Ok, so here's my story. As I understand it Marek's is pretty much endemic in all flocks, some present and some don't. I started with all hatchery birds. Some from Ideal and some from TSC (My Healthy). None were vaccinated. The big birds because I'm not fond of vaccines in general and have my own views on that I won't get into and the bantams from Mt. Healthy as I understand they don't vaccinate banties. I had added 2 birds into the flock, quaruntined for a month. The hen (polish-vaulted/ameraucana) died within 2 weeks. I did not have a necropsy done, but her symptoms were what I would guess were Marek's or Marek's like. This was in August.
Other than a roo that tangled with my compost pile that I saved from Botulism, I had no disease, death, issues like that one, until Christmas when my Porcelain D'uccle hen seized and died, then my d'uccle roo developed bilateral leg paralysis (both were 8 months old). No wing involvement, no eye involvement, no neck involvement and one heck of an appetite until almost the end when he simply stopped eating or drinking. He oddly also never crowed. Necropsy revealed absolutely no tumours, viscera well intact no internal/crop/nerve issues and absolutely no tumors. I have not had a single standard get so much as even sick and they are all housed in the same building. So, my question is this. If Marek's IS so endemic in chickens and vaccination essentially a way to decrease mortality and not really the disease itself, should I have a closed flock? I know eggs are not susceptible. If I breed and sell hatching eggs and by some chance Marek's is in my chickens do I put anyone elses flock at risk. I would NEVER want to run the risk of harm to anyones birds. I thank any of our well knowledged members that may be of help. This is more of an ethical dilema thing for me.
Other than a roo that tangled with my compost pile that I saved from Botulism, I had no disease, death, issues like that one, until Christmas when my Porcelain D'uccle hen seized and died, then my d'uccle roo developed bilateral leg paralysis (both were 8 months old). No wing involvement, no eye involvement, no neck involvement and one heck of an appetite until almost the end when he simply stopped eating or drinking. He oddly also never crowed. Necropsy revealed absolutely no tumours, viscera well intact no internal/crop/nerve issues and absolutely no tumors. I have not had a single standard get so much as even sick and they are all housed in the same building. So, my question is this. If Marek's IS so endemic in chickens and vaccination essentially a way to decrease mortality and not really the disease itself, should I have a closed flock? I know eggs are not susceptible. If I breed and sell hatching eggs and by some chance Marek's is in my chickens do I put anyone elses flock at risk. I would NEVER want to run the risk of harm to anyones birds. I thank any of our well knowledged members that may be of help. This is more of an ethical dilema thing for me.
