Polish Breeders Club

Hello everyone,

I just had to have my beautiful splash silkie roo put down yesterday because he had signs of Mereks.  My vet said he is checking into an adult vacc. for Mereks and suggests  gve the vacc to the 2 month old silkie chick hat this roo sired and any other chicks hatching.

I have an aracauna hen, 2 uff brahma hens, a laced Wyandotte and his mate a splash silikie hen all have not shown signs of this horrible disease.  I thought I was rid of it in my flock.

So I guess one shoulod just start with a trio of good birds that have been vaccinated and  not bring in any new birds at all right?  just breed your own line, not take them to shows or where there are other birds?

How is it that some breeders are never bothered by Mereks and if you are what steps do you take to stop it in your flocks?    Yes, Ive read alot of info about Mereks.  Does anyone have any special treatments in their chicken y ards for Mereks?

Thanks,

Sandy

Sandy at July 9, 2010 at 10:26 PM

Hello everyone,

 

I just had to have my beautiful splash silkie roo put down yesterday because he had signs of Mereks.  My vet said he is checking into an adult vacc. for Mereks and suggests  gve the vacc to the 2 month old silkie chick hat this roo sired and any other chicks hatching.

 

I have an aracauna hen, 2 uff brahma hens, a laced Wyandotte and his mate a splash silikie hen all have not shown signs of this horrible disease.  I thought I was rid of it in my flock.

 

So I guess one shoulod just start with a trio of good birds that have been vaccinated and  not bring in any new birds at all right?  just breed your own line, not take them to shows or where there are other birds?

 

How is it that some breeders are never bothered by Mereks and if you are what steps do you take to stop it in your flocks?    Yes, Ive read alot of info about Mereks.  Does anyone have any special treatments in their chicken y ards for Mereks?

Thanks,

Sandy

Read about my experience with vaccines in this month's PBC newsletter.

How do you know it was Marek's? Did the vet do a post mortem?

I vaccinate all my chicks for Marek's so its no longer a problem for me but it usually takes chicks of 2-3 months old not adults. The vaccine has to be given before the chick is exposed to the virus so I am not sure how much good vaccinating the older chick you are concerned about will be.

Well, I have had birds with Mareks before.  All the classic symptoms were there and after the vet looked at him he said thats what it was.  I mean my roo couldn;t stand uyp.

I need to learn how to give injections to the chicks and what is the vaccine against Mareks called?  Is it Mareks vaccine?  I hace chicks hatching Monday or Tuesday.  How did you learn how to give the vaccine?

Hi Sandy the vaccine is called Marek's vaccine and in the states its available through some of the poultry suppliers in Canada its harder to come by.

The vaccine is easy to give and here is an article written in laymans terms that might help you.

Mareks Vaccination:

The smallest vial of Marek's vaccine is 1000 doses, it must be reconstituted and be used with in 2 hours of mixing. It is about $20 per vial and you have to throw out the unused portion. We often get together with our chicks and split a bottle between 3 of us. But I would buy a bottle and do it for any chicks I have no matter the cost. After all its not much more than a trip to McDonalds with my son LOL

The vaccine comes with a bottle or bag of sterile diluent (200 mls.) and a vial of powder (vaccine) you draw diluent into syringe and inject in the bottle of vaccine shake to mix and draw out the vaccine and inject into the diluent. Repeat this to get all the vaccine into the diluent knead to mix and using the smallest needle you can get draw up .2 CC of vaccine and inject subcutaneously (under the skin) into each chick. One person holds the baby and the injector lifts a pinch of skin at the back of the neck and slides the needle in between their fingers (you can feel the needle easily through their fine skin).

The vaccine needs to be administered as close to hatch as possible. I have used it on older chicks with great success as well as LONG AS they have not been exposed to any older birds or the ground they walk on. In other words, incubator hatched and raised in the house chicks. The chicks need to be kept isolated for at least a week so their immune systems can mount a response to the vaccine

Obviously this won’t be possible with broody raised babies. But that said, I would still try to do them in the hope that it would offer some immunity.

Mareks does not kill all the young birds that contract it but mortality can be 50% It also can be only 1 or 2 birds. It is a disease that is often undiagnosed because it has several forms and appears often to be a lameness. Deaths can be weeks or months apart. It is not immediately obvious on post mortem either, my first experience with the disease took 6 birds to get an actual definite answer, though the pathologist said all the way through, it's going to be Mareks on the symptoms alone but the definitive lesions on the nerves take time to develop enough to be observed.

The avian pathologist at the provincial lab had a good point when asked about vaccination decisions. She said these decisions should be based on whether or not the birds are going to be challenged with the disease. If you have never had the disease and aren’t bringing in new birds or raising chicks then it isn’t required but if your flock has been challenged by an illness it is prudent to vaccinate for whatever is facing them.

Wow.   Thanks so much.  Also Cindy , I will read your article.  I wanted to put my roo out of msery before he got too bad and suffered.  This is what I know of Mereks.

1.  It takes 12 weeks to show up once bird has been infectedl

2.  Even though the bird eats and drinks it loses weight .

3.  A dropped wing or paralysis of a leg or legs is usually a first symptom.

I also looked up poultry botullism which also has a symptom of paralysis of legs.  I can probably find tiny needles from a poultry supplier advertised in Poultry Press.  In my area here in So. Calif. I think its hard to find. 

Yes, I have brought in new birds in the past 3 years .  ALOT  in fact.  They all seemed and are still by appearance in good condition & healthy.  So,  I will then start to vaccinate all my birds unless Im going to have my own line.

Thanks again soooo much

Sandy

Blackstar,

Im sorry I don't know your name, anyway Im going to order my Mareks vacc supplies from Cutlers.  What size needle should I use?   I saw a M77 on their supply list.  Is their a proper # size for chicks?

you can ask a vet

Hi Sandy

My name is Stella by the way sorry I just go by Blackie a lot LOL

I use 27 G needles on the birds and I get them at the small animal clinic where I take my dog and cats. They always are amused when I stop for "chicken needles"

I use a bigger bore needle to mix the vaccine and a larger syringe as well But to vaccinate, the smaller the better I think.