Plymouth Rocks and Mareks

So sorry I did not explain it that well. I have 3 separate flocks. I have my Plymouth Rock and Aracuana and my laying girls. There is only a wire fence dividing them and the wind blows down and away from my laying flock.My laying flock all free range into paddocks have never had an illness only one with a respiratory issue that was months ago and she is fine after antibiotics she saw a vet.My Aracuana are in the front of our house in a large open yard.The Plymouth are in our large back yard that is fenced from my laying flock but separate. I resourced the pullets and my roosters and older hens from all different breeders. I have asked breeders and they have not had Mareks. Yes there was only one survivor from the fox attack and that was about 2 years ago there was never any issues with that flock that where attacked and this girl is healthy laying and the best mother they got killed in our old place.I have only had Plymouth Rock with the flock no other breeds I have not mixed them and yes I now that I only have one Plymouth Rock boy it is better when they where cockerels they where overly testosteroned.Thanks so much for your help.
 
So sorry I did not explain it that well. I have 3 separate flocks. I have my Plymouth Rock and Aracuana and my laying girls. There is only a wire fence dividing them and the wind blows down and away from my laying flock.My laying flock all free range into paddocks have never had an illness only one with a respiratory issue that was months ago and she is fine after antibiotics she saw a vet.My Aracuana are in the front of our house in a large open yard.The Plymouth are in our large back yard that is fenced from my laying flock but separate. I resourced the pullets and my roosters and older hens from all different breeders. I have asked breeders and they have not had Mareks. Yes there was only one survivor from the fox attack and that was about 2 years ago there was never any issues with that flock that where attacked and this girl is healthy laying and the best mother they got killed in our old place.I have only had Plymouth Rock with the flock no other breeds I have not mixed them and yes I now that I only have one Plymouth Rock boy it is better when they where cockerels they where overly testosteroned.Thanks so much for your help.
I have 3 other roosters they are adults 2 with my mixed flock and one Aracuana boy about 3 with my Aracuana hens some of those are pullets but all healthy never an illness they are not vaccinated it is hard to get vaccine in Australia you can only buy in bulk quantities not many breeders vaccinate here where I live.The ones that are vaccinated I have i got from hatcheries .
 
If your layers are only separated from the P Rocks by a fence they have definitely been exposed but since they are all adults you may not see any issues with them. If they raise chicks, you might start to see problems with the disease in that flock then. If the Araucanas are on the other side of the house you may be lucky, but infected material can be transferred on your clothes, hair, shoes and skin so it may rear it's ugly head in that flock too at some point.
Getting unvaccinated birds (particularly grown birds) from different sources greatly increases your chances of bringing Marek's into your flock. Unfortunately, like you I didn't know that when I started out and once you realise that you have the disease it is too late.
Cleaning and vacuuming out your coop to remove all the dust will help to reduce the level of infected material and the risks to other birds..... ensure you dispose of that bedding and dust from the vacuum cleaner where it cannot re infect..... burn or bury. Virkon S is one of the few products which will kill the Marek's virus, so disinfecting the coop with that once it has been cleaned out will help. The virus is spread by infected dander dust being inhaled and this is most likely to occur in the coop. The best that you can do is reduce the reservoir of infected material. There will be some in the ground that you cannot eradicate and there will probably be some trapped in the feathers of the remaining chickens, so all you can ever do is reduce the level of infected material. I understand that, similar to cold sores in people(both are Herpes viruses), birds only shed the virus when they are symptomatic, so culling sick birds or isolating them in an area that can contain the infected material and be relatively easily cleaned up..... as described above .... and practising good biosecurity between them and your other birds ,when you have a suspect bird, is probably a good idea.

For information, the vaccine is only available in bulk in other countries too..... usually 1000 dose units and needs to be administered within an hour of the active components being mixed, so it makes the logistics of vaccinating small hatches unrealistic. The vaccine is also leaky and does not prevent the birds from getting the disease, just protects them from the more serious/fatal symptoms which may allow the virus to mutate and be responsible for the more aggressive strains of the disease that are becoming prevalent..... so vaccination may not necessarily be the best option in the long run. I have a mild version and I would rather manage that even though it means losing the odd bird than vaccinate and risk the development of a more aggressive strain. If you already have an aggressive strain, it probably pays to vaccinate.
 
