Sanitizing after mareks

[JacksonPearce]

A friend has discovered that her first flock has mareks and is understandably devastated. She's already lost a number of hens, and can't decide if she wants to return the remaining three to the breeder and start fresh or just give these three a home for as long as they can carry on. She would eventually like new chickens, though, and so I'm wondering-- is there any way to fully clean and sanitize her coop? It's not particularly big, and the surfaces are painted wood (and thus probably would sanitize better than raw wood), but obviously it would need be pretty intensely sanitized. Is it not worth the risk at all? Anyone have experience, here?

 

[Eggcessive]

Tell your friend that it would be unethical to take chickens back to the breeder or to rehome chickens who have been in a flock with Mareks. All chickens exposed to one with Mareks are considered carriers for life. She can euthanize the remaining chickens, but even then she may have Mareks for months to years from now, just from dust and dander from the affected chickens. She might want to reconsider and keep her remaining chickens and enjoy them until they are all gone. Hopefully, she will have some survivors. Many people have Mareks positive flocks, and some raise chicks from the chickens who seem to be immune.

A good disinfectant to use for cleaning a coop and run is Virkon S which is available in tablet form to mix with water, from Amazon.

 

[JacksonPearce]

Hi Eggcessive! The chicks definitely came to her with Mareks (I'm angry about that, but that's another post)-- I think that the breeder would likely cull them, but I know that's not something she would want to do. Since the breeder is obviously already a Mareks carrier, I don't feel like there's anything unethical about her returning them to him.

I will suggest the Virkon to her, though, and thanks for. If she was a more experienced owner, I think she'd be more open to the idea of simply of keeping Mareks chickens and perhaps giving homes to others that have Mareks, but she has truly struggled with losing birds and seeing them as livestock rather than cherished pets. She's been taking each sick bird to the vet, and I'm sure is several thousand in the hole at this point trying to care for them. I feel for her!

 

[Eggcessive]

Okay that is different if the breeder passed along sick birds. But Mareks is in her environment now, and can last for years. Nobody really knows exactly—some say months while others say years. For instance if you went to her yard, you could accidentally bring it home on clothing or shoes. If she wants to get new chicks someday, she should get baby chicks from a hatchery that have been vaccinated there, and keep them away from any possible contamination for at least 2 full weeks to develop immunity. They still could become carriers from the environment, but they might never be sick with symptoms.