The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[Leahs Mom]

THIS BRINGS FORWARD A QUESTION . . . Bee, how do you repopulate your flock if you've had Marek's or any other communicable disease? I know you repopulate yours via chicks from your existing stock but what if you're purchasing chicks? Do you get inoculated chicks or does that bring in birds that don't have a natural resistance [if there is such a thing] to the disease?

Here are a couple links of info:
http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/page9.htm
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf

PS: I'm not advocating vaccination, etc. I just posted these for information.

 

[memechick]

We had our first snow in NH this weekend ....... my four older girls (28 wks old) loved the snow. It didn't stop them one bit. The four younger girls (18 wks old) would not come out of the coop. LOL It might be a long winter for them. I tried placing two of them outside but as soon as their feet touched the snow they started to fly from one spot to another .... franctically. I put them back in the coop and just left the door open for them to decide on their own. It was just a dusting!!

 

[aoxa]

THIS BRINGS FORWARD A QUESTION . . . Bee, how do you repopulate your flock if you've had Marek's or any other communicable disease? I know you repopulate yours via chicks from your existing stock but what if you're purchasing chicks? Do you get inoculated chicks or does that bring in birds that don't have a natural resistance [if there is such a thing] to the disease? 

Here are a couple links of info:
http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/page9.htm
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf

PS:  I'm not advocating vaccination, etc.  I just posted these for information. 

The second one is very good.

That is a nightmare.. I can't imagine..

I have been told by a vet tech friend that certain breeds are more prone to developing it as well. D'Uccles for one are very susceptible.

 

[aoxa]

We had our first snow in NH this weekend ....... my four older girls (28 wks old) loved the snow.   It didn't stop them one bit.  The four younger girls (18 wks old) would not come out of the coop.   LOL   It might be a long winter for them.   I tried placing two of them outside but as soon as their feet touched the snow they started to fly from one spot to another .... franctically.   I put them back in the coop and just left the door open for them to decide on their own.  It was just a dusting!!  

Those are some well fed birds!

 

[Leahs Mom]

The second one is very good.
That is a nightmare.. I can't imagine..
I have been told by a vet tech friend that certain breeds are more prone to developing it as well. D'Uccles for one are very susceptible.

Bulldogma's are Swedish Flower Hens (at least the 2 that got it). I wonder if they're known to be more susceptible? No one on the SFH forum has reported any problems as I understand it.

 

[normanack]

I just got back in town and haven't gotten through the new posts on this thread, but I have to share some sad news.

It's Marek's disease

Oh man, you're just getting hammered over and over. My prayers to you and your family for strength and wisdom during this awful chicken time (two qualities you already have in abundance, but view this prayer as a booster shot).

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Here are a couple links of info:
http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/page9.htm
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf

PS: I'm not advocating vaccination, etc. I just posted these for information.

Thank you. Both pass on a good bit of important info.

 

[aoxa]

The second one is very good.

That is a nightmare.. I can't imagine..

I have been told by a vet tech friend that certain breeds are more prone to developing it as well. D'Uccles for one are very susceptible.

Bulldogma's are Swedish Flower Hens (at least the 2 that got it).  I wonder if they're known to be more susceptible?  No one on the SFH forum has reported any problems as I understand it.

D'Uccles are very unthrifty from my experience. They don't do well with cold, wet and are very bad at free ranging. Cute little buggers though.

I have no idea about the SFHs, though I sure hope that's not the case.

I have a feeling that BDM's problem isn't Mareks though.

 

[delisha]

We had our first snow in NH this weekend ....... my four older girls (28 wks old) loved the snow. It didn't stop them one bit. The four younger girls (18 wks old) would not come out of the coop. LOL It might be a long winter for them. I tried placing two of them outside but as soon as their feet touched the snow they started to fly from one spot to another .... franctically. I put them back in the coop and just left the door open for them to decide on their own. It was just a dusting!!

Gloria,
Nice looking birds!

 

[Beekissed]

All I'm going to say regarding dogs that let other dogs come in and play are that each of the people that disagreed with me on that are unsure if their dog would indeed protect their birds from another dog.

That all depends on your definition of guarding the livestock. Do I imagine that Jake could be termed a LGD? Not on your life. But he does indeed guard the area in which my livestock range and this is sufficient for now. If I were more serious about my chickens like I used to be, I'd add a true LGD to his efforts to get a more efficient result.

