mareks chicken survival, what is your experience?

[lalaland]

I have mareks in my flock (diagnosed via necropsy in october 2014).

An 18 month old hen failed to go into the coop at night, found her after dark huddled in the hay under the coop. She had watery eyes and swollen face. I am treating her with vetrx, and boy that stuff is amazing. very fast improvement in the eyes, although the facial swelling remains on the 2nd day. I know this could be another vicious disease, she is isolated and so far none of the flock is showing anything similiar.

However, she misses the food when she aims for it. Will be pecking in the air next to the feed dish.

Has anyone had a chicken who has the mareks symptom of missing the feed survive? I am willing to nurse her along til she recovers from the respiratory thing but am not able to handfeed her for long. (leave work before dark, return after dark, not much chance to feed her then!). I am trying to decide if I should cull her or if she will improve enough on being able to feed herself .

 

[cubalaya]

I would cull any bird showing symptoms

 

[lalaland]

thanks for the reply - you would cull because you think it is best overall for the flock or you would cull because her outcome isn't good?

 

[lalaland]

well, based on what I could find out, even if I got her past the respiratory thing she wasn't going to improve on her ability to connect with food. So I culled her, poor baby.
The only thing I can say is that I am able to do it quickly - she was gone in seconds.

I am still interested in hearing from others about survival once symptoms appear in a mareks flock.

 

[cubalaya]

they never get over mareks. i would cull before the rest get it.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Mareks is incurable. Even if she survives or becomes un-symptomatic she will still shed the Mareks Herpes virus for the rest of her life. While most free range chickens have been exposed to the Mareks Herpes virus, it is playing with fire to keep a Mareks Disease Typhoid Marry in your flock. These are the facts and nothing but the facts.

 

[lalaland]

well now, thats the trouble, isn't it? once you've got it....the whole flock exposed.....the virus lives supposedly for 65 weeks. or forever depending on who you believe....and you can't tell who has it, and I think I read somewhere that they would all test positive for it because of the exposure. Its in the coops, the run, the fields, etc.

It does seem most people are culling symptomatic birds in the flocks. She is the 4th cull in about 18 weeks. One for mareks, one suspected mareks but not found on necropsy, one test rooster who didn't have it, and now her. About 20 birds left in the flock ages ranging from 6 months to 6 years.

 

[centrarchid]

I cull as even when one bounces out of showing clinical signs it seldom lives an additional year. Version I deal with does not spread easily and seems to hit some families much harder than others. For me exposure is coming from outside flock, likely migratory songbirds.