Against the odds hatching thread (with pictures and questions)

[adirondak5]

Thanks! I’ll be happy if it can help others. Have you set your daughter’s eggs yet? How’s that going?

Not yet , her eggs ship on the 28th so I won't have them until 30th at soonest and they'll need to sit for a day , so if I'm lucky and everything is on time and looks good they go in the incubator on May 1st . I still need to calibrate my hygrometer and check it against the incubators hygrometer , I have an old glass type medical thermometer to double check the temp in the incubator and an xtra digital thermometer . I'll probably test run the incubator in the next couple of days just to check everything and get familiar with it . Other than that I'm just reading what I can about incubating and hatching , etc . One thing I've been meaning to ask you is have you thought about any inoculating for the chicks when they hatch ? I've read a bit on it and its seems some do , some don't . I haven't read enough into it or asked enough about it to have any opinion on it yet . Interested in any opinion you or anybody else would have on that .
Good luck on the hatch with lock down quickly approaching , looking forward to seeing your chicks .

 

[K0k0shka]

Not yet , her eggs ship on the 28th so I won't have them until 30th at soonest and they'll need to sit for a day , so if I'm lucky and everything is on time and looks good they go in the incubator on May 1st . I still need to calibrate my hygrometer and check it against the incubators hygrometer , I have an old glass type medical thermometer to double check the temp in the incubator and an xtra digital thermometer . I'll probably test run the incubator in the next couple of days just to check everything and get familiar with it . Other than that I'm just reading what I can about incubating and hatching , etc . One thing I've been meaning to ask you is have you thought about any inoculating for the chicks when they hatch ? I've read a bit on it and its seems some do , some don't . I haven't read enough into it or asked enough about it to have any opinion on it yet . Interested in any opinion you or anybody else would have on that .
Good luck on the hatch with lock down quickly approaching , looking forward to seeing your chicks .

That is a very good question, and one that I must admit, I haven't given enough thought to, aside from ordering medicated chick starter... I was thinking that, since my chickens are home-hatched and will have never been in contact with other poultry, then maybe they'll be okay? As opposed to day-old chicks purchased from a hatchery or breeder where they've been crammed with lots of other birds... But then I started reading about Marek's, and how it's actually in the soil, not necessarily transmitted bird to bird, and now I'm worried. It should be administered at 1 day old, which would be Monday for me, so I'm running out of time... Now I'm trying to decide whether it's worth it to order it online, whether it will get here on time, and whether the cost is worth the whole ordeal (it doesn't come in small quantities, only in 1000-dose jars and, with shipping, the cheapest I could find is $43...)

 

[adirondak5]

That is a very good question, and one that I must admit, I haven't given enough thought to, aside from ordering medicated chick starter... I was thinking that, since my chickens are home-hatched and will have never been in contact with other poultry, then maybe they'll be okay? As opposed to day-old chicks purchased from a hatchery or breeder where they've been crammed with lots of other birds... But then I started reading about Marek's, and how it's actually in the soil, not necessarily transmitted bird to bird, and now I'm worried. It should be administered at 1 day old, which would be Monday for me, so I'm running out of time... Now I'm trying to decide whether it's worth it to order it online, whether it will get here on time, and whether the cost is worth the whole ordeal (it doesn't come in small quantities, only in 1000-dose jars and, with shipping, the cheapest I could find is $43...)

You got about as far into it as I did . Hopefully somebody with more experience will chime in . The chicks I plan to incubate for my daughter will got to her house as soon as they are dried out and out of the incubator (within a few hours) but I would like to bring one pullet back home here to integrate in with my flock . I was hoping to just go with medicated feed but I'm just not sure .

 

[K0k0shka]

You got about as far into it as I did . Hopefully somebody with more experience will chime in . The chicks I plan to incubate for my daughter will got to her house as soon as they are dried out and out of the incubator (within a few hours) but I would like to bring one pullet back home here to integrate in with my flock . I was hoping to just go with medicated feed but I'm just not sure .

Medicated feed addresses only coccidiosis... The more I read about diseases, the more I'm worrying about Marek's in particular, because it seems to be so common and widespread and so deadly. And because it travels via dander and persists in it for years, which has a higher potential for spread than other diseases. I'm worrying that even if my chickens never go near other chickens, there might be dander on feed packaging or other supplies if the staff that handle them have been near infected birds at the farm store.... or something like that... So I'm leaning towards ordering the vaccine after all.

 

[aart]

I'm worrying that even if my chickens never go near other chickens, there might be dander on feed packaging or other supplies if the staff that handle them have been near infected birds at the farm store.... or something like that... So I'm leaning towards ordering the vaccine after all.

Can it also be carried in eggs? Sorry.
The vaccine is not 100% tho, won't protect against all strains and only suppresses symptoms, so birds can still be carriers....and it's very expensive, the package covers a lot more birds than you have.
Had a couple birds with what appeared to be Leukosis, another very common virus similar to Mareks, it was 'diