Silkies - Vaccinated against Mareks - or not?

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Anne W

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Set my heart on Silkies but really apprehensive about their susceptibility to Mareks. Wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have other breeds - especially my original hens - some ofwhich - the Orpingtons - are ten years old. Touch wood, touch wood, touch wood(!! :shock: ) I have never had trouble with this disease and don't want to put them at risk.

I have been researching this at length and it seems there are 2 avenues to go down. One is to buy vaccinated stock ( done at 1 day old) and the other is to buy from stock which has hopefully built up a resistance to Mareks. I know I am fussing - and verging on being neurotic about this :oops: :roll: but I will only have myself to blame if I get it wrong.

Do I forget about my Silkies to make life easier ( not something I am known for :roll: :lol: ) or get them and do as much as possible to get good stock and take as many precautions as possible, if I am unlucky ,to prevent spread to the others?

AND - vaccinated or non- vaccinated ?
 
Good question Anne W,personally,I don't have any experience of Marek's,so am not a lot of help.
I would opt for a breeder of silkies close to me, who doesn't vaccinate.So that they have good natural immuntiy to the disease,and,if you do have a breeder close to you,the Silkies will already be exposed naturaly to the diseases/germs found in your area.
I am probably wrong,but I was under the impression that vaccination against mareks could actually mask carriers of it.
 
Yes Lydia, I have read that but also read that it seems to be the best way- confusing isn't it :? I can't find any breeders near to me - I am going to the national on sunday so will go around with a placcard which reads " Any Silkie breeders in Oxfordshire please" :lol: Failing that I will look in the catalogue to see . You know the feeling when you wish you hadn't started setting your heart on something .......
 
That is unlucky,that you do not have breeder's local to you.I am actually very lucky,got a silkie breeder very local to me.A close friend of mine used to keep Silkies,she was lucky and never once had a problem with mareks.A bit of me thinks it will be pot luck for you,either completely free or not.It is annoying to have conflicting theories put forward re: vaccination.
At least I'll be able to spot you at the National,with your placard :lol: .If you need reviving,I'll take you for a coffee.
 
Have you been to the national or fed before? A friend warned me that it is very loud,takes a few mins for our ears to adjust.So,at 10am when the public are let in,I'll be the one with a scarf wrapped round my ears like a strange muff.
We used to go to dog shows together,so I asked if it was as loud or louder....apparently a lot lot louder :o , might need ear muffs!!!!
 
You are right - Silkies are more vulnerable than some other breeds to Mareks.

It is spread by dander (cells from birds feathers / skin) if you could find vaccinated birds, they will unfortunately still get the disease and spread it. The big problem then is your exisiting birds would get it then. Once you've had it, it is really hard to get rid of from houses etc and you really need to burn / replace the housing.

I don't believe it's easy for Mareks to come into your flock from the natural environment - it's usually carried in by new birds. From what I have read, in the UK, there aren't that many outbreaks - the South West was hit last year but that was thought to have been carried in to commercial flocks from a hatchery.

Personally, I would get well looked after / healthy stock and ask the breeder before hand if they have ever had problems with Mareks. I wouldn't worry about vaccination but I would quarantine them for 3 weeks for disease control before bringing them in closer to your other birds. Make sure they are kept really healthy so their immune systems are strong.

That would be my approach... not everyone's.
 
:lol: We 2 should be quite easy to spot then Lydia :lol: I'm going on the 29th - how about you? No I have never been to the National but local poultry tents are bad enough so I would imagine you will be right. Methinks me take some cotton wool for my ears! Went to a huge rabbit show in Reading a month ago - the only noise was from the people :lol:

Thanks for that Tim - I was planning on keeping them separate - about 20 metres away. I don't think I would have integrated them anyway as apparently Silkies tend to get bullied. Yes - I think I may go down the 'resistant' route now. Will talk to the breeders , see what they have to say then make a decision.
 
