Silkie chicks and Marek's disease

[TarokoSilkies]

Hopefully I will be successful in just over two weeks in hatching out some baby silkies.

I have heard that one of the most common diseases in Silkies is Marek's disease. Do the chicks need to be vaccinated against this? If so please can someone give me some ideas about how to get this done? Many thanks.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

I am not sure if Silkies are more prone to Mareks or not. You might stop by our Silkies thread and ask around there with others than own Silkies...https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/297632/silkie-thread

Good luck with the hatch and we do welcome you to our flock!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi from Yorkshire UK

Glad you could join the flock! I too can't say if mareks is more prevalent in silkies. I believe or from what I have read that the vaccine is not a guaranteed way to stop mareks. I believe some vaccinated birds can still get the disease. Wry neck can be more common in silkies as they have a vaulted skull the same as the polish breed. A peck or knock to the head can cause a brain injury to them.

Wishing you the very best of luck with your silkie eggs, I hope you have a great hatch.

Enjoy BYC

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

Would you know if you have Marek's in your area? If not, and if you don't free range, maybe they don't need the vaccination . Chicks have to be done at birth and some new borns have struggles without adding a shot to their problems.

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm glad you joined our community!

Yes, Silkies are rather prone to Marek's Disease (at least from what I've learned on BYC). Depending on how common Marek's Disease is in your area, it might be a good idea to vaccinate yours.
This is a helpful link about vaccinating: Vaccinating Chicks

 

[nj2wv]

Welcome to BYC !!

 

[TarokoSilkies]

Many thanks that was a very helpful link. My next problem is where I might obtain the vaccine, here in U.K.

 

[TarokoSilkies]

Thank you for this advice.

I will need to make some enquiries locally. I live in a very built up area, and there is no other poultry near to us that I know of. So perhaps you are right and the vaccination is not needed.

I would like to give my Silkies the free run in our garden, so I suppose they could pick up contamination brought by birds.

Sounds like a phone call to my Vet might be a good idea.

 

[NickyKnack]

Hello!

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to joined the BYC family. Love the silkies!