The cleanup

[Beccabeegirl]

Hello all..
Well I just had the worse experience ever. I bought 2 polish chicks in Aug 31 from a NPIP breeder and by Oct 24 they were overcome with something.
I ended up having them euthanized and did have a necropsy done to find out what causes the mysterious illness . The worse fear came true they had Mareks.

Now that I know what is the proper way to clean and sanitize the coop and run they were in ? There are no other birds in that coop at this time so it’s kinda closed off for the most part. The other birds coops and runs were however attached so they did unfortunately have some limited access to each other.
Any and all help is appreciated.

 

[azygous]

Unfortunately, these avian viruses not only infect all chickens who so much as breathe the same air, they infect the premises and are resistant to most cleaning solvents. Marek's happens to be one of the most long-lived of all of them.

You need to face the idea of not being able to fully clean out the virus from your soil and buildings for the next several years. You will need to learn how to cope with it. I advise you read up on Marek's https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/ so you understand what you're dealing with. The most important take-away is that it's not the end of everything.

You and your flock will be able to lead a more or less normal existence with some basic protocols. Thankfully, Marek's vaccine will allow you to add baby chicks to your flock from time to time if you wish, and you can expect most of your flock to become resistant with good care.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

So sorry to hear you encountered the "dreaded disease". Unfortunately NPIP does not guarantee healthy birds, but even if they did not come with Marek's, the disease is so widespread and easily contracted that you could easily have picked it up from elsewhere.
As you may be aware, the disease is spread by dander dust being inhaled, so the best start would be to vacuum out the coop making sure all cracks and crevices are attended to and then I believe Virkon S is active against the virus.... don't forget to spray the roof ceiling as well as walls floor, cracks and crevices. As regards the run, probably remove all lose litter material and then give the ground a thorough soaking with Virkon solution. Because of the tiny particulate nature in which it is spread, it can be blown on the wind so there is no guaranteed way to eradicate it, but this should dramatically reduce the risks. You need to consider where you have previously removed any potentially contaminated litter to, (compost bin, garden beds etc) as well as how/where you will dispose of the current litter that you remove before you disinfect. Ensuring that prevailing winds will not take and dust towards your other birds, when you start gathering it up. It can be a bit like spitting in the wind, but all you can do is your best to reduce the risk of infection...... or give up.... and I don't advocate that. Many of us are living with it in our flocks and find that subsequent generations are less susceptible. I have not personally tried to eradicate it as many of my birds have shown resistance to it and they free ranged a number of large buildings and farmyard/paddocks so it would not be feasible to disinfect many of the areas that they occupied.

I wish you luck in your task.

Regards

Barbara

 

[Eggcessive]

I have no experience with Mareks as the others have who posted, but to help insure new chicks to have full immunity after vaccination for Mareks, get them vaccinated at a hatchery, and keep them from the infected environment for 2-3 weeks when they should be able to develop immunity. Hatcheries are said to have the best available vaccines. Realize that your new chickens will be carriers of the disease, although with proper vaccination, they may not develop the tumors or other symptoms of the disease.
Sorry that you are dealing with this.