favor and have a necropsy done. I'm sure many people get the disease in their flocks because others suspected they had it and never got a conclusive answer. That is how the problem is perpetuated.

X 2!!!!

 

[salt and pepper]

If you didn't have a necropsy done, you may be borrowing trouble. It may not be Marek's. You need to contact your State Vet and see where the best and cheapest place for you would be for a necropsy. If it is in fact Marek's, it won't stop. It's the gift that keeps on giving. You'll have another bird who will die and I hope you have the testing done so you can be sure what it is going on with your flock. I wish you good luck and pray that this is all a misunderstanding as to what is there.

Thank you =) no, I never got a necropsy done, and it was only one breed who ever got sick and died. I know that if it is mareks, that every time I get chicks, I have a chance of some dieing, I hope it's not, but If another bird dies, I'll consider a necropsy.

 

[Haunted55]

Thank you =) no, I never got a necropsy done, and it was only one breed who ever got sick and died. I know that if it is mareks, that every time I get chicks, I have a chance of some dieing, I hope it's not, but If another bird dies, I'll consider a necropsy.

Please, please, please do! It's very important! I lost so many breeds of birds in total and other breeds, half to 1/3. One group, the Dark Cornish, I lost 2 out of 10 birds and it wasn't to Marek's. It was to the secondary diseases the other affected birds developed that got to them. Educate yourself as much as you can.

 

[casportpony]

I'll go out on a limb here... If the ones that died, died with *any* of the many Marek's symptoms, I'd be willing to bet money that they died of Marek's. Dr Shivaprasad at UC Davis said that it is one of the most common causes of death that they see. Contact a lab near you and ask them how common it is.

Denial, it's not just a river in Egypt!

 

[salt and pepper]

Thank you for the advice, you are very helpful!!

 

[Haunted55]

Just an update on the situation here. Today I lost another roo from my 'control' group. As I said before, these birds were hatched in Oct. from Marek's survivor's eggs. I started with 9 mixed chicks and 1 showgirl chick. I have lost 2 roos from this bunch. One at about the 10 week mark and then today to what I believe was a heart attack. There has also been the loss of one of these chicks' mother, not part of the group.

The rooster was fine and up until this morning, when doing chores, noticed him huddled under the hanging feeder, assumed he had been being picked on by the 2 other roos in the cage with him. Brought him into my house and offered feed and water. Refused both and was just sitting on the floor and showed some deep breathing as if he was under stress. Left him be except to speak quietly to him. After a couple of hours he squawked once and fell over and was gone before I could get to him.

It is my belief that even though these birds have gone beyond the 10 week mark and haven't shown any symptoms, the Marek's is still inside them working. Maybe there were all of the normal markers inside this poor guy. It's too late in the week to send him for necropsy and I'm too sick myself to do a home version. I could keep him over the weekend but would still have to call for an appt. Monday and no idea how long that could take. It's never easy. His keel bone was very slightly prominent but nothing like a 'normal' Marek's wasting. No occular changes at all and comb and wattle were nice and red. No skin involvement and no signs of paralysis at any time. No clue. The rest of the 7 birds in this group [the showgirl is a house bird] appear to be doing great. Good weight, no prominent keel bone, poop is normal, as is appetite. No lethergy or any other discernable problems at all. I have been getting one egg from this group, probably from the white Golden Comet mutt. The others should be starting in the next few weeks as well. They do have one roo out in the room with them so the eggs should be fertile and I will be trying for another hatch from these. I have no idea where this is going to take me in the end, but at this point all I can do is go forward and share what I see and find out from necropsy or whatever.

If this seems harsh and unfeeling to some, I am sorry. Bottom line, I have Marek's here and nothing is ever going to be 'nice' again, unless I choose to cull everyone and start over. I think about this everyday, but when I look at my birds I just can't do it. Even if I did go the culling route, there is no guarantee it wouldn't come back from contact with wild birds or from the land.

 

[missnu01]

Since you said that after chicks are 2 mo old or so, does that mean that my cockerel (almost 1 yr old) can not catch this from the new pullets we just got that may have this? They are in a seperate pen and he is free range, but he caught something, cause he got respiratory problems with other symptoms. So even if they have Marek's, being he is free range and older, he wouldn't catch this from them just through airborne particles?

Chicks less than 24 weeks usually show symptoms and succumb to marek's...this is only because most birds that live past that age have been exposed and survived...there is no escaping it.

