biosecurity and quarantine for Mareks

[Marigold]

I know not many people usually follow the Quail section of the Forum, so I hope you'll forgive me for drawing two of my posts there to your attention if you have any experience of Mareks, or possible previous infection in your poultry flock. My questions are about what to do if there has been a death in the flock from possible, but not properly diagnosed, Mareks, to avoid the spread of the virus. My posts are Sad News viewtopic.php?f=37&t=5461 and Biosecurity? viewtopic.php?f=37&t=5462http://poultry ... =37&t=5462
Thanks for reading, all advice welcomed!

[BabyBantam]

Hi,
I recently lost a bird that waswas diagnosed by vet. I was told not to restock AT ALL (as vaccinated birds can become carriers as well as unvacinated pick up the infection) and to leave the ground / garden to recover for at least 3 months before restocking. I was also advised to clean everything with a good disinfectant both after the death and once the run was empty.
Sad, but you're in this for the long haul, as I've come to understand it.

[Marigold]

Thanks Babybantam. I think it's maybe a bit easier with quail kept in cages compared with poultry kept outside, because quail live in a smaller, more easily-cleaned environment and don't usually come into contact with the ground. Also, as none have been, or will be, vaccinated there's no problem with mixing vaccinated/unvaccinated birds, so long as they're quarantined away from my chickens. However I've come to the same conclusion as you about restocking and quarantine, so for now I shall keep mine as a group in the summerhouse, rather than moving them to the new quail house. In any case the quail house won't be fully ready for a few weeks because (Hooray!) my lovely daughter has just given me a very generous gift of money, with instructions to spend it ASAP on something i would not otherwise have bought, so I'm getting quotes to have electricity run down the garden to the quail house to provide light down there in the cages, and power for garden tools as well. This won't happen until after the Xmas/New Year shutdown, so possibly the end of Jan. at the earliest, by which time 2 months will be up and I'll be able to see how healthy the rest of the quail seem to be. Any additions to the stock will thereafter be from hatching eggs, either from my own or e-bay, which should be safe as eggs don't carry the virus. Got to fill all those cages somehow!

[Marigold]

Thanks Babybantam. I think it's maybe a bit easier with quail kept in cages compared with poultry kept outside, because quail live in a smaller, more easily-cleaned environment and don't usually come into contact with the ground. I've only got 6, all the same age, and they' won't be mixed with another generation or group. Also, as none have been, or will be, vaccinated there's no problem with mixing vaccinated/unvaccinated birds, so long as they're quarantined away from my chickens. However I've come to the same conclusion as you about restocking and quarantine, so for now I shall keep mine as a group in the summerhouse, rather than moving them to the new quail house. In any case the quail house won't be fully ready for a few weeks because (Hooray!) my lovely daughter has just given me a very generous gift of money, with instructions to spend it ASAP on something i would not otherwise have bought, so I'm getting quotes to have electricity run down the garden to the quail house to provide light down there in the cages, and power for garden tools as well. This won't happen until after the Xmas/New Year shutdown, so possibly the end of Jan. at the earliest, by which time 2 months will be up and I'll be able to see how healthy the rest of the quail seem to be. Any additions to the stock will thereafter be from hatching eggs, either from my own or e-bay, which should be safe as eggs don't carry the virus. Got to fill all those cages somehow!