If your layers are only separated from the P Rocks by a fence they have definitely been exposed but since they are all adults you may not see any issues with them. If they raise chicks, you might start to see problems with the disease in that flock then. If the Araucanas are on the other side of the house you may be lucky, but infected material can be transferred on your clothes, hair, shoes and skin so it may rear it's ugly head in that flock too at some point.
Getting unvaccinated birds (particularly grown birds) from different sources greatly increases your chances of bringing Marek's into your flock. Unfortunately, like you I didn't know that when I started out and once you realise that you have the disease it is too late.
Cleaning and vacuuming out your coop to remove all the dust will help to reduce the level of infected material and the risks to other birds..... ensure you dispose of that bedding and dust from the vacuum cleaner where it cannot re infect..... burn or bury. Virkon S is one of the few products which will kill the Marek's virus, so disinfecting the coop with that once it has been cleaned out will help. The virus is spread by infected dander dust being inhaled and this is most likely to occur in the coop. The best that you can do is reduce the reservoir of infected material. There will be some in the ground that you cannot eradicate and there will probably be some trapped in the feathers of the remaining chickens, so all you can ever do is reduce the level of infected material. I understand that, similar to cold sores in people(both are Herpes viruses), birds only shed the virus when they are symptomatic, so culling sick birds or isolating them in an area that can contain the infected material and be relatively easily cleaned up..... as described above .... and practising good biosecurity between them and your other birds ,when you have a suspect bird, is probably a good idea.

For information, the vaccine is only available in bulk in other countries too..... usually 1000 dose units and needs to be administered within an hour of the active components being mixed, so it makes the logistics of vaccinating small hatches unrealistic. The vaccine is also leaky and does not prevent the birds from getting the disease, just protects them from the more serious/fatal symptoms which may allow the virus to mutate and be responsible for the more aggressive strains of the disease that are becoming prevalent..... so vaccination may not necessarily be the best option in the long run. I have a mild version and I would rather manage that even though it means losing the odd bird than vaccinate and risk the development of a more aggressive strain. If you already have an aggressive strain, it probably pays to vaccinate.
Thanks so much for that great reply.I will definitely take all that you have on board . How many chickens have you lost to this? regards Judy
 
I don't keep a tally on such things..... it is too negative! But as a rough idea, I probably lost 4-5 the first year and then maybe 3ish the next year and 2 this last year. I didn't raise any chicks last year so the 2 I lost were older birds. One had completely recovered from an outbreak when she was a juvenile but succumbed to it as a 2 year old after battling it for months. The other was a 3 year old and I'm not certain it was Marek's with her...she died from a respiratory infection which again, she battled for months before it took her down. Secondary infections are common with Marek's because it compromises the immune system. I should point out that apart from last year when I didn't raise any chicks, I have broody reared chicks from my own hens within the Marek's exposed flock, so there has been plenty of opportunity for the disease to strike. 2 years ago I broody reared 56 chicks, but usually it is 10-20. The surplus cockerels get eaten, so there might have been more of them suffer the disease if they had lived longer.
The ones I remember best are the ones that made miraculous recoveries from really debilitating outbreaks sometimes taking months of supportive care. I had poor hatch rates this year so I currently only have 7 chicks, 4 of which are approaching the critical age to show symptoms. I try not to be too focussed on looking for early symptoms but I do pay particular attention to their gait and demeanour. The broody that reared these 4 chicks had an outbreak of Marek's a few months before going broody. She was 5 years old and it was her first outbreak but she battled through it. The hatching eggs are not hers though as there is no rooster in that flock.

I hope that gives you some idea of what to expect. Some people with aggressive strains lose whole hatches. Of course, each individual you lose in heart breaking but you learn to rejoice in the ones that survive. Unfortunately, death and loss is a part of chicken keeping..... they are prone to so many ailments, diseases and predators, but there is also lots of joy that they bring.
 
