01/22/2026
Please Read!
Time for a lesson in diseases again.
My page is built on trust, integrity, and transparency. Since most of my followers are likely fairly new to the poultry world, I want to discuss the one topic that scares every single newbie out there... the one thing that you will one day be faced with.
MAREKS
1- you will want to ask questions about it, and when you do, people will tell you to cull your entire flock and burn your clothes, the coop and the house
2- you will have a bird that is lame and you won't know what to do, so you ask on a fb page and all of a sudden you are told your whole flock has Mareks and you need to cull them all and burn your clothes, the coop and the house
3-a bird gets a sniffle and a limp... you ask ... and the same response... Mareks.. burn it all!!!
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏JUST BECAUSE A BIRD HAS A LAME ISSUE DOES NOT MEAN IT HAS MAREKS AND THE WHOLE FLOCK HAS TO DIE👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Mareks is a herpies virus. Do you ever get a fever blister, or an ulcer on your tongue? You prob carry a herpies virus too. Just because your bird is lame doesn't mean it even has Mareks.
I had an Ayam Cymani chicken years ago, and it became lame. She was around 12 weeks old. I was new to the chicken world, so I assumed was Mareks, because everyone told me it was. A friend of mine mentioned to try Tolterazole (which is the same as Endocox). I did. Gave her a good week plus extra eggs, some hamburger, and some smoothies with protein and she got stronger and was able to walk. She didn't have Mareks, she had a strain of Coccidiosis. I don't usually see bloody stools here, I see foamy poo when my birds get Coccidia. There are at least 11 different strains with different symptoms.
As far as Mareks is concerned, there are lots of different strains. Know that literally over 75% of backyard flocks have Mareks. Most of the birds do not show symptoms so you as the owner would never know. I do not vaccinate although I am not against vaccinating a flock. My original mottled flock came from a farm that vaccinated and they are still here and just as strong as the non-vaccinated flock. They co-mingle and do great! Super hearty flock! I have zero issue with birds that are vaccinated. Actually, I have thought on vaccinating for years myself. While I do keep a closed flock, I do however attend shows and that exposes my birds to all sorts of strains. We quarantine for more than 30 days once we return home. No losses and no one is sick. All that means though is that my birds are extremely hearty. That doesn't mean that they are not carriers.
There are places that you can get testing done. It doesn't mean you won't get false positives or inconclusive results. At the end of the day, if your birds are outside, they are exposed to everything. You can NOT protect them from everything. Do your research, don't rely on FB to give you the answer and do what's best for you. I'm not a veterinarian, so don't take my word for it. I'm just here to share my experiences, trials and tribulations.
Thoughts? Opinions? Feelings.... Lets hear them! But since this is a very "touchy" subject, please be kind. Not everyone will feel the same way nor agree with each other. To each their own. We have to do what's best for each of us.