They argue this all the time on BYHs~what dog breeds can be LGDs? It's silly, really, to eliminate a dog breed or a particular dog as not being a dog able to guard livestock due to this flock bonding issue. If they kill predators in the area or ward them off, they are functioning as a guard dog. If they do not kill or ward off other dogs, this is obviously a fault or flaw in their abilities but this can happen with LGD breeds as well, so it can be dog specific for this trait.

No one is arguing the fact that dogs who let stray dogs near the flocks are LGDs...that's a given~they are not. To be true LGDs they won't let anything that may threaten the flock in their vicinity. Preaching to the choir...no one disagrees with that point.

What I am saying is that the dog who functions to keep MOST predators from the flock can be considered as a dog who guards livestock...but not necessarily can be classified as a LGD. It's a fine line but no one cares if it's there unless they have flocks they wish to keep intact and will pay to make it happen.

If you value your flock and wish to free range, buying an expensive LGD and hoping it will function as one is a good way to guard them~you may get a dud in that deal and have lost good money. If you simply do not want a dog that costs more than you will ever make on egg sales, thus negating the reason for even having the chickens, then you settle for less then perfect....I've gotten by with less then perfect for the past 7 years of free ranging and haven't lost any chickens to predators because of it. I'm satisfied.

Bee, my girls and Hope got the FF served to them yesterday. I thought it was supposed to take them a day or two to get used to it?????

My piggies ate the entire thing like it was CRACK! I have never seen them absolutely devour something like that! They just loved it. I look forward to seeing the improvements!

I had the same result. No finicky chickens on my land, that's for sure!

Oh, I'm so sorry. I agree with others about having him tested to make sure you're dealing with Marek's. Either way, you've got some difficult days ahead and I'm sorry you're having to go through this.

THIS BRINGS FORWARD A QUESTION . . . Bee, how do you repopulate your flock if you've had Marek's or any other communicable disease? I know you repopulate yours via chicks from your existing stock but what if you're purchasing chicks? Do you get inoculated chicks or does that bring in birds that don't have a natural resistance [if there is such a thing] to the disease?

I'm curious as to how Bee and others would bring in additional birds as I'm looking at adding to my flock come spring. I'm looking for different breeds than what I now have and maybe even a roo so that I can "grow my own". Is it better to quarantine? If so, for how long? In the event that you've had a disease in your flock previously, do you get newcomers that have been inoculated? Better to go with chicks or pullets that may have already acquired a resistance to diseases? Better to acquire locally bred birds at a swap or get newborn chicks mailed from a hatchery? So many things to consider . . .

Bulldogma, sorry for your situation and hope that the remainder of your flock stays healthy. You've certainly done all you can do towards that end.

I really cannot tell you the best thing to do in this case....I can only tell you what I would do in this case. I would just proceed as normal and any chicks ordered would be placed under a broody as per usual or exposed to the flock's immunities as quickly as possible. No vaccines. Whoever dies or gets culled for symptoms will just have to die.

My reasoning? If I got such a thing in the first place, then it is likely that I can get such a thing again...do I want chickens who are hardy for it or chickens who have a vaccine that may or may not be effective against it? I've heard of folks who have had their chicks vaccinated at the hatchery who still had occurrences of Mareks in their flocks.

When you get into the whole chick vaccination and medicated feeds thing, my advice will always be the same...early exposure to the existing adult flock and let the chips fall where they may. It's always worked for me and I've never had chick death or any birds needing to be culled for illness.

I order chicks from reliable sources and, even though hatchery genetics may be flawed, they have always sent me healthy chicks(not one single chick death).

Everything I read from the scientists on this disease is that it's rare in a backyard flock but I read about folks having it all the time on BYC. One has to question what they are doing in their husbandry practices that gets this rare to backyard flocks disease into their flocks. One of the reasons listed on the vet sites is buying birds from various sources:

• swap meets(those seem to be popularly promoted on BYC and I never understood why~"Here, you take my cull or unwanted birds and I'll buy yours! We'll all be soooo happy!")
• chicken auctions(again, someone's culls...anyone who is a serious breeder and seller of good poultry do not have to take them to auction)
• ordering chicks and hatching eggs from just anyone who advertises without knowing their flocks personally or their husbandry methods...just because the website looks and sounds good or they claim to be NPIP certified, doesn't necessarily mean they are and still are, or that it means anything if they have disease occur in their flocks since they were certified.