Nambroth, thank you taking the time to write such a thorough reply. I read through your article as well, it is very well-written. I really wish I would have found it before I ever bought chickens. Hindsight is great, isn't it?
Yeah-- hindsight sure is great! I barely knew anything about Marek's until my rooster died. I don't know if it would have changed anything, but 'getting' the disease is how a lot of us tend to find out about it... You're not alone.
I am having my vet find out what we need to do to get the test for Marek's done at Texas A&M. I think I am going to have one chicken tested from each of my little groups and see what comes back. Getting to my vet is a problem for me because they are over an hour away plus I worry about cross contamination during the trip. I would like to combine all the blood samples in one shipping container to help save on costs.
I hear you. My vet is about 2 hours away, which can make things a lot more troublesome than they already are.
To my knowledge, none of my chicks were vaccinated. I know for a fact that the ones from the breeder weren't and I would be shocked if the ones from the farm store were. I have mixed feelings about vaccinating for Marek's anyway. Unless I misunderstand, vaccinated chickens can still acquire and spread the virus, they just don't show symptoms? On one hand, I would rather know my chickens have it so I didn't spread it to others, on the other, I really wish my feathered friends did not have to suffer with this terrible disease. You just can't really win.
You understand right-- even vaccinated birds that develop resistance will still become infected if they are exposed to Marek's. It is safe to say ANY chicken, regardless of vaccine or genetics, will become infected with Marek's if it is exposed to it. What happens next is dependent on vaccine, genetics, health, the voodoo chicken gods, etc.
So, any exposed chicken, vaccinated or not, will manufacture and shed the virus for life. It is generally understood that birds with active infections-- meaning that they are having an immune response and symptoms and are actively fighting the virus-- shed MORE virus, but even perfectly healthy birds can shed some amounts of the virus.
However, look at it this way...
1: You vaccinate, and never know if your chickens are carriers or not, because none of them seem to get sick. You sell, adopt, or show birds and accidentally spread the disease. Or..
2: You don't vaccinate, and never know if your chickens are carriers or not (a lot of people have flocks that have built genetic resistance) because none of them seem to get sick. You sell, adopt, or show birds and accidentally spread the disease.
In scenario 1, you have the added peace of mind that you did everything you could to keep your chickens alive.
In scenario 2, there is always a chance they haven't been exposed yet, and will later become exposed and may suffer the illness.
I think a lot of people have it in their unvaccinated flocks and just don't realize it. They may have a chicken die once in a while, from 'who knows what, chickens just die' and...? I think you can see what I am getting at. There is an unknown factor either way! People accidentally spread this pretty often because they just don't know their birds are carriers. So the choice to vaccinate or not is very personal.
