Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Chickielady]

Excellent post. The Marek's vaccine does NOT prevent them from contracting it, only from showing symptoms (this is true of most poultry vaccines, they don't work like human or dog vaccines). It is also totally ineffective to vaccinate them any time after 24 hours of hatching.

Vaccinating birds for a backyard, hobby, or self sustaining flock makes zero sense once facts are understood.

I had the NPIP State Veterinarian out here this morning for testing and we had several conversations , and he still stands by the same information as does Cynthia Smith, another Washington Sate Vet, and she is very active in poultry raising.
There is always time to vaccinate.
Despite my neighbor's birds (all of them in their entire flock) coming down with Marek's, mine have not, I have not ever lost a bird to Marek's.
We also vaccinate for ILT which is becoming prevalent here in western Washington....
And back to the state Veterinarian, yes we are doing great, vaccinate day olds, or when ever you can, especially a new bird you are bringing into your flocks.
The testing for Marek's on a live bird is extremely difficult as most diagnosis revilves around the many tumors that form internally.and it can take months and months before the bird developes external physical symptoms you can actually see: especially in gaite or behaviour.
This is why, once these outward behaviours are seen, the bird needs to be culled, but understand it has had the virus for months previous to these outward symptoms.
The virus can be shed in feather follicles....so during the time the bird 'gets' it, and the time you finally 'see' symptoms (stumbling, failure to fly up & roost, ec) the bird has thus shed millions of feather follicles...............
Who was it here that just had this very thing happen......@ochochicas ...........................she can tell you exactly what happens with a Marek's outbreak...she just went through it, and it took a long long time.
Incidently, the state vet here today also mentioned that the virus can stay in the soils for a very long time, so long after your last bird has died of Marek's....the virus is in the soil waiting.
Wether the home vaccine is sufficient or superior to the hatchery vaccine remains debatible..............some are 'made' with ova and some are not, and some seem to work better than others regardless of the manufacturer (at this time)
Years past we were always told the big hatcherys had the best vaccine, so now they say maybe not true.
So I vaccinate, I could not bear to have all my fowl begin the slow obviously painful death that Marek's would bring, not to mention their lineage lost, and the soil thus contaminated.
So building up their immunal systems (as much as we can) to this prominant virus is the best I (we) can do to eliminate it and protect the birds we love.

 

[Chickielady]

Since I just found out that we can't have even 1 rooster within the city limit of Battle Ground ---- I did a little search and found the No-Crow Velcro collar. Look like a simple Velcro around a rooster neck to restrict his wind pipe from explaining.

Anyone is currently using this for their rooster?

I have not used one, but I have seen others post here that they have used them and they did not work well.

 

[Hinotori]

Since I just found out that we can't have even 1 rooster within the city limit of Battle Ground  ---- I did a little search and found the No-Crow Velcro collar.  Look like a simple Velcro around a rooster neck to restrict his wind pipe from explaining. 

Anyone is currently using this for their rooster?

My rooster Louie came to me because the collar did not work for him. If I remember what I was told, it was tight enough he would choke sometimes and he still was pretty loud.

So he's had a good life here where it doesn't matter how loud he gets as no one is close enough to bother. And he is a very loud boy.

 

[Chickielady]

I gave my first chicken bath today! Woo hoo! Very exciting. I have 3 English Orpington pullets who are all fluffy sweethearts, but their fluffy butts are so fluffy that sometimes the poop doesn't make a clear landing

. Today Dottie had poop stuck to her butt feathers and then decided it was the perfect time for a dust bath -- yuk. I'll spare you the details, but it wasn't pretty. Here's what Dottie's butt looks like on a good day.


Dottie is usually perfectly happy to be picked up, but somehow she got the memo that today was bath day and she was not interested. After a chicken chase and much squawking I managed to pick her up, calm her down and plunk her into the bath water. I think she liked it, although she wouldn't admit it. After I got all the poop and dirt clumps off her, I gave her a fluffy butt haircut -- which I hope prevents this from happening again very soon. Here's another photo of Dottie and one of her sister Alice, who's next in line for a bath.



All in all it went very well!

Good names ! I am at the point where I am so tired of washing poo butt Orpingtons and Bielefelders that I just clip....

