Texas

[bnjrob]

Marek's questions...

Who vaccinates for Marek's?
Why do you Vaccinate?
Did you have a chicken get Marek's and you are trying to not go through that again? or just prevention?

Where do you get the vaccine? and do you vaccinate for other things? What?

I am asking this here because I want to talk with people in my state about this not in NY where things can be completely different.
Thanks for your input

No we do not vaccinate for Marek's. Have had one cockerel die from it, did necropsy and sent tumors to pathology lab for verification. None have had it since, that was 5 years ago. Would not vaccinate for it even if more came down with it. No, we don't vaccinate our chickens for anything else - dogs, cats, and donkeys get vaccinations, but not our poultry. I'm an RN and my husband is a veterinarian.

You can get vaccines from livestock supply stores that carry poultry supplies - usually you have to order it online/from catalogs. They come in quantities meant to vaccinate large numbers of birds at one time. Some are relatively inexpensive but if you're only vaccinating a few birds, then the cost per vaccination is high and you can't save the vaccinations for later use, you mix the solutions up right before you administer them. Some vaccines are illegal to give here in Texas.

 

[bnjrob]

You stated that it is better to breed resistant chickens... How do I do that, if I don't know who has it and who doesn't. Also can those chickens be purchased??? if so where???

Thank you for your input I am trying to understand all of this.

Immunity or *resistance* is when the body is able to fight off a germ. Vaccines do this by artificially exposing a person or animal to a germ, generally a germ that has been weakened so it hopefully won't cause the actual disease. Natural immunity comes from being exposed to a germ in the environment and the body fights it off. We are exposed to a ton of germs every day that our immune systems fight off, just like chickens come across lots of germs every day but they don't always gets sick.

Unless you have lab testing done to specifically look for antibodies to a germ, there isn't a way to know if a bird is *resistant* to a particular germ. So there is no way to really buy or sell *resistant* birds since you can't tell for sure. And stress is a huge factor in whether or not a bird gets sick. Buying a bird and bringing it home can be stress enough for a bird to get sick, because it's in a new environment and not accustomed to your husbandry methods yet.

If all your birds intermingle with one another and one bird gets sick, chances are all the other birds have been exposed to the same germ. If the birds get sick and recover, then theoretically they shouldn't get sick again if they are exposed to that exact same germ again. And theoretically, if you have birds that never got sick, even though they were still around the sick birds, then chances are they have also been able to build up an immunity to the germ.

For best results of breeding for *resistance* you would only breed the birds that did NOT show any symptoms, but were still exposed to the sick bird.

As ChicKat mentioned, serious breeders tend to cull ill birds. Fortunately chickens are also considered food, so their lives are not taken in vain and their bodies can go for a utility purpose. If you are not willing to cull, then at the very least, you should not hatch from birds that have gotten sick - unless it's an illness like fowl pox which is pretty benign. Although I have heard of some old time breeders that will even cull birds that wind up with pox.

I have seen too many backyard people hatching from birds that routinely cycle through a respiratory illness several times a year and all they are doing is perpetuating birds that are prone to illness. Breeding from birds that routinely get antibiotics, because the owners give antibiotics every time something looks wrong with a bird, is also a way to perpetuate a flock more prone to illness. Best thing is not to breed from these birds, no matter how attached you are to them. Breeding from healthy birds is the best bet.

 

[ChicKat]

Most chicken "stuff" can be very confusing....but only if you OVER think it.

IMO anything that Chickat says is worth listening to and following..

wow, thanks for the endorsement

(ChicKat knows a lot about Mareks...)

- Ant Farm

Thanks Ant Farm -- and all I really know is that I dug a lot and posted that Marek's page. -- When I lost a lovely black-sex-link -- I thought that she had injured her wing, but it wasn't that, and as she got worse, I finally took her to TX A&M veterinary medical diagnostic lab in Gonzales, where they euthanized her and did a necropsy. It took secondary tests at the cellular level to find the answer, and only necropsy is the definitive answer for Merek's. That pullet had been protecting a younger Easter Egger from a mean Ideal 236 (but in the animal kingdom when we say 'mean' we are projecting our values on animal behavior)--- so she was running from an aggressor, protecting her little 'sister' and approaching POL - and I didn't know at the time that would be stressful for a chicken. (I know-- big duh.) The necropsy to the second level was expensive - but I had to know the truth. By the time I got her there she was doing the classic one-leg-forward-one-leg back Marek's symptom. -- That's when I started to see if anything could be done about Marek's. Incidentally the little EE that she had been sharing a roost with, and the Ideal 236 who was a bit older than both never had any problems and lived normal chicken lives with high egg production.

Glad to hear Dumbledore is still kickin' along with your other CLs.

No we do not vaccinate for Marek's. Have had one cockerel die from it, did necropsy and sent tumors to pathology lab for verification. None have had it since, that was 5 years ago. Would not vaccinate for it even if more came down with it. No, we don't vaccinate our chickens for anything else - dogs, cats, and donkeys get vaccinations, but not our poultry. I'm an RN and my husband is a veterinarian.

