Please Help!! Marek's Disease and vaccination question. HELP!

Did you have a Vet diagnosis the disease? Or are you just assuming that is what it is from the signs and symptoms? I have had baby chicks end up doing thte same thing and it was not due to Mareks. If 1 baby has Mareks usually they all do because Mareks is highly contagious. There are many things that can happen to babies to cause the signs and symptoms that you stated. Look up Mareks disease in the Wikipedia.

 

Why don't you call the breeder and ask if they were vaccinated?

If they were, then you know that it is very unlikely to be Marek's and you can rest easier. (Although I'm sure, like in human vacci's, it is not 100% effective.)

If it is Marek's, I don't believe that you can vaccinate now that they have been exposed, but someone with more knowledge than me may chime in about that.

If it were me, as hard as it is, I would cull and start over, making sure to get vaccinated chicks.

 

It won't hurt to vaccinate an already exposed bird, it just won't help. The bird has to 'see' the vaccine before the actual virus to be helpful. Your bird is rather young to be affected by Marek's- it usually affects birds around point- of-lay, or older. Being a silkie, they are prone to head trauma. Being young and rapidly growing- this could also be a slipped tendon or other orthopedic problem. Certainly call the breeder and enquire about whether they were vaccinated. Marek's is a paralysis when it affects the legs and wings, not a pain thing. dragging the leg is paralysis, holding it up is pain. It the leg floppy or is it stiff and non bending? Does it bend at the joints? Is the bottom of the foot oK? Is there a band stuck around a toe, hiding in the fluff? Holding the leg out in front does not sound like Marek's to me, more often the leg drags behind as the chicken hops forward on the other leg.

 

Quote:Oh no! Really? Mine are not vaccinated and I was told that they are usually considered 'safe' from Marek's after the 5 month mark. Bummer.

I hope your girls will be OK mbsommers.

 

yea everything I read said after 4 or 5 mo. they were safe ? I got mine from a feed store who gets them from mcmurry hatchery but I don't know if he had them vaccine before shipping because I know it cost more. I think like 3.00 more right ? I think they were like 2.99 for pullets. that's all he orders.

 

25 cents per bird to vaccinate for Marek's at McMurray hatchery. Well worth the price. The feed stores around here only order vaccinated bird, and add the price of purchase into each chick- increases it less than a dollar. If you hatch at home, the bottle costs about 10$ and it vaccinates LOTS of birds, way more than the average hatcher would need to do at any one sitting.

Point of lay for most breeds is around 4-5 months, this is when on average Marek's infection causes symptoms- this is the classic leg lameness/range paralysis. Marek's has many forms- the nerve tumor form that cause paralysis, the ocular form (weird grey iris), visceral tumor form (birds usually waste away, and may get distended bellies), and feather sheath tumor form- lumpy skin and feather follicles. The cases that have more slow progression or subtle symptoms- like the ocular form and skin form- may not cause a bird to look odd or ill until later. Sometimes years. Sorry- viruses are unpleasant, they do what they want, and symptoms can be varied as well as progression can vary quite a bit. Yes, it is less likely that a bird would succumb to the Marek's virus after they are 4-5 months old, but it is still possible. I know of many instances that this has happened to chickens belonging to people I know, but most die by 5 months old.