Used coop for unvaccinated chickens. Marek's Disease risk?

[aart]

I love the idea of having eggs immediately

Moving 2 year old chickens this tie of year will not get you eggs right away.
Between molting and the move you're not likely to see eggs until after solstice...maybe weeks after solstice.

I'd be more worried about crowding 10 birds into that space than I would about mareks.

 

[K0k0shka]

Thanks,
The hatchery had actually discouraged giving them the Marek's vaccine and said that Mareks is really not a big risk in small family farms as long as they are not being exposed to others chickens.

I am in the same situation. I have kids. They have already named all 5 hens. I do not want their little hearts to break over dead chickens whether from disease or predators.

Some hatcheries or feed stores have their agendas and push people one way or another, whether because they're being cheap and want to cut costs (vaccinating does add cost and labor to the hatchery), or because of their own beliefs (about the vaccine or about the level of risk). The reality though is that there's no good way to evaluate your level of risk, because Marek's is also spread by wild birds, and there's no way to control that. Even if you don't free range and your chickens have no direct contact with wild birds, they can still get Marek's or other viruses because they are carried on the wind via dander, dust from dried poop, etc.

My daughter's favorite hen just died last week from what the vet said was avian leukosis virus. That's one of those viruses that are just in the environment, carried by wild birds, and may or may not affect/kill your chickens. There's no vaccine against that one, and nothing we could've done. But, watching my kid hug that chicken and cry, if there was a vaccine for that virus, you best believe I would've given it to every single chicken the moment we hatched/bought them. I don't like gambling with preventable diseases.

 

[Red Mangrove]

Vaccination is the only way to protect against Marek's, and it does work. Vaccinated chickens can still get the virus, but it won't make them sick or kill them like it would unvaccinated chickens.

I would recommend that you look at this thread here. The idea that the Marek's vaccine is an aid against the Marek's virus is frankly only a myth perpetuated by those who profit from it

To quote one person in the thread-

My head is spinning. I read through 14 pages of this thread…
Situation: Lost 13 of my flock over the past 3 months.
PCR results confirmed ALV & Marek’s today… I don’t want to cull. FYI, The vaccinated chicks were 90% of the deaths.

 

[farmland1]

80% of the chicken population is estimated to carry Marek's disease. The vaccine doesn't prevent infection, transmission, illness or death. All the Marek's vaccine does is prevent symptoms from showing until one day suddenly the chicken drops to the ground overwhelmed with viral load

It's more or less impossible to protect chickens from Marek's, and I would say the act of trying to protect them in the first place is what ends up killing them. Sanitary, sterile environments breed chickens with weak immune systems that die when a stray songbird carries Marek's to the flock

If you want healthy chickens let them outside as much as possible, and use the natural bedding from your land inside of your coop to immunize them to your biome

"All the Marek's vaccine does is prevent symptoms from showing until one day suddenly the chicken drops to the ground overwhelmed with viral load."

I'm wondering if this is what happened to this seller's chicken. They said that one suddenly died one day of unknown causes.

 

[Red Mangrove]

"All the Marek's vaccine does is prevent symptoms from showing until one day suddenly the chicken drops to the ground overwhelmed with viral load."

I'm wondering if this is what happened to this seller's chicken. They said that one suddenly died one day of unknown causes.

Probably. Mysterious deaths in chickens are quite commonly Marek's

 

[K0k0shka]

I'm wondering if this is what happened to this seller's chicken. They said that one suddenly died one day of unknown causes.

Chickens die of mysterious causes all the time, it doesn’t have to be Marek’s. If the vaccine was so bad and chickens were dropping left and right once infected, it wouldn’t have been just that one single chicken, more would have died along with it.

 

[farmland1]

Thank you every one for your responses ! I chose to take a combination of the advice. I'm not going to take in the adult hens. Being a new chicken tender, I've got a lot to learn and I don't think I'm as ready to take on the disease or conflict risks as an experience tender. And if it turns into multiple vet visits, I'll quickly negate the savings of a used coop. I messaged the seller and she said she'd sell me just the coop and find another home for her hens.