 

[Chickielady]

Anyone in the eastern half of Washington interested in buff Ameraucana chicks? I have 4 available, plus one pipped (fingers crossed that it makes it out, but it's about 16 hours behind everyone else)

I'd love some sweettie heart..but I am so far away from you !!!!

Could we be more far apart in the same region ????

 

[Carolei]

@Chickielady Thank you for sharing that excellent article!

I can understand that a breeder may prefer not to vaccinate in order to breed chickens with greater immunity. However, for the individuals who are keeping chickens for pleasure, eggs, and as pets, vaccination makes the most sense. I would not bring an unvaccinated bird into my flock.

 

[Carolei]

did you ask that they be vaccinated ? If not, then no. No feedstores get their chicks vaccinated either, they buy them as cheaply as possible.

Actually, a few feed stores do have vaccinated chicks. The chicks at Portage Bay Grange in Seattle are vaccinated.

 

[vasher]

Actually, a few feed stores do have vaccinated chicks. The chicks at Portage Bay Grange in Seattle are vaccinated.

Got ours from KISS in Redmond (not sure where they source their chicks), and they are all Marek's vaccinated. Reading through all the other diseases though...quite anxiety inducing.

 

[Duck Drover]

@Chickielady Thank you for sharing that excellent article!

I can understand that a breeder may prefer not to vaccinate in order to breed chickens with greater immunity. However, for the individuals who are keeping chickens for pleasure, eggs, and as pets, vaccination makes the most sense. I would not bring an unvaccinated bird into my flock.

Bringing vaccinated birds into your flock is fine as long as those birds stay in your flock and never leave because that is what will spread the Mareks virus. Every vaccinated bird can be a carrier so they have to be treated as if they are sick and not sold as healthy. The problem is that people unknowingly sell sick birds and people unknowingly buy sick birds because the disease is masked.

I understand everyone who has vaccinated birds just wants to protect their own birds from getting symptoms of a serious disease without really considering the consequences of contributing to the spread of the disease. It is only when birds travel from one flock to another that the carriers have the means of spreading diseases and people with pet chickens tend to keep them for their lifespan.

I just can't take chances of ever bringing a carrier into my flock so I would never take a chance on a vaccinated bird. Fortunately I hatch so I do not bring birds in unless it is from a trusted source. I have healthy soil and I intend to keep it that way. Sadly, there are people who sell infected vaccinated birds and they get away with it because the disease is hidden and most people don't know enough about how the vaccine works to protect their birds from being infected.

Everyone wants healthy birds. If you already have vaccinated birds on your property you may be forced into vaccinating or getting vaccinated birds because you have to assume you have a sick flock. If you have unvaccinated birds you can know your birds are not sick and you would not want want to bring in a carrier that will put the health of your birds at risk. Vaccinated birds may still die of Mareks but it will take longer for the tumors to spread to the point of fatality. Unvaccinated birds can get sick and die if they are exposed but the exposure would have to come from outside the flock, which is why biosecurity is important.

If you are not sure if your birds have been vaccinated chances are good that they were not. I would expect sellers to disclose that information and not just pass off carriers to unsuspecting buyers. Still, it is a good idea to ask just to be sure you do not get a bird that has the potential for devastating consequences. If you already have an infected flock you would be asking for vaccinated birds specifically because that is the only way you can add new birds to an infected flock.

I try to screen people who buy chicks from me to make sure they are going to healthy flocks because I don't want them to get sick after all my efforts and expense to bring them into the world. I do not want to send chicks to a home where they will be exposed to disease so anyone with vaccinated birds would not be approved to get chicks from me. I made that mistake once and learned my lesson.

 

[Duck Drover]

Actually, a few feed stores do have vaccinated chicks. The chicks at Portage Bay Grange in Seattle are vaccinated.

Feedstores are a hot spot for exposure to diseases like Mareks so their chicks are exposed to a huge number of diseases from the time they arrive to the time they leave. Because their primary interest in selling chicks is to sell feed and supplies for the life of the chickens, they do not want their source of income to be compromised. Feedstores often give away free chicks in order to gain customers to buy feed. If you get feedstore chicks that are vaccinated, you can safely assume they have been exposed to the disease before they leave the store otherwise the feed stores would not have them vaccinated at the hatcheries. Hatcheries are also about profits so they will do whatever it takes to sell their product without concern for long term consequences. The trend towards vaccination enables the disease to become more widespread so more and more people end up contributing to the problem.