 

[Haunted55]

Chicks less than 24 weeks usually show symptoms and succumb to marek's...this is only because most birds that live past that age have been exposed and survived...there is no escaping it.

X 2.

 

[missnu01]

I had 4 adult birds I got off craigslist...then I added a mama hen and 7 chicks that were just fully feathered...within a few weeks of adding the new chicks and mama hen to the existing 4 adult birds, one of the chicks started limping, and then when he started to do better, a pullet started limping in the same way...the cockerel just kept limping along, but the pullet started limping with both legs, and then she got the one leg out front one leg out back thing...They were both eating well and drinking, but the pullet wasn't able to move around very much at all after about 2 weeks of the start of limping...So I culled her and 2 days later the cockerel couldn't pick up his head, so I had to cull him too...None of the adult birds have shown a speck of issue, nor have the rest of the chicks or mother hen...the chicks are 6 months old now and coming right along...4 pullets, one cockerel... Anyway I am not going to cull any birds that aren't sick simply because it was the original 4 adult birds that got the chicks sick, and there is nothing wrong with them, other than they are older chickens that have been exposed to the virus, and had no issues dealing with it...all of the offspring of my remaining birds should be more resistant to marek's, but I still expect some chick losses...but 2/7 isn't too bad. I am planning on getting vaccinated chicks soon, but it can take 2 weeks for the vaccinations to kick in...but I also read that a chick is hatched with 3 weeks of immunity straight out of the egg...so I'm not sure if new chicks with vaccinations will have issue or not...but if they do then they do...and the ones that don't will be the ones that go on to breed hopefully more resistant chicks such as themselves. The idea of killing your whole flock because a few birds had to be culled with Marek's is silly...and it won't help anyway, unless you just quit keeping poultry altogether. I mean if you cull the existing flock and don't replace them then you will no longer see Marek's...but you also won't see chickens...So...

 

[missnu01]

Just an update on the situation here. Today I lost another roo from my 'control' group. As I said before, these birds were hatched in Oct. from Marek's survivor's eggs. I started with 9 mixed chicks and 1 showgirl chick. I have lost 2 roos from this bunch. One at about the 10 week mark and then today to what I believe was a heart attack. There has also been the loss of one of these chicks' mother, not part of the group.

The rooster was fine and up until this morning, when doing chores, noticed him huddled under the hanging feeder, assumed he had been being picked on by the 2 other roos in the cage with him. Brought him into my house and offered feed and water. Refused both and was just sitting on the floor and showed some deep breathing as if he was under stress. Left him be except to speak quietly to him. After a couple of hours he squawked once and fell over and was gone before I could get to him.

It is my belief that even though these birds have gone beyond the 10 week mark and haven't shown any symptoms, the Marek's is still inside them working. Maybe there were all of the normal markers inside this poor guy. It's too late in the week to send him for necropsy and I'm too sick myself to do a home version. I could keep him over the weekend but would still have to call for an appt. Monday and no idea how long that could take. It's never easy. His keel bone was very slightly prominent but nothing like a 'normal' Marek's wasting. No occular changes at all and comb and wattle were nice and red. No skin involvement and no signs of paralysis at any time. No clue. The rest of the 7 birds in this group [the showgirl is a house bird] appear to be doing great. Good weight, no prominent keel bone, poop is normal, as is appetite. No lethergy or any other discernable problems at all. I have been getting one egg from this group, probably from the white Golden Comet mutt. The others should be starting in the next few weeks as well. They do have one roo out in the room with them so the eggs should be fertile and I will be trying for another hatch from these. I have no idea where this is going to take me in the end, but at this point all I can do is go forward and share what I see and find out from necropsy or whatever.

If this seems harsh and unfeeling to some, I am sorry. Bottom line, I have Marek's here and nothing is ever going to be 'nice' again, unless I choose to cull everyone and start over. I think about this everyday, but when I look at my birds I just can't do it. Even if I did go the culling route, there is no guarantee it wouldn't come back from contact with wild birds or from the land.

And here is another issue I wonder about anytime I read up on Marek's...I read that most adult birds have been exposed and survived and that is how they became adult chickens...Then I also read that a lot of times when an adult bird drops dead for no apparent reason, and are sent in for necropsies, that the death is attributed to Marek's because the birds test positive...But is it the Mareks that caused the chickens to fall over dead? Or was it something else, and they just so happened to be a healthy survivor of Marek's? I dont' know, and neither does the science behind the whole thing...so It is debatable to say the least.