Possible Marek's in show and breeding flock- Decision needs to be made

citychicks13

Chirping
Dec 19, 2015
40
4
59
North Carolina
Recently I had a rooster with leg issues. Well he died so I sent him in for a necropsy and the results came back today. The necropsy came back with a likely Marek's disease. The problem is that besides by pets these are my show birds that I breed and sell chicks and started birds. I feel that the best plan of action is to treat it like Marek's. I was thinking cull all the birds, disinfect every inch and object in my back yard, and start over. I plan on using Virkon S Disinfectant and Virucide, would this work on all surfaces (dirt, wood, sand, concrete, wire, plants, plastic metal, ect.) I am going to talk to the person that did the necropsy and ask for his opinion as well as yours. I was hoping to hear other breeder and showers experiance with Marek's in their flock. Also would I have to rebuild all coops?
Note: My pens are right next to each other hints all birds being culled.
 
First of all, Marek's is not contagious. It is genetic. You will not need to rebuild your coops. If you keep seeing it in your lines, look into different breeding lines.
 
I'm sorry if I sound snippy but, Marek's disease is not genetic. But you can build resistance to it threw genetics.
Ma·rek's dis·ease
ˈmariks,ˈmär-/
noun
unpunctuated: Mareks disease; noun: Marek's disease
  1. an infectious disease of poultry caused by a herpesvirus that attacks nerves and causes paralysis or initiates widespread tumor formation.

So does anyone think I am going over board or am I taking the right measures?
 
Marek's is actually a herpesvirus. It is spread via air and can be carried on microscopic particles via wind from farm to farm, from very far away. So yes, you are correct that it is an infectious disease. However for the sake of argument, since the vaccine does not actually prevent infection nor transmission (it is not sterilizing for said population) it should be considered a 'genetic' disease when one is considering treatment versus management. If this doesn't make sense, you might want to take some time and do a little medical research. Sorry - this is a complex issue. Sometimes it is easier to communicate in bottom-line terms rather than technically *correct yet misleading* ones.

;-) You'll get it. It's a learning curve. Best of luck. This is a tricky thing.
 

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