PLEASE HELP! young hen limping!

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Quote:
Sweet, well not sweet. But at least he will not be a waste. I am gonna put a little more weight on him then process him. He gets around ok in the tractor with the Silkies. He is from my backyard breeding. So at least I know with future breeding and introducing birds, we will have losses. I don't want to cover up the non-resistant birds with the vaccine(my choice, of course). I am going to breed for resistance, I do the same with cocci.

 

[beevolleyball3]

Just wanted to update, and say that I went ahead and put her out of her misery. She was getting worse, and I didn't want her to suffer. Does anybody have any ideas how to add new chicks to a flock that carries mareks? I need to get more now....

Awwe, sorry for your loss!

 

[aghiowa]

Sorry it might be mareks, but just the begining, some birds get over it and just have symtoms untill they finally pass away.

so you might still have her for a few more years if you'r lucky

 

[salt and pepper]

thank you, I did cull her, as she was getting worse. Not sure if it was mareks, as I've only had one breed die with these symptoms, the others have always been fine,

 

[Haunted55]

I used a broody on some eggs I got sent to me, and the chicks all died. BUT any chick that's hatched under a broody from my own eggs has not died. I can't promise anything, but I did brood my own eggs successfully. They were from exposed survivor hens

As did I, Seminole [incubated eggs from Marek's survivors]. I lost one bird out of 10. Not bad after the losses last summer! These birds are now 19 weeks old and are doing very, very good. We've gotten through the first marker, 10 weeks, and now I am waiting for the 6 month mark. They make it through that...Oh yeah! One thing I will say different from what I have been reading here about the length of time for seperation for unexposed birds, ie; new birds or chicks, I have been told by Vets, researchers and hatchery owners, keep any new birds seperate, under good biosecurity for 6 months to a year. For many this would be impossible, I know. I am able to build a new building to make this possible. The thought and practise of this gives the birds a chance to build up an immunity to the Marek's virus, as it's always there in the wild. What the testing has shown is it's not just one exposure that does it, it's a repeated, in your face type of exposure, or a weak bird to begin with. Small exposure over an extended time seems to provide immunity or a least the ability to fight it off.

Can I prove this? Nope, but I have to believe that the learned people I spoke with wouldn't tell me untruths. Ask me again in November, lol, I'll have a better idea then if it works or not. Another thing I plan on doing is putting turkeys near these birds. This I do have experience with. It seems that by being with the turkeys, they are constantly exposed to turkey Marek's, which is what the hatcheries use to vaccinate the chicks. Another thought here, not all of the hatcheries use the three vaccines on their chicks. I know of one that uses all three and only during the highest chick sale season. Please ask before you buy and make sure the info you're getting is correct. Ask to speak to a manager or owner to get the truth.

 

[salt and pepper]

I'll be getting no vaccinated chicks soon from the same breeder I go my last chicks. Only one breed ever died from it, the others were never affected... I will be getting the same breeds to ''beef up my flock'' I'm getting three extra chicks, and I'm going to hope for my best!!!!!! Wish me luck, and no, I can't separate them for that long.