[T C]

Hi i am a novice at this hen keeping, i am reading the forums daily, you could say im hooked, i keep reading about this illness you call Mareks, what is it, and where dose it come from?

[Aunt Sally]

It's a viral disease of birds.  It can cause paralysis and tumours. Once you have it in a flock or even in a hen house it's very difficult to eradicate completely.

Some breeders think it should be controlled by culling all birds which show susceptibility to the disease and only breed from birds which show resistance.  Others think vaccination is the best preventative although it only prevents tumour formation (different antigen involved).

This site explains the details very simply.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/90/mareks-disease

[GrannieAnnie]

BUT.....

if you get your chickens from a reputable source, they should already be vaccinated against Mareks.

The hatchery we get our day olds from does it when the chicks hatch, so the birds shouldn't get it.

[Aunt Sally]

They may still get it Grannie but it won't progress to the tumour stage.  They will just be a bit off colour and need some tlc to get over it.

[T C]

Well it sounds really scary, ive got no chance if my hens get it, im sure here in Spain they wont vaccinate, i had enough trouble getting sorted when we found out we had red mite, in fact it was only by chance that i fell upon this forum, that i found out what the mites were, where can the hens catch the mareks?

[Bodger]

Reputable source ? I'm afraid that I disagree  with that. The reason being this. The vaccine, unless things have altered come in large doses that are  only suitable for people who produce hundreds of chicks at a hatching. They are designed to treat a minimum of 500 chicks and it may be as high as a couple of thousand. The vaccine once opened doesn't keep and has to be used on the day. Its only going to be effective if you immunise as day olds. Any older than that and you are wasting your money.

People who only produce a dozen or two chickens cannot aford to innoculate for mareks because of economic reasons, yet I would still consider them to be reputable.

[Aunt Sally]

If you can have a look at the conditions the birds are bred and reared in you will be able to see if the establishment is "reputable" ie. clean, tidy, hygeinic, well fed and watered.  As long as Marek's is not in their sheds or flocks it is not likely that your hens would ever contract it from the wild.

There is much debate by breeders about the value of vaccination.  Big producers do it to safeguard their own livelihood.