Rooster balance problems - how big is the chance of Marek's?

Just a heads-up, it will probably take 2 weeks for the results to come in.

Phil's former owner is sad about the whole ordeal too. I told her he was so amazing and if she ever had a "mistake" like him in her flock again I'd gladly take him off her hands like with Phil. She told me yes immediately, but she also invited me to come pick out a handsome purebred cemani rooster for free in spring as a thanks to giving Phil such a nice home. I appreciate that and will probably wait for spring to get a rooster there. He will never be as beautiful as Phil with his golden spots, but if he's from the same place he might have some of his personality traits.

That's after we have conclusive results and know where we stand.

Did she expose his sciatic (femoral) nerves, and take samples there?
Mary

Not that I know of, or at least I didn't get pictures of that. But I guess if it's Mareks it will come out of the tissue test now anyways.
 
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I made this little memorial for Phil, since I didn't get to keep his body. It turned out really well.

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I have no news about the results yet, but I do have one question if anyone can help me. There's a girl moving close to my town and she's asked if I am able to take over a serama roo and hen. They are approximately 30 weeks old at this moment. They are not vaccinated. Is it ok to add them to my flock or is the threat of Mareks too big? The test results should come in before they would be brought to me, but I've been thinking about a future with Mareks for a while now...
 
That is a nice memorial for Phil. If Phil did have Mareks, any new flock members will be exposed to the disease from dust and dander in the environment. Wonder if she could get them vaccinated for Mareks? It takes 2 weeks for them to develop immunity from the vaccine, so if she could do that and wait the 2 weeks before delivering them to you, they might have a good chance to not get the disease symptoms.
 
That is a nice memorial for Phil. If Phil did have Mareks, any new flock members will be exposed to the disease from dust and dander in the environment. Wonder if she could get them vaccinated for Mareks? It takes 2 weeks for them to develop immunity from the vaccine, so if she could do that and wait the 2 weeks before delivering them to you, they might have a good chance to not get the disease symptoms.

I thought it wasn't possible to vaccinate older birds for Mareks? Or at least the vaccine wouldn't properly work then. If I've read it correctly them being exposed to the dander won't necessarily make them develop the symptoms especially not if they're already a bit older?
 
I am not an expert on Mareks, but if the chickens have not been exposed in their previous environment, I understand that they could still develop immunity to the disease if they are vaccinated. It is true that vaccinating is best as day old chicks, but I would still vaccinate them before they come to you. Vaccinating is a controversial topic for all chicken owners. I get it done when ordering new chicks. I do not know how easy it is to obtain the Mareks vaccine in Belgium. In the US we can order it online.

Older birds are a bit less likely to develop symptoms, but as I understand it, any chicken any age can still get Mareks symptom 3 or more weeks after being exposed. I am sure some will disagree with vaccinating the newcomers, but that is my opinion.
 
I am not an expert on Mareks, but if the chickens have not been exposed in their previous environment, I understand that they could still develop immunity to the disease if they are vaccinated. It is true that vaccinating is best as day old chicks, but I would still vaccinate them before they come to you. Vaccinating is a controversial topic for all chicken owners. I get it done when ordering new chicks. I do not know how easy it is to obtain the Mareks vaccine in Belgium. In the US we can order it online.

Older birds are a bit less likely to develop symptoms, but as I understand it, any chicken any age can still get Mareks symptom 3 or more weeks after being exposed. I am sure some will disagree with vaccinating the newcomers, but that is my opinion.

I've read up on a lot of scientific articles about Mareks lately, but even them some topics are still a riddle to me. I absolutely support vaccinating and I will immediately do so when I have chicks of my own, but I thought it wasn't very useful to vaccinating after 5 months anyway. Adding unvaccinated chickens to a Mareks positive flock looks like a hit or miss from what I find online. In any case the results should be in before they're coming to me, so I'll ask the vet to be sure.
 
Consider carefully what issues these outside birds could bring to your flock, not only what your flock might give them.
It's safest to NEVER take birds from outside flocks, only day old chicks from known safe sources.
Mary
 

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