What can you do when your chickens have Marek's?

[oliviaandjosh4]

My chickens have Marek's, no I have not had them tested but I am about 100% sure as many have died & usually exhibit paralysis symptoms.
I have lost about 15 or so chickens if not a little more from this. Many just lay on the ground & die quickly, some get to where they can't use their legs and die slowly.. Seems like everyday another chicken is dragging a wing around from wing paralysis.

So now that I have Marek's, what can I do? I have read forums on here that say it will always be in our yard so any chickens could get it which is why I don't really plan on buying anymore chickens..

To other chicken owners who have Marek's in their flock, do you just keep raising the chickens until they die?
That is what we are doing as of now we have many that are alive and doing great and some that show symptoms..

Can chickens survive this & not die from it? Or will they all eventually get it & die?

I have a pair of silkies that are almost 4 months old. I have kept them in an above ground pen since I have had them, it is about 4 feet off the ground. Could they already have Marek's?

I would like to hear opinions/stories from other people who have dealt with Marek's in their flock.

Thanks.

 

[QueenMisha]

Hello there. Sorry about your diagnosis. The Great Big Giant Marek's Disease FAQ is a great resource for learning about this disease.

Yes, Marek's Disease is incurable, and culling usually doesn't help because it lives in the ground for years.

I've been living with Marek's in my flock for around 3 years now. I'm fortunate enough to have a mild strain, but I still see it's effects on my flock.

Some chickens are resistant, and will show either very few symptoms or no symptoms. These birds usually carry a genetic factor known as the B factor. I've also found that birds from breeder stock to be far more resistant to it than birds from hatchery stock.

I've never seen a badly paralyzed bird recover. A few wing draggers and stumblers, sure, but once they stop walking, it's usually game over. They may continue to appear healthy in some cases, just unable to walk. I'm not willing to care for a bird that needs that much attention. I do know of a cure for Marek's tumors, but it's not easy to obtain and I don't like to discuss it on an open forum. (PM me if you really need to know, but like I said, it's not easy to get).

It sounds to me like your birds were either unvaccinated, or exposed to the virus before the vaccine had a chance to take effect. It's typically useful against even nasty strains of Marek's, as long as it's done properly. Even then, 5% of the time it can and will fail for no reason, but obviously 5% doesn't account for the death rate you're seeing.

The Silkies probably have Marek's - dust can be blown around and up by the wind very easily. If they were vaccinated, it shouldn't be too much of an issue, but if not, I wouldn't be super optimistic. I've always found Silkies, EEs, Cochins, and Naked Necks to be the least resistant breeds. Of course, the later an unvaccinated bird is infected, the better - a 4 month old is gonna do better against the disease, than, say, a 2 month old.

I've not found much success in treating Marek's paralysis. Tumors are easier; the tumor cure I mentioned above was very effective, although I've only used it once. I need to run some more home trials with it to help prove it's effectiveness, but in the one incidence I did use it, the change was nothing short of remarkable.

I've also seen a drastic decrease in weight loss/tumor deaths and sicknesses since I started running turkeys with the flock. Less paralysis too, but still an incidence of it. I can't say I have a scientific basis for this, except knowing that the Marek's Disease vaccine is made of the turkey strain of Marek's, so it probably has to do with that - some kind of natural immunity.

 

[oliviaandjosh4]

Thanks for commenting. I don't see why people keep chickens with all the illnesses & things that can go wrong! Did farmers have to deal with this back then?
You wouldn't think chickens could get all of these illnesses.. I have had way too many die to where I am at the point of it is not even fun anymore to keep them.

I also wonder why my neighbor who doesn't live that far from us (our chickens go close to his yard as well as we gave him some of our young roosters before we knew about Marek's) & all of his chickens are fine! He hasn't had any of his die.. I know most of his came from a hatchery and some came from Tractor Supply and a few he hatched himself. Makes me mad that ours are suffering & nothing is wrong with his..

 

[QueenMisha]

Thanks for commenting. I don't see why people keep chickens with all the illnesses & things that can go wrong! Did farmers have to deal with this back then? 
You wouldn't think chickens could get all of these illnesses.. I have had way too many die to where I am at the point of it is not even fun anymore to keep them. 

I also wonder why my neighbor who doesn't live that far from us (our chickens go close to his yard as well as we gave him some of our young roosters before we knew about Marek's) & all of his chickens are fine! He hasn't had any of his die.. I know most of his came from a hatchery and some came from Tractor Supply and a few he hatched himself. Makes me mad that ours are suffering & nothing is wrong with his..

You have to really like them to be willing to deal with all the things that can go wrong. They aren't an easy animal to keep.

A hundred years ago, everybody's flock had everything. You hatched birds, and they either died or they didn't.

Where did you get your birds? What breeds are they? It's possible they just have very, very poor genetic quality. I suggest bringing in a few breeder stock birds and seeing how they fare. Breeder stock (especially good tough dual purpose breeds, e.g. the Plymouth Rock or Orpington) tend to have better genetic makeup. I've also had extremely good luck with oriental gamefowl; in fact, I have never had a single breeder-stock gamefowl of mine get sick. Even after recent infections of MS and MG (respiratory diseases) the worst symptoms my games showed was a bit of a runny nose. Not lost one to Marek's either, even the half breeds.

 

[oliviaandjosh4]

Our first chickens came from Tractor supply as chicks & a friend gave us some laying hens. Then we got more from tractor supply & local breeders, & hatched a few out of our chickens.

I have red sex links, black sex links, australorps, orpington, EE's, mixed breeds we hatched, BLRWs, SLW

 

[QueenMisha]

Hmm. None of those breeds except the EEs are particularly known for poor immunity, even hatchery stock birds.

I suggest you perform autopsies on the next birds who die, to confirm Marek's. A strain as virulent as this should definitely present with tumors.