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

[mom98312]

it's said the virus survives in the dirt and the coop up to 5 months.

 

[lalaland]

This thread has been pretty quiet - but that is probably a good thing!

This morning I was excited to see my slow pullet was still on the roost instead of sleeping on the floor of the coop. Most days she comes off the roost and spends the night on the ground. Although I'm realistic about her outcome if she does indeed have Marek's, I am also optimistic in the fact that her health has not declined in the last three weeks. Her weight is increasing, she gets around fine and has a great appetite. Maybe she had just enough immunity from the vaccine to combat the virus once she got it.

None of her siblings are showing any signs of illness. They are over three months old now.

yeah, quiet is good!

I haven't lost anyone this summer, except 2 to predators.

Everyone is looking good, although this week there have been two poops with strange, reddish masses, tomato colored. Not blood. I'm thinking it might be time for another corid dose.

I wonder if I am going to be always dosing with corid? I did an herbal wormer a few weeks ago after seeig some worms, I use Molly's and it is very effective (some have done fecal floats after to test for effectiveness and no worms).

Molt seems to be going differently this fall - slower for sure. Could be the age, some of these girls are 5 and older.

How is everyone and their flock? Occhicicas, I hope your 3 month olds are still doing great!

 

[ochochicas]

I wonder if I am going to be always dosing with corid? I did an herbal wormer a few weeks ago after seeig some worms, I use Molly's and it is very effective (some have done fecal floats after to test for effectiveness and no worms).

Molt seems to be going differently this fall - slower for sure. Could be the age, some of these girls are 5 and older.

How is everyone and their flock? Occhicicas, I hope your 3 month olds are still doing great!

Good to hear from you. All my babies are doing great. So good in fact, they aren't really babies anymore. The majority are 20 weeks old now. The roosters are starting to be interested in the girls. The pullets are not getting red combs yet, so I think eggs are still a ways off in the future. I had two that were exhibiting signs of Marek's (one quite badly) but both birds have recovered and are doing great now.

How old are the birds you are dosing with Corid? I've never had to use it on birds older than 4 months. I do give it to the sick ones, but to date they've all died anyway so I don't think it makes a difference with my Marek's birds.

Sometimes they will shed intestinal lining. Perhaps that is what you are seeing in the droppings. I hope everyone continues to do well.

 

[saltandpepper2]

Long story short, I just finished moving and think the stress may have made mareks show its ugly head. My sebright hen has gone down hill very quickly. She is losing weight dramatically and walks around wth labored breathing, feathers fluffed, and eyes closed. I thought she might have gape worm because she is gaping, but after thoroughly inspecting her throat, I don't think she does. I put her on some baytril today and will finish the dosage to cross a respiratory ailment off of my list, and may deworm her for good measure. Does this sound like it may be mareks popping up?

 

[ochochicas]

Long story short, I just finished moving and think the stress may have made mareks show its ugly head. My sebright hen has gone down hill very quickly. She is losing weight dramatically and walks around wth labored breathing, feathers fluffed, and eyes closed. I thought she might have gape worm because she is gaping, but after thoroughly inspecting her throat, I don't think she does. I put her on some baytril today and will finish the dosage to cross a respiratory ailment off of my list, and may deworm her for good measure. Does this sound like it may be mareks popping up?

Unfortunately, yes, it sounds exactly like the way 70% of my Marek's birds die. I believe mine have tumors in their chest and it makes it hard for them to breathe. My only regret with mine is that I didn't cull them sooner. None of the ones with respiratory problems ever got better.

The last of my unvaccinated birds is sick and I believe she will probably die from Marek's soon. She's the last pullet left out of last November's hatch. I thought she might be resistant, but no dice. She has been lacking in energy and appetite and likes to lay around in her stall. I started her on Corid two days ago and she actually looks a little better today. She's up on the roost tonight with the other birds. Ironically she was broody for a couple of week, laid eggs for a couple of weeks afterwards, and now isn't laying or doing anything. Two of my other hens did the exact same thing and then died 10 days after their last egg. Has anyone else noticed a relationship between going broody and then showing Marek's signs afterwards.

Keep us posted on your hen S&P. I hope she responds to the baytril.

