AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Hi again,

I've asked about Marek's before, but am still unsure of the window of opportunity for vaccinating against the disease.

I rang my local vet today and she said it had to be done within the first 24 hours of life, however I'm pretty sure that some of the breeders around here don't do it that soon.

We have 4 chicks hatched today (5 by tomorrow), then another 5 due next week and 3 the week after that. I'd be happy to buy a whole vial of the vaccine to do all of them at once after the last ones hatch, but it sounds like that might be too late - what do other people do????

I know natural selection is an option, with birds who don't become infected being the best to breed from, but that gets a bit hard in our situation where every chick becomes a pet as soon as it hatches!

Deb

Hi Deb, The questions Kai has asked are important as they will determine the urgency of Vaccination. Technically your Vet is correct, they should be vaccinated in the first 24 hours of life but there are some variations to take into account and the questions Kai asked will determine that.

Young birds are most susceptible to infection. Most deaths from Marek’s disease occur between 8 and 20 weeks of age, although in some cases the disease may be seen in birds as young as 3-4 weeks of age or as old as one year of age.

Thanks
Peacocks Australia

Thanks Kai & PA.

We have 8 adult birds (approx 12 months old), 2 x 3mth old silkie chicks, and now 10 chicks ranging from approx 1 wk old (Belgians that we bought) to 1 day old pekin babies.

We've only had chooks since July, and have had no incidence of Marek's, however the local pekin breeders seem particularly concerned and the vet said it is known in our area.

All of the chicks except 3 have been incubator-hatched, but they are all currently housed in the same brooder inside our house. We took the 3 hen-hatched babies away from the hen 24 hours after they hatched in order to let the kids raise them as pets (and yes, I feel guilty as the hen is now sitting on one dud egg, but we did that with our two silkie chicks and they are wonderful to catch and handle).

Our vet said that the 1000 dose vial would cost approx $120 and I'd be happy to pay that if we could treat all of the young chicks with some chance of it being effective given their ages.

We do have 11 more chicks due in the next fortnight, so I'd want to do them all at the same time - at which time the eldest chicks (the Belgians) would be approx 3-4 weeks old (and the silkie chicks 3 & 1/2 months old). What do you think given the additional information?

Regards,
Deb

Hi Deb, as you have not had Mareks in your adult birds & your flock is small (8 Adults) then it's unlikely to be an issue. As your flock grows you may want to introduce a Vaccine program.

A couple of tips:
1) Quarantine ALL new birds (purchased birds) and watch them for any symptoms
2) Keep the chicks away from the main flock for 4-6 months
3) Don’t hatch chicks in the pen with the main flock
4) Quarantine, yes it's a repeat but it's VERY important.

Many breeders will have an opinion on whether "To vaccinate" or "Not to vaccinate" there are pro's and con's to both but at the end of the day it's up to each breeder.

For the record, we vaccinate.


Thanks
Peacocks Australia

Thanks for the tips PA. Quarantining chicks for 4-6 months is going to be a bit tricky here, as I can keep them inside while they are really little, but not for six months! I will see what we can set up.

I will check from now on whether or not purchased birds have been vaccinated. I know the 5 belgian chicks I bought the other day have not been.

Is there no point at all in vaccinating chicks that are a few weeks old

What is the reason it needs to be given so young?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am trying to understand how it all works.

I would prefer to vaccinate if possible - I understand the benefits of natural selection, but our kids (and myself!!!) would be devastated to lose individual birds to the disease.

And then there is the difficulty of quarantine - I also have parrots, and have had to quarantine because of beak and feather disease and psittacosis, and it is SO draining having to keep them totally separated for extended periods of time, changing clothes and disinfecting hands etc between cages (and still probably not being 100% effective). I do realise the importance of quarantine (being a horse owner, also, in the middle of an equine influenza purple zone, with horses that still don't have it yet!!!) but would still like to vaccinate.

So, I guess my final question is - if I vaccinate chicks that are 3-4 weeks old will it give them any immunity?

I apologise for the long-winded post!

Regards,
Deb

Hi Deb, The reason it is recommended to vaccinate at birth is to limit potential exposure to the disease. There is a point to vaccinate at any age as it MAY limit the risk of them contracting the disease or being a carrier. Checking purchased birds for Vaccination is a very good idea, and any reparable breeder will be honest about it. If you want to Vaccinate then please do, it will give your stock a far better chance of not contracting the disease and gives you a little peace of mind. We also have a number of Thorough breds & Paint Horses, and have been waiting 2 months for the Vaccination it must be said that Vaccinating for Mareks is NOT 100% guaranteed but as there is no cure is the best option.

We love getting questions, keeps the Brain working

Thanks
Peacocks Australia

Thank you PA. If there is some chance it will help then I will get some vaccine to have ready when our last chicks arrive. Our oldest pekin chicks will be about 16 days old then, and the belgians about 3 weeks, so if it offers some protection I will do that. They won't be exposed to any other chickens before then (or any time soon thereafter) so maybe it will help.

As I said before, I understand the arguments against vaccination, but it is hard for me to go down that road when each chick has a name!!

Thanks to everyone for all of your advice in response to my many posts so far! What a great forum!!

PS: PA, we have a couple of paint horses too!! A chestnut overo gelding by Dressed in Western, and his baby brother, a solid chestnut 2yo.