Mareks. Can we ever get chickens again?

[Pigeony]

Interesting! Is there any chance that my hen would sit on those eggs? She’s never been broody. Would she be able to tell there are little ones in there and maybe get broody? If not, would she accept the chicks once they’re ready? I’m assuming there is an introduction period like with horses where you keep them separate where they can still see each other? Or would she try to kill them since they’re not hers? Thanks all so much for the advice

She would only accept them if she'd been broody, and it's always risky to give chicks to a first-time broody. If you want to go the incubator route, for cheapo incubators, I recommend the Kebonnix ($60-$90 on Amazon) or the NurtureRight (~$160 on Amazon). Both are easy, self-turning, just add distilled water. I do recommend a cheap ZooMed temp probe to make sure display is correct though. For the more expensive type, there's Brinsea which are generally easy and reliable. There's lots of advice on here on how to have success with shipped eggs, they are more difficult than local eggs and you'll likely have a lower hatch rate, but it's a great way to get bird breeds you can't find locally.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Interesting! Is there any chance that my hen would sit on those eggs? She’s never been broody. Would she be able to tell there are little ones in there and maybe get broody? If not, would she accept the chicks once they’re ready? I’m assuming there is an introduction period like with horses where you keep them separate where they can still see each other? Or would she try to kill them since they’re not hers? Thanks all so much for the advice

I wouldn’t recommend having your hen mother chicks you order. That is a gamble even if you know what you’re doing. Lots of times broody hens won’t accept chicks even if they have been sitting on eggs. Better to hatch them yourself or use a broody hen to hatch the eggs. Or order chicks and brood them yourself then carefully introduce them to your lone hen. There is a risk with shipping day old chicks but so too with incubating eggs, hatching with a broody, etc.

 

[RoyalChick]

I have Marek’s in my flock. It is just very sad.
Remember ‘breeding for resistance’ means a lot of dead chicks. I don’t have the stomach for that.
So far my strategy is to only introduce vaccinated chicks. Yes, those can die too, but much less than unvaccinated chicks.

 

[LaFleche]

Is there any chance that my hen would sit on those eggs? She’s never been broody.

No, to her they would be just like any other eggs.

Would she be able to tell there are little ones in there and maybe get broody?

No.

would she accept the chicks once they’re ready?

Rather not as even broodies will often accept only the ones they hatch themselves and kill any other chicks.

would she try to kill them since they’re not hers?

Yes, that would be the probable outcome.

 

[FrostRanger]

FrostRanger, how do I find my state’s thread?

CatInTheHenHouse, I’m nervous about having chicks shipped because I know some can die. Honestly, I’m feeling really sad already and that would be hard Do you think I would have better odds getting them locally or are the chances of losing some about the same?

Look here https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/where-am-i-where-are-you.26/

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

FrostRanger, how do I find my state’s thread?

CatInTheHenHouse, I’m nervous about having chicks shipped because I know some can die. Honestly, I’m feeling really sad already and that would be hard Do you think I would have better odds getting them locally or are the chances of losing some about the same?

I can’t say, I don’t have statistics for either. Are Fayoumis available for you locally in the first place? If they’re not then it’s a moot point.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I understand that if a hen has been broody for at least two weeks, you MAY be able to introduce day-old chicks to her, but it's risky. You slip them under her at night and hope for the best and watch carefully. Be ready to step in and rescue at a moment's notice and have a warm brooder set up and ready in case things do not go well.

 

[MoonFarm]

Thanks all so much for your replies. Sounds like hoping for my hen to brood either eggs or chicks is a no go. I was able to find my state’s thread and asked about local breeders who might have Egyptian Fayoumis.

Mareks really is horrible. I feel so much sympathy for anyone dealing with it. I don’t have much confidence in introducing vaccinated chicks/pullets/hens because my four were all vaccinated and three died. Could have been bad luck, but it definitely shook my confidence in the vaccine.

Hopefully I can find someone local that I could get some EF’s from. Otherwise I may try to hatch out some eggs myself. I’m a newby to this (bought my first 4 chickens as pullets) so either way I will probably be posting some more on here asking for wisdom and advice.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Keep in mind that if you hatch eggs or get straight run chicks, 50% will be roosters, and it would be irresponsible to sell them or give them away without full disclosure that they carry Marek’s. (Honestly, even with full disclosure, I wouldn’t do it, as the people you give them too could spread Marek’s to other flocks themselves.)

 

[Sic]

I’ve read everything I can find about Mareks and I’m still not clear on one thing. Is every chicken we get from now until forever going to (probably) get sick, suffer, and die from this horrible disease? We have lost 3 out of 4 of our small home flock. It is Mareks, confirmed by necropsy. All 4 hens were vaccinated when we got them as pullets. 2 died at about 8 months old, and our latest loss is FIVE years old. We thought she was in the clear at her age, but no, she got it too. We have only one girl left and she is alone now. It has been heart breaking. We want to keep chickens and continue to have wonderful eggs from them. But is it selfish to get more knowing that our place is infected?

You bring Mareks onto your property once you bring in a vaccinated bird, it's a leaky vaccine.