Adding Infected Chickens to Flock

[BigBlueHen53]

They are striking!

 

[BDutch]

Why doesnt anyone consider buying hatchery eggs? I know the cockerels are a pain in the ass if you don’t want to cull chickens, but its very safe to add eggs, and raise the chicks yourself. Or you can buy some for a broody if you have one. That is unless you had Marek in your own flock.

I never had Marek or any fatal respiratory diseases in my flock and added hatchery eggs from private sellers several times. No need for vaccinations this way either.

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, to a point. Mareks doesn't come through eggs, but Mycoplasma can.
And if I ever buy an incubator, I'm doomed! The chicken explosion won't be pretty, will need way more coop space!
Mary

 

[BDutch]

Eggs from a chicken with Mycoplasma often have a glaze looking point. This and other strange looking eggs should be avoided as hatchery eggs.

Also decent people dont sell hatchery eggs from sick hens. The profits are low and people who sell hatchery eggs have not much to gain selling their eggs just a bit more expensive. Hatchery eggs often cost €1 for regular breeds.

This makes the risk to bring in diseases with hatchery eggs really very minimal.

 

[Folly's place]

I agree about hatchery eggs, but would worry about eggs from many 'backyard' folks. Like the people the OP got those birds from recently!
Mary

 

[SourRoses]

Why doesnt anyone consider buying hatchery eggs?

A lot of people do buy hatching eggs. Most of the time it's fine. On a post about disease we get more responses from those who think about it more often. Smart, but we have more risk takers in the community, lol.
Personally, I just think there's a happy middle place.

hatchery eggs from private sellers

Just an FYI, it seems you are using "hatchery" in place of "hatching".
Hatchery eggs would mean eggs sold by a hatchery (big business).
Hatching Eggs is just eggs that are fertile that could be sold by anyone, such as private parties like it seems you are taking about.
(I don't have room in my head for a second language so I don't know how you do it!)

There are pros and cons... Most hatching eggs have to be shipped, which can reduce hatch rates a lot.
The benefit is getting genetics from good breeders in a safer manner.
Personally I don't really understand why people order eggs from hatcheries, when they can just get the chicks... And if they're willing to try hatching eggs, they should use a breeder to see what they might have been missing with hatchery lines.

 

[BDutch]

…
Just an FYI, it seems you are using "hatchery" in place of "hatching".
Hatchery eggs would mean eggs sold by a hatchery (big business).

Thanks, I didn’t know. (This is very helpful bc I like to improve my English). We only have one word for both in the Netherlands.

Proof in translation to Dutch:

Hatching Eggs is just eggs that are fertile that could be sold by anyone, such as private parties like it seems you are taking about.
(I don't have room in my head for a second language so I don't know how you do it!)

There are pros and cons... Most hatching eggs have to be shipped, which can reduce hatch rates a lot.

Yes, shipping is not good for the hatch rates.
Here the distances to get somewhere are so small that we don’t need to. I picked some up on my bike. Never travelled more than 15 km /10 miles except once, to pick up eggs from someone who had a special breed. I knew this person from a Dutch chickenforum and he lived near people we were going to visit anyway.

The benefit is getting genetics from good breeders in a safer manner.
Personally I don't really understand why people order eggs from hatcheries, when they can just get the chicks... And if they're willing to try hatching eggs, they should use a breeder to see what they might have been missing with hatchery lines.

Most people I visited for hatching eggs, loved to show their setup and tell me some ins and outs of their chickens.

Sending chicks by mail is not allowed where I live. Neither is selling them in shops. Has to do with animal welfare*. The person who sells or a co worker has to deliver the chicks in person or you need to pick the chicks up at the hatchery/ breeders place.

*The research center claims that chicks who can eat and drink within 48 hours have a better start in life.

 

[WhatsUpDuck]

I find all this info interesting! We bought our two flocks off of the same woman I met at our town farmer's market! She invited us to her home and it is a very small operation. She hatched our eggs from us on a broody hen she had that I was going to buy anyways. I will say I don't agree with her coops and how cramped it is. She did have one chicken that was sick with a neurological disorder and passed away. She did take it to a vet, but it was something that couldn't be fixed. She mentioned she had silkies pass away in the winter.

All that to say our chickens were dirty when they came here, but within a month were doing great, and we've never had a respiratory problem.

I have seen chickens on craigslist here, but to me they just seemed sickly and I didn't want to expand that way.

LORD willing we will be expanding this spring. I'm not sure if they should be quarantined or not. We do go to her property every other month or so. We live within like three miles of each other or so 5 at the most.