I don't keep a tally on such things..... it is too negative! But as a rough idea, I probably lost 4-5 the first year and then maybe 3ish the next year and 2 this last year. I didn't raise any chicks last year so the 2 I lost were older birds. One had completely recovered from an outbreak when she was a juvenile but succumbed to it as a 2 year old after battling it for months. The other was a 3 year old and I'm not certain it was Marek's with her...she died from a respiratory infection which again, she battled for months before it took her down. Secondary infections are common with Marek's because it compromises the immune system. I should point out that apart from last year when I didn't raise any chicks, I have broody reared chicks from my own hens within the Marek's exposed flock, so there has been plenty of opportunity for the disease to strike. 2 years ago I broody reared 56 chicks, but usually it is 10-20. The surplus cockerels get eaten, so there might have been more of them suffer the disease if they had lived longer.
The ones I remember best are the ones that made miraculous recoveries from really debilitating outbreaks sometimes taking months of supportive care. I had poor hatch rates this year so I currently only have 7 chicks, 4 of which are approaching the critical age to show symptoms. I try not to be too focussed on looking for early symptoms but I do pay particular attention to their gait and demeanour. The broody that reared these 4 chicks had an outbreak of Marek's a few months before going broody. She was 5 years old and it was her first outbreak but she battled through it. The hatching eggs are not hers though as there is no rooster in that flock.

I hope that gives you some idea of what to expect. Some people with aggressive strains lose whole hatches. Of course, each individual you lose in heart breaking but you learn to rejoice in the ones that survive. Unfortunately, death and loss is a part of chicken keeping..... they are prone to so many ailments, diseases and predators, but there is also lots of joy that they bring.
I am so sorry for your losses. Yes it is heartbreaking losing birds that you have grown so attached too. I have 2 Plymouth Rock pullets from the flock with respiratory illness at the moment they are laying which I think is a good sign and seen the vet and on antibiotics. I am really fortunate to have a good vet that knows about bird issues.They are eating really well just slight chest rattles.I so appreciate your emails and insight and advice.Pullets at POL are the most vulnerable ? are pullets more prone than cockerels or it does not differentiate?
 
I so appreciate your emails and insight and advice.

This is what makes the BYC community the wonderful thing that it is..... I have learned so much from what others have been kind enough to pass on, added it to my own experience and then pass it forward to you. Hopefully we will eventually figure out best practice in dealing with these things.

I think it depends on the circumstances as regards one sex being more susceptible than the other. If young cockerels are in with an older flock master and older hens they will get more of a hard time and be more susceptible. If pullets are in with young cockerels and no older birds, the pullets will be more stressed and probably come off worst. Managing your birds so that stress levels are as low as possible is key but things like hormone surges at point of lay are not really something you can do anything about. I think it helps to have pullets in with older birds to show them the ropes and cockerels in a bachelor pad. Having as much space as possible and lots of interesting things to do also helps. Free range is best, but comes with other risks. You have to weigh up what works best in your situation.
 
Thanks for that. Yes my main flock are so free range I do not know where they are at times when I let them out we have access to acres surrounding our house in the country. The Plymouths have a big back yard.All is good at the moment no symptoms in the others. Yes free ranging does have it's risk here mainly are foxes we do not get some of the predators that the States have do you have coyotes where you live? We do get eagles one took a tiny dog a few months ago not far from where we live sadly.
 
No coyotes or raccoons or possums here, or problems with birds of prey, just foxes and probably the bigger problem of domestic dogs. The UK is a small country with a lot of people in it and many have dogs and think it is OK to come out into the countryside and let their dogs off the lead. I have had to pen most of my chickens now as losses were getting too high.
 
Oh dear I thought you where in the States. Yes of course you would not have coyotes or raccoons. I have been to the UK such lovely country.Yes we have so many foxes here too. I was amazed when I saw them in London but they are in our cities here too completely urbanized. How many chickens do you have?
 

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