Hi AW_ I have quite a few silkies,both sexes all sizes, they all run about with my other birds at this time of year-again all sizes and both sexes- I have not had any bullying problems with them. I find they need ample space to run around in and they all have their own sleeping quarters ,one cockerel per house . My silkies are not vaccinated , Iwent into it in depth before deciding this for a number of reasons. Mareks arises weeks/months after the chick is exposed to the Herpes virus during the first days of life as I understand.Mareks is similar to a form of lymphoma and as such takes time to develop after initial exposure to the virus. As my birds are bred here and hopefully not exposed to the virus as chicks they should in theory be Mareks free. I think the main thing is , if you are going to breed or have chicks then they either ALL need to be vaccinated or NONE as it maybe that vaccinated birds excrete the virus and actually bring the disease into your flock. I hope this waffle makes some sort of sense and helps! Ros
 
Yes Ros it's making more sense the more I learn about it. I don't intend to breed from them ( but as I get older I realise that 'never say never' is very true ) and I tend to agree with the theory that perhaps the vaccine - don't know wether it's dead or live - could allow the bird to shed the disease.

What I need is a breeder who consistently does not have Mareks in their flock. Wouldn't you think in this day and age there would be a cure for most of these diseases? Not enough scientific research goes into it - like most animals - the main value is commercial use. :x Perhaps now so many people are having poultry, things will change. Cynicism comes with age too :lol: So does having to look up spelling of cynicism :lol: :lol:
 
Hi Anne,I'm planning on going both days,I only live a 1 hour drive away,I'm meeting a friend on saturday who is exhibiting some of her hens but want to go on the sunday to do some shopping.
Always found with dog shows that people didn't want to take stock etc home with them so would sell it cheaper on the last day,esp as packing up to leave ;) .
If not I'll enjoy myself anyway.
Being older is a lot of fun,I never used to make spelling mistakes,now I do it all the time :D ,I don't know what I did ten mins earlier, but can re-call my childhood with ease :( ,the more I learn, the more I relise I've got lots of learning still to do........just a shame it doesn't lodge anywhere usefull .... :o .
 
Yes it can be a lot of fun - like trying to cram in things you have always wanted to do as well as the new things that pop up along the way ( like this poultry lark!) - before it's too late :o - well, I think that's what is going on with me at present! Wake up in the night thinking "Ah! if I fence that bit off and put a gate there then I could get some....." :lol:

Memory ....yes... when I was a nurse I used to run a Memory Clinic and I remember someone saying to me " I need a little vacuum cleaner with a nozzle to vacuum out the useless things in my brain that I don't need to remember any more - then there would be room for all the stuff I do need to remember" :roll:

The old brain cells must be still in good order though because since joining the forum I have absorbed so much information and retrieved so much information in the back of my mind it's unbelievable. Like most things - if it's something you are really interested in then you can learn anything - the only thing is it makes my brain hurt :roll: :lol:
 
Well AW -count yourself lucky to have enough brain left that it can hurt!!----mines rapidly becoming numb all over !Ros
 
Yes, but Ros and Lydia - just think of the wisdom we all possess! :? Well that's what the books say :lol:
 
Afraid I cant see what the books say as I cant remember where I put my glasses. :D Ros
 
That's ok cos I can't remember what books I read it in :? :lol:
 
Wow Anne,you ran a memory clinic-please give me some tips,I struggle 'cos my remaining brain cell fell out and I couldn't find it :( .
I read lots of books,I'm now progressing from pictures only to basic words :lol: .
 
we have a breeder close to us who does vaccinate, he says its for insurance reasons, as a breeder he was advised by his vet to vaccinate everything he hatches at day old so he doesn't get any comeback at all
we just buy silkie hatching eggs from him and hatch our own as we do not want to mix vaccinated birds with non vaccinated birds
 
Yes - I agree - I have decided to go for unvaccinated as my others have not been done.
 
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