 

[JeanR]

Seabrights and Dutch are 2 bantam breeds that are labeled as unable to breed for immunity to Marek's. Some breeds apparently can. Although some breeds may indeed be bred with immunity, it only takes one carrier to keep the virus active on our premises. Symptoms may not appear for several years, and a seemingly immune bird may be a carrier and be infecting others all that time! Then sudden death. It is an awful scourge, world wide. For me, vaccination is the only preventative,and it is not difficult to do yourself, with a helper to hold the chick. I have been fortunate to have had a Vet tech friend, who loves chickens, put my hatch dates on her calendar, so they are done day after hatch. One hatch, she could not leave the Vet office, and invited me to bring them in--vaccine, diluent and needle. The staff were so interested in seeing a baby chick being vaccinated (subcutaneous), we do it in the thigh. Few Vets do chickens, and do not carry the vaccine .Hatcheries do it in the neck-worry about getting the needle too deep in a tiny bantam neck--thigh is easy. Except for Fryers or Broilers, purchase VACCINATED CHICKS from Hatcheries! Feed Store chicks are risky, if you care about your birds! Chicks do not cry, except being heldnot the fine needle, and there is a lump in the thigh that is gone by the time the next chick is ready. Not the slightest indication of pain or discomfort when placed in the "finished" box. Being a long lived virus, it is easy to say that "once you have the virus on your premises, you will always have it". But this may be because you have a carrier bird that will forever infect your chicks or newly acquired, unvaccinated chicks or birds--and never show symptoms==but may suddenly die at age 4,5, or even older--and a necropsy can reveal internal tumors that were not severe enough to show any symptoms for a LONG time.! There is no treatment that will CURE Marek's. just make a bird feel better IF is indeed will recover, but NOT BE CURED.
My first case arrived with a hen that the breeder claimed was "IMMUNE". And in just several weeks, she showed the classic paralysis symptoms and died. Not a virulent form, there were no more showing symptoms for some months--young cockerels. No one in my area knew what it was--and until computer and search, had a few more losses, all the classic symptoms. Only one hen recovered and did not know that SHE was my carrier for a few months--she laid eggs again (virus is not carried in the eggs.) . When I learned more about the disease, she was eliminated==and vaccination began.....deepest sympathy to all who lose dear birds to Marek's. It is sad and hard to take!!!

 

[ochochicas]

Good information Jean. In addition to carrier birds shedding virus even though they don't outwardly show signs of illness, the virus also lives for months (or even years) in the soil and coop. Your equipment, feeders, shovels, etc all have virus on them. Even if you cull all the carrier birds that doesn't guarantee the virus will not infect new chicks and birds in the future.

I agree that vaccination is the best thing for the chicks. All my birds are vaccinated at hatch. I still had on bird die from Mareks, but one is better than 20.

In the beginning I tried to save all my birds. Some of them lived in the house before their death. So of course my house, carpet, furniture is covered with infected Marek's dander. At the time I didn't know they had Marek's, but it is what it is. After the lab diagnosed the virus, I started culling everything that started to show signs of Marek's. I didn't want them to suffer as long as the first couple had.

Now I am taking a different approach. I'm trying to show that you can live and move forward with Marek's on your property. With some brooder modifications, I raised chicks with a broody hen this summer. They were vaccinated at hatch and then put back with their mom. One of the pullets showed signs of Marek's at 10 weeks. She obviously was exposed to the virus at some point before she had built enough immunity from the vaccine. I was sure she would die, but decided to ride it out. She was sick for about 3 weeks before starting to improve. She actually made a full 100% recovery and is a normal pullet now. I totally expect her to have a relapse and die in the near future, but only time will tell.

Unfortunately my birds have suffered horrible losses from this virus. However, I am hoping to help the backyard chicken community with the "research" I am doing with my chicks.

 

[crazychickenhug]

I am so sorry for your loss I know how you feel a couple of years ago I got some beautiful Orpingtons and brahmas from a breeder and a few months later they developed Mareks out of 36 birds only 3 lived and it stinks because I have to vaccinate everyone now that I raise but I have the number to and excellent vaccine company that is very reasonable on pricing.

 

[crazychickenhug]

What I do is use and incubator and vaccinate as soon as they are dry and I have not had a single occurrence of Mareks since . I know it's a lot of trouble but have you tried moving the hen to a clean wire floor coop off the ground and Lysol and bleach is excellent for killing Marek's you can spray into all of the cracks with Lysol .

 

[saltandpepper2]

Thank you for the response. She's holding in there. But I'm not hoping for the best. I'll finish her dosage of baytril just to cover my back. I'm aware of the facts behind carrier birds, etc. I've had some birds for 4 years,and bought from a breeder where he most likely had mareks, and have always tried to breed for immunity/partial immunity.