peafowl and marek's

[johnskoi]

are peafowl susceptible to marek's??

first, let me say i do NOT have any issues of concern with my birds at the moment, but i'm a little paranoid of what CAN happen...

i've got about 40 peas , 150 silkies/showgirls and 3 sebbies .... all is good, but it's been brought to my attention that marek's is always a threat .... i do not bring in any new birds -- all of my stock has only come from eggs that i've hatched either from here or ebay .... birds don't come in, they only leave....

people do visit, but most only view through a fence or the cage... when i have time, i give a more personal view for people who really enjoy the birds.. .i really don't want to go thru the grief of vaccinating everybody (i tend to shy away from preventive meds )....

guess i'm wondering if any of you with peas and chickens (and geese for that matter) vaccinate for marek's?

i've had peas for about 20 years now, chickens for 3 and geese for 2 and haven't had any flock issues..... but as the numbers have grown, so has my concern..

all input is appreciated!

thanks,
john

 

[casportpony]

According to the AAAP Avian Disease Manual peafowl *can* get Marek's.

-Kathy

 

[johnskoi]

thank you Kathy

, weeellllllllllll, that puts things in a different perspective for me ... i'm not at the point of, "let's do this" ... a few things for me to ponder (and i welcome any more to add to the list):

-- how easily is marek's carried by people? (for instance, someone unintentially visiting an infected residence and then coming here?) .... and the paranoid side of me worries about an INTENTIONAL contamination

-- if i were EVER to see symptoms in any bird, would it be to late to innoculate the rest of the flock once an outbreak were to start? (and if so is there a 'window of opportunity'?) --if i were to consider this option, i'd have to look into how long the vaccine stays viable to have it on hand...

i'll edit this list as more pop into my head

Kathy, i hope you don't mind, but if i do follow thru with the vacc's, i'll be picking your brain -- i've learned quite a bit from your posts, even tho i have a tendency to remain quiet here.....

 

[casportpony]

Read this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

You might want to contact a very good avian vet or pathologist and talk to them about vaccinating, 'cause I know nothing about it.

-Kathy

 

[johnskoi]

bookmarked the site

already with the first quick scan...

"To date, Chicken Marek's disease virus (MDV) is not known to be zoonotic (contagious) to other commonly kept fowl, except rarely in quail, and in some cases inclosed commercial breeding of turkeys in Europe (said turkeys had been housed in closed quarters close to infected broiler chickens)." ...


a lot more reading ahead before i make a decision -- kathy -- you make things easy peawise and i (and i know others) appreciate it!

back to work for now...

 

[casportpony]

From The AAAP Avian Disease Manual

"OCCURRENCE
Marek's disease is important primarily in chickens, to a much lesser degree in quail, and has been rarely
observed in turkeys, pheasants and jungle fowl. Turkeys and other species have limited susceptibility. The
disease most commonly occurs in young, sexually immature chickens 2-7 months old, but can occur at virtually
any age beyond 3 weeks. The disease occurs throughout the world and virtually all flocks are exposed to the
causative virus."

I also saw something that said "and rarely in peafowl", too, but need to find that link.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

This isn't it, but it has good info:
Source:http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf

 

[casportpony]

Okay, so I might be wrong, 'cause I can't find the link that mentioned peafowl and Marek's. Insert egg in face icon here, lol.

-Kathy

 

[johnskoi]

i'd rather be a little scared by the possibility than thinking my peas are 100% safe from it ... two quick things i picked up from the last article you posted that shed more light for me...

1

"Transmission
Marek’s is highly contagious and spreads by bird-to-bird contact, by contact with infected dust and dander, and by darkling beetles and mealworms that live in the chicken house, although the virus has no affect on the beetles or mealworms. "

... i've toyed with the idea of farming mealworms as a fun protein source for all of the birds -- definitely NOT happening after reading this... no need to increase the odds....

and 2

" Prevention
• Breed for resistance.
• Good sanitation and ventilation.
• Brood chicks separately from adults until 5 months of age.
• Keep turkeys with chickens (this may help the chickens with Marek’s, but can lead to black
head disease in the turkeys).
• Vaccinate all chicks at 1 day old; keep chicks from exposure until immunity has developed, about 7 days."

... i've been thinking of adding a turkey or two to the flock at a friend's suggestion to ward off Marek's, but after seeing the black head warning and knowing what can happen to the peas, turkeys are no longer on my list of add-ons...

once again, Kathy. THANK YOU!