You can get vaccines from livestock supply stores that carry poultry supplies - usually you have to order it online/from catalogs. They come in quantities meant to vaccinate large numbers of birds at one time. Some are relatively inexpensive but if you're only vaccinating a few birds, then the cost per vaccination is high and you can't save the vaccinations for later use, you mix the solutions up right before you administer them. Some vaccines are illegal to give here in Texas.

This is such a good insight. If I recall correctly the quantity of dosage is 1,000 for vaccine for Marek's, and once it is mixed up lasts for 20 minutes and then it isn't effective anylonger. So someone woul dhave to work fast and throw away a lot of vaccine for home use. Home available vaccine is also a bit different from commercial use too, if I'm not mistaken. -- I think commercial operations vaccinate for Marek's while the chick is still in the egg, too so they can do many multiples at one time.

Same here I get the dog vaccinated and boostered - and on the ranch we gave the cattle their shots -- but the chickens -- I don't like to see medication used with them. Because so many backyarders were using so much medication so freely, there was a stricter limitation put on the medications and how to get them. It is possible to develop such things as antibiotic resistant organisms by misuse of medications.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

I start all my chicks on medicated feed to prevent cociodosis. Especially, if they are going to go into a pen once they feather out.

 

[reindeermama]

I have never fed medicated feed. I guess I have been lucky. I thought they didn't get it if their brooder was keep really clean. I probably should fed medicated from now on. But, you don't feed it if they have been vaccinated for it? I think some hatcheries do vaccinate for it.



On another note:AUSTIN — One North Texas lawmaker has his feathers ruffled over local laws that ban people from keeping chickens in their backyards.
On Wednesday, the Senate passed a bill by Plano Republican Van Taylor that would bar cities from banning up to six chickens at residential properties. It would still allow cities to ban rooster ownership, prohibit breeding and mandate coop requirements.
The bill became the target of numerous cringe-worthy puns for several minutes before it was passed by a vote of 30-0.

 

[ChicKat]

I start all my chicks on medicated feed to prevent cociodosis. Especially, if they are going to go into a pen once they feather out.

I do the same thing -- and have never had cocci - My impression is it is kind of a builds up thing. IF it is a broody hen -- always gives me a dilemma--and I feed her and her chicks 'Flock Raiser'. - Although we use the term 'medicated feed' -- I don't actually consider Amprollium as a medication. It definitely isn't an antibiotic. Incidentally, Did y'all know that as of this January I think it was medicated livestock feed isn't sold 'over the counter' any longer. Those feeds did contain antibiotics.
https://www.fda.gov/animalveterinary/products/animalfoodfeeds/medicatedfeed/ucm2007993.htm


MyPEtChicken has a good write-up on it:

https://www.mypetchicken.com/backya...edicated-feed-all-about-do-I-need-it-H74.aspx

Basically Amprollium is a preventative and not a treatment. The chicks develop their own immunity. It has been worth it to my mind to never get cocci. Usually I only feed them chick starter from hatch to 4 weeks or at the most 8-weeks depending on the season - if they are in the brooder or outdoors etc. Also depending on if there are more chicks on the way to use the starter, or if this is the last batch of chicks and I need to use up the bag. (very scientific approach isn't it?)

My nearest feed store only carries medicated starter..(LoneStar brand) -- TSC I know has medicated and non-medicated -- but I think medicated is a bit of a misnomer IMO

.

 

[ChicKat]

I have never fed medicated feed. I guess I have been lucky. I thought they didn't get it if their brooder was keep really clean. I probably should fed medicated from now on. But, you don't feed it if they have been vaccinated for it? I think some hatcheries do vaccinate for it.



On another note:AUSTIN — One North Texas lawmaker has his feathers ruffled over local laws that ban people from keeping chickens in their backyards.
On Wednesday, the Senate passed a bill by Plano Republican Van Taylor that would bar cities from banning up to six chickens at residential properties. It would still allow cities to ban rooster ownership, prohibit breeding and mandate coop requirements.
The bill became the target of numerous cringe-worthy puns for several minutes before it was passed by a vote of 30-0.

Good news about the bill. -- I bet some of the puns were funny. It shows that some lawmakers are enlightened after all doesn't it!

 

[TEXchickendude]

I am from Bryan TX just started raising chickens a couple months ago with a pair of old english game bantams they had 8 chicks 5 guys and 3 girls and i also have a blue barbu d'uccle hen and 2 silkie chicks and a game cockerel

 

[Kiki]

I am from Bryan TX just started raising chickens a couple months ago with a pair of old english game bantams they had 8 chicks 5 guys and 3 girls and i also have a blue barbu d'uccle hen and 2 silkie chicks and a game cockerel

Welcome tp BYC...
Congrats on the newly hatched chicks.
Are you keeping them all?

 

[TEXchickendude]

A medium run i made the good thing about bantams is that they dont take up as much space as regular size chickens