Adults can be vaccinated for Marek's but they say that most adult birds have already come into contact with Marek's and survived to tell the tale, so the vaccine is usually moot, but yes you can give your adults a vaccine every year if you want to. Some people do...But statistically any bird that makes it to adulthood has already been around the virus, and will either get it or become resistant...It usually only affects chicks and younger birds...At least this is what I have gathered from all my research on the subject so far. That is why you vaccinate day olds, because they haven't actually been around the virus---yet...so they can build a resistance to the disease without actually having been exposed to a threatening case of the disease. I am going to cull the 2 that are experiencing issues right now...then all chickens I get will be adults or vaccinated chicks...but there I run into issue. I want to hatch my own chicks next year from the chickens I am getting this year...So I would need to vaccinate all the new chickys myself? Can you buy the vaccine at feed stores? Anyway, giving the vaccination to an adult bird won't hurt, but very likely won't help either.`Through my reading it says the virus usually claims it's tole between 5 and 25 weeks...so as birds get older there is less worry...because there is a very great likelihood that the bird has already built an immunity to the disease. But if you bring in new chicks, it is likely they will get sick...so any young chicks you have at home that aren't vaccinated would be at risk, not so much your other adult birds. I mean I have 12 chickens...2 of which are ailing with the virus now, but all the adult chickens are just fine, because they are probably where the younger chicks got the Marek's. Marek's is much more common than I think some people realize...pretty much if you have chickens you are carrying mareks disease even if none of the chickens are of have been sick. I had no idea how common...but for real. It is better to assume that you have it and vaccinate every baby chick that you get from there on out. It is kind of like the chicken pox...except has a pretty high mortality rate. Also the vaccine takes 2 weeks to start working...so after I get my day olds it is still going to be hit and miss which ones make it, simply because I can't filter the air that the chickens breathe, and I know that Marek's is on my property, and the neighbors have chickens...anywhere there are adult chickens there is marek's. It truly is that prevalent...So I have to somehow build a purified air chick bubble for 2 weeks, and the danger zone won't pass until they are 25 weeks of age...this is going to be tough...but even culling my whole flock and starting over isn't a guarantee because there is always wind, and chicken transport trucks, and people, and animals that are going to be forever tracking this nasty all around the world...So best course of action?---I think vaccinating all chicks is the first step, and hoping for the best. And really if the death rate stays steady then I guess I am alright with that. I had 7 chicks...2 are sick...so if for every 7 chicks 2 die I think I'll be alright...Nothing you can do about it...that is the kicker for me. The disease is there and it won't go away.