If I take the coop what do you recommend I used to clean it out? We need it asap so I can't wait several weeks (to air out, etc) before having a place to house the chickens. I found the same coop brand new for about $600 more. My other option is to buy coop plans and get a quote from someone to build it for me.

I also found a reasonably priced new walk-in goat/duck house that we are for sure purchasing for the guineas....and may repurpose to goats eventually. Its 8x5. I was going to paint the inside, install linoleum floor, maybe install ventilation at the top, and cover the window openings with cage wire and maybe lockable shutters? Perhaps I could house the chickens with the guineas for a few weeks while I sanitize/air out the used red coop?

I really like the idea of building their immune system. I'm going to start incorporating the leaves/grass from our land immediately. Any other tips in immune system building are welcomed. We have access to lots of free squash and pumpkins so if that is a good snack for them, let me know.

Thank you all so much for your help !! This forum is wonderful !

 

[AidKD]

Thank you every one for your responses ! I chose to take a combination of the advice. I'm not going to take in the adult hens. Being a new chicken tender, I've got a lot to learn and I don't think I'm as ready to take on the disease or conflict risks as an experience tender. And if it turns into multiple vet visits, I'll quickly negate the savings of a used coop. I messaged the seller and she said she'd sell me just the coop and find another home for her hens.

If I take the coop what do you recommend I used to clean it out? We need it asap so I can't wait several weeks (to air out, etc) before having a place to house the chickens. I found the same coop brand new for about $600 more. My other option is to buy coop plans and get a quote from someone to build it for me.

I also found a reasonably priced new walk-in goat/duck house that we are for sure purchasing for the guineas....and may repurpose to goats eventually. Its 8x5. I was going to paint the inside, install linoleum floor, maybe install ventilation at the top, and cover the window openings with cage wire and maybe lockable shutters? Perhaps I could house the chickens with the guineas for a few weeks while I sanitize/air out the used red coop?

I really like the idea of building their immune system. I'm going to start incorporating the leaves/grass from our land immediately. Any other tips in immune system building are welcomed. We have access to lots of free squash and pumpkins so if that is a good snack for them, let me know.

Thank you all so much for your help !! This forum is wonderful !

View attachment 3679615 View attachment 3679616

As for what to clean it out with, I'm not sure I have the best advice for that. I would just use soap and water personally. Pumpkins are a great thing to give chickens! The seeds help keep the chickens free from worms so I'd reccomend that 1,000 times over! I also think leaves and grass to build the immune is a very good idea.

 

[microchick]

Thanks,
The hatchery had actually discouraged giving them the Marek's vaccine and said that Mareks is really not a big risk in small family farms as long as they are not being exposed to others chickens.

I am in the same situation. I have kids. They have already named all 5 hens. I do not want their little hearts to break over dead chickens whether from disease or predators.

Tell that to the 2/3rds of the 40-50 chickens that I lost to Marek's disease. Sorry don't mean to sound snippy, but mine were not vaccinated, came from an NPIP breeder and started dying off when they were around a year old. Took the disease three years to run it's course.

Truth be told Marek's disease is everywhere. Could it be in the used coop? Sure. It could also be in the sparrows and other wild birds that are flying through your property. I have no idea where the virus came that killed off my birds. They were never exposed to any other chickens. It was a BAD strain of the virus though and I wouldn't wish it off on my worse enemy.

When you remember that the dander that carries the Marek's virus can travel up to 5 miles you start to feel a bit uneasy about it.

You pay your money and you take your chances. Personally I would just to be safe, spray the coop with an an antiviral spray before you use it and let it air out good.

 

[kismit]

for sanitizing, F10 SC Ready to Use Veterinary Disinfectant Spray, following the packaging instructions. i would suggest some kind of semigloss or gloss paint to seal the particle board to prolong its life and make clean up easier