Marek's: are chicks from vaccinated parents more resistant to the disease?

[Pompona]

Hi,
Does anyone has experience hatching chicks from vaccinated parents? Are they more resistant to Marek's? I am asking these because here in Spain, we, backyard chickens keepers do not have access to vaccines. Only farms with avian vets and sometimes breeders' associations can get them.
I unfortunately have a Marek's positive flock. This year most of my sebright chicks died from Marek's ( not vaccinated chicks, bought the eggs on internet) but my pekin bantams, that hatched from vaccinated parents are OK (just lost one of 8 chicks). My pekin bantams are now 9-10 months old and thriving.
I appreciate any insights on this.
Thanks!

 

[azygous]

I think it depends on breed resistance and health of the individual immune systems, but birds exposed to very light loads of the virus do develop some resistance. This is also true of chickens that live in areas such as mine where wild turkey flocks roam and sometimes mingle with the chickens. Turkeys carry a mild form of the Marek's virus and it can convey some resistance to chickens against the chicken forms of the virus.

But to be considered truly resistant to Marek's, it requires many generations of chickens to acquire it. Your young chickens still may become symptomatic with the virus at any time due to stress or other illness that puts a strain on their immune system.

 

[Pompona]

Thanks for answering. I thought so too, that my unvaccinated 10-month olds might still go down with Marek's. So I'm trying to give them good nutrition, deworm them regularly, etc. And also trying to enjoy them as much as possible now that they are healthy.
My backup plan is to give them Chinese skullcap if any starts showing any symptom related to Marek's, I already ordered it online. I don't know if this would work, but at least I can try.
Now, for next spring, I guess I am really hesitant about having any more chicks hatched at home. So sad, because I love broody hens and chicks. If my pekin bantams are still OK, I might try to hatch a few of them.
But anyway, only time will tell. I just hope I don't lose them all. This week I lost 2 big beautiful houdan cockerels that I hatched at home.