My son spent a year in Versmold Germany which borders Bielefeld. He took pictures of chickens for me whenever he saw any. When he came home, GFF started selling the Bielefeld breed.
Just saying
Caroline
The Legbar Thread!
- Thread starter jeremy
- Start date
My son spent a year in Versmold Germany which borders Bielefeld. He took pictures of chickens for me whenever he saw any. When he came home, GFF started selling the Bielefeld breed.
Just saying
Caroline
Your son sounds like an enabler. My son took pictures of chickens on his recent trip to Panama for meMy son spent a year in Versmold Germany which borders Bielefeld. He took pictures of chickens for me whenever he saw any. When he came home, GFF started selling the Bielefeld breed.This is what most of the chickens he photographed looked like. This photo was taken in Bielefeld but I bet it is a langsham or some other type. I could not convince him to bring me eggs to try to hatch. I just thought it was a beautiful cockerel - I especially love the feathering on the feet. Just saying Caroline
This is one very handsome chicken! Assuming he's a purebred, he's not a Langshans--the comb is wrong unless the Germans have a pea comb variety. He most resembles a Blue-something Brahma, not quite right for partridge maybe red-shouldered (?) Anyway some variety we don't see over here.
Last edited:
thanks dretd, I will check it. since it's quotes i may pull rather than change it.
Marek's does not spread vertically (from hen to egg), but is easily transmitted horizontally (from bird to bird) and via fomites - eg, feathers, shoes, dander, feed and water containers, and other objects.
Marek's is in the herpesvirus family, along with diseases such as herpes simplex, chicken pox, and feline viral rhinotracheitis among many others. They have the ability to cause a lifelong infection, sitting latent in the body and causing recurrent infections at later dates - shingles is a recurrence of the virus that causes chicken pox, and cold sores are oral herpesvirus coming back to haunt you later. They are impossible to get rid on once you have them.
Vaccination is the only way to prevent tumors in infected birds. It does not prevent infection, but decreases the severity of the disease and makes it less likely birds will be come clinically ill. They can, however, still become infected and pass the infection on to other birds.
For vaccination to be effective, it must be given to day old chicks - and in the US the vaccine is only sold in 1000 dose units. A chicken pathologist, expert on chicken diseases, told me that the unrehydrated vaccine pellet can be aseptically divided into 4 and those units frozen until you need to use them - helps decrease the cost a little.
Marek's is in the herpesvirus family, along with diseases such as herpes simplex, chicken pox, and feline viral rhinotracheitis among many others. They have the ability to cause a lifelong infection, sitting latent in the body and causing recurrent infections at later dates - shingles is a recurrence of the virus that causes chicken pox, and cold sores are oral herpesvirus coming back to haunt you later. They are impossible to get rid on once you have them.
Vaccination is the only way to prevent tumors in infected birds. It does not prevent infection, but decreases the severity of the disease and makes it less likely birds will be come clinically ill. They can, however, still become infected and pass the infection on to other birds.
For vaccination to be effective, it must be given to day old chicks - and in the US the vaccine is only sold in 1000 dose units. A chicken pathologist, expert on chicken diseases, told me that the unrehydrated vaccine pellet can be aseptically divided into 4 and those units frozen until you need to use them - helps decrease the cost a little.
Sorry the photos aren't the best, but this is my lone Cream Legbar pullet Sassafras. I know she isn't perfect, but she is my first and has lit a fire to have a flock of them, all getting better (once we can!). Will try to get better photos when she will actually stand still, but she doesn't have any crest, and she is a bit gold in the hackles, but I think she has a nice type (for age) and a nice tail angle. Will try to capture those better when she cooperates!
I started a post earlier on Marek's and decided to refrain, but wanted to mention something I think noteworthy: Marek's vaccine is a live vaccine. Birds vaccinated shed the live virus for life. It may not be continuous, or it may be, but combining vaccinated and unvaccinated birds can create an outbreak in your flock.
The statement made by the University of New Hampshire, that any living adult flock has been exposed to Marek's, I take to mean that birds showing no outward signs of disease indicate resistance, not avoidance. I am not a vet, a scientist, or an expert, but all I have read leads me to believe the virus is unavoidable, and that raising a resistant flock is far more beneficial in the long term than vaccination. If this virus is carried by wild birds, then any bird can be, and probably has been, exposed.
Once the first 48 hours of a bird's life have elapsed, the window for vaccination is essentially closed. The only way I have read of thus far of safely inoculating our chicks is to have Turkeys on the property, teaching our chicks' immune systems to react to the Marek's virus. Keeping youngsters under 6 months of age separate from older birds gives the younger birds a chance to grow old enough to fight the virus when no Turkeys are present, but is no guarantee.
This is just my opinion based on reading, reading, and reading some more, and based on watching Marek's wipe out 22 of 25 birds, lovely birds, birds I had high hopes for.
Losing birds to Marek's is a heartbreak, and is costly. Moving forward with birds resistant to the disease decreases the likelihood of dealing with such losses.
The statement made by the University of New Hampshire, that any living adult flock has been exposed to Marek's, I take to mean that birds showing no outward signs of disease indicate resistance, not avoidance. I am not a vet, a scientist, or an expert, but all I have read leads me to believe the virus is unavoidable, and that raising a resistant flock is far more beneficial in the long term than vaccination. If this virus is carried by wild birds, then any bird can be, and probably has been, exposed.
