We have added to our flock over the years, some adopted from neighbors who decided chickens weren't for them, so we are assuming not all our birds were vaccinated against Marek's as chicks. We purchased seven 1-day old chicks from Meyer's and had them vaccinated against Marek's. They are 4 weeks old now.
The Merck website states that "Marek's disease is identified in chicken flocks worldwide. Every flock, except for those maintained under strict pathogen-free conditions, is presumed to be infected." It states that vaccinated chicks exposed to the virus will not develop the disease, but can shed it to any unvaccinated birds in our flock. So, assuming that the hatchery that we purchased from has Marek's in their flocks and our vaccinated chicks were exposed to the virus, should we be concerned about them shedding the virus to our unvaccinated birds?
One of our existing bantam hens has been sitting on eggs and we expect them to hatch any day now. We will place them in a separate brooder inside the same building where the 4 week old vaccinated chicks are. Should we be concerned that the vaccinated chicks may infect the hatchlings?
The Merck website states that "Marek's disease is identified in chicken flocks worldwide. Every flock, except for those maintained under strict pathogen-free conditions, is presumed to be infected." It states that vaccinated chicks exposed to the virus will not develop the disease, but can shed it to any unvaccinated birds in our flock. So, assuming that the hatchery that we purchased from has Marek's in their flocks and our vaccinated chicks were exposed to the virus, should we be concerned about them shedding the virus to our unvaccinated birds?
One of our existing bantam hens has been sitting on eggs and we expect them to hatch any day now. We will place them in a separate brooder inside the same building where the 4 week old vaccinated chicks are. Should we be concerned that the vaccinated chicks may infect the hatchlings?