Last month I entered Buckeye's in our county fair, my birds are healthy and they eat and give me eggs just like they should, and show no signs of symptoms of being sick. When I brought my birds back home I quarantined them for 30 days. The state vet was there pulling random checks on the poultry and testing for MG, MS and other thing. I asked him how I could find out the results from his sampling and he said to call him and he would give me the results. I sent him an email and his response was There was significant cases of MS and MG in the random sampling 1 in 5. So since my birds have been exposed to ms and mg I have to have my birds quarantined, or that is the right thing to do. This will stop me from entering in the State fair, because someone brought some unhealthy birds just to win a ribbon and and a couple of dollars. And what does this do to me a person who is trying to do right and raise healthy birds, if it is found in my flock I will have to depopulate my flock. I have over 150 birds and it has took me a year and a lot of money to get where I am at now. If a person knowingly brings a sick bird to the show he is not being fair to all who his birds infected. There should be severe penalties for this person. The only place my birds could have been exposed to any disease was at the fair. there is no one withing 5 mile of me that raises any type of poultry.
Hi. I haven't read all the posts concerning this. But there are a few things I'd like to address.
NPIP does not test for Marek's. However, Texas A&M Poultry division has instructions on how to send a blood sample for a Marek's test. Live bird. It's about $20.00 last time I looked. Medical people or vets do not test for Marek's unless requested. A vet can pull blood and put it in the proper tube and you can send it.
Marek's carriers can be healthy all their lives and you would never know that they have it. They still spew dander that infects other birds, like the person who has an exposed healthy carrier in the cage next to yours.
A flock can not be depopulated of Marek's. Once it's on your property it will infect any bird you bring and it can stay active for years. Your new birds will be exposed. You can't disinfect dirt, leaves on trees, etc.
It does not depend on the breed. If your bird has contact with the dust or dander of a Marek's carrier, they will carry it even if they don't get sick, or they are vaccinated. For the life of the exposed carrier.
You sound like a conscience person and strive for doing the right thing. If a breeder want to show or sell birds or chicks, they can get or give Marek's virus. It's been around for over 100 years.
There are ways to sell breeder birds. You can sell hatching eggs. You can have a partner hatch and sell chicks from their chicken free home.
You can not assume your healthy birds do not carry it, or assume the chicken in the next cage will not give your chickens Marek's. You cannot quarantine for any period of time to get rid of it.
The chances are high that a person at a show has no idea his birds are carriers of Marek's. Vaccination prevents the deadly symptoms, but not the virus. Vaccination can also mask if a chicken has it.
I do not judge people for not having the knowledge. All I do is try to educate anyone who will listen. I had a closed flock. I brought home one pullet from a breeder and she infected my flock and it was 18 months later that I discovered the random deaths I had every few months was Marek's. Until I hatched 8 chicks who were 6 weeks old and one by one they got paralysis and were wasted, and some lost their depth perception and could not aim and pick up food.
Please read Nambroth's Big Marek's FAQ link at the bottom of my post. She was very thorough.