Once the first 48 hours of a bird's life have elapsed, the window for vaccination is essentially closed. The only way I have read of thus far of safely inoculating our chicks is to have Turkeys on the property, teaching our chicks' immune systems to react to the Marek's virus. Keeping youngsters under 6 months of age separate from older birds gives the younger birds a chance to grow old enough to fight the virus when no Turkeys are present, but is no guarantee.
This is just my opinion based on reading, reading, and reading some more, and based on watching Marek's wipe out 22 of 25 birds, lovely birds, birds I had high hopes for.
Losing birds to Marek's is a heartbreak, and is costly. Moving forward with birds resistant to the disease decreases the likelihood of dealing with such losses.
The vaccine is a live virus vaccine, but it is either an attenuated strain (less pathogenic) or a similar and related turkey herpesvirus.
Not becoming ill does not mean resistance - the birds still become infected. They just do not all show any clinical disease. This does not mean they are not contagious, they can still pass the infection on even if they never look sick.
Some strains are much more virulent and produce higher mortality.
Inoculation by turkey only works if the turkeys are infected with the turkey herpesvirus.
Not becoming ill does not mean resistance - the birds still become infected. They just do not all show any clinical disease. This does not mean they are not contagious, they can still pass the infection on even if they never look sick.
Some strains are much more virulent and produce higher mortality.
Inoculation by turkey only works if the turkeys are infected with the turkey herpesvirus.
Last edited:
As far as Marek's goes, I will never vaccinate my birds. The only birds I've ever received vaccinated are from GFF and I've lost quite a few of those to Marek's symptoms. I have also never had an issue mixing vaccinated and non-vaccinated birds. The only birds I've lost to Marek's symptoms are the vaccinated ones so what's the point? And there are multiple strains of Marek's. The vaccine only takes care of one.
Now back to Legbars:
I'll be picking up 5 chicks this weekend: 3 pullets and 2 cockerels. I will be growing these out along with the pullet and 2 cockerel chicks I hatched from my breeders. The guy I'm getting the chicks from bought them from GFF so I'm hoping for a few from the new line. I plan to raise all 4 cockerel chicks to see which will be the best to replace my current rooster and I may look into setting up a second breeding pen. I need to also get recent pics of my 2 cockerels I'm raising. The little pullet is starting to show a crest too.
Now back to Legbars:
I'll be picking up 5 chicks this weekend: 3 pullets and 2 cockerels. I will be growing these out along with the pullet and 2 cockerel chicks I hatched from my breeders. The guy I'm getting the chicks from bought them from GFF so I'm hoping for a few from the new line. I plan to raise all 4 cockerel chicks to see which will be the best to replace my current rooster and I may look into setting up a second breeding pen. I need to also get recent pics of my 2 cockerels I'm raising. The little pullet is starting to show a crest too.
I can't wait to see your new birds and babies!
The original vaccine was Turkey Marek's, and this is the type you and I can still buy. The vaccine hatcheries are now using, combines that with two other forms of Marek's. Birds vaccinated by hatcheries shed all three forms, including the more dangerous chicken form of the virus. I have never lost vaccinated birds to Marek's, only those unvaccinated exposed to vaccinated birds. Our experiences have been opposite, but our conclusions are the same - the vaccination does not accomplish a disease-free or -resistant flock, and the window of opportunity to use it is too small.
The vaccine is a live virus vaccine, but it is either an attenuated strain (less pathogenic) or a similar and related turkey herpesvirus.
Not becoming ill does not mean resistance - the birds still become infected. They just do not all show any clinical disease. This does not mean they are not contagious, they can still pass the infection on even if they never look sick.
Some strains are much more virulent and produce higher mortality.
Inoculation by turkey only works if the turkeys are infected with the turkey herpesvirus.
The birds that do not show clinical signs of the disease are resistant because they have been infected and have successfully fought the virus. They can most certainly still infect other birds.
It is my understanding all Turkeys carry turkey herpesvirus, but perhaps this is not accurate information. I will try to learn more about that.
Now back to Legbars:
I'll be picking up 5 chicks this weekend: 3 pullets and 2 cockerels. I will be growing these out along with the pullet and 2 cockerel chicks I hatched from my breeders. The guy I'm getting the chicks from bought them from GFF so I'm hoping for a few from the new line. I plan to raise all 4 cockerel chicks to see which will be the best to replace my current rooster and I may look into setting up a second breeding pen. I need to also get recent pics of my 2 cockerels I'm raising. The little pullet is starting to show a crest too.
Nice! How old is the little pullet just starting to get her crest? Just curious. Mine didn't show crests at first, but once they reached about 6-7 weeks of age I began to see them.
Similar threads
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Latest threads
-
-
-
-
-
Buff orpington tail feathers
- Started by Newchickmama1475
- Replies: 0
-
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
-
-
Open Contest BYC's 4th of July Star Spangled Hatch-Along—Stars, Stripes, & Feathers, a Text-to-Image Contest- Started by Debbie292d
- Replies: 82
-
Ended Official BYC Caption Contest 05-10-24 Pic by LavenderDaFlerf- Started by BYC Project Manager
- Replies: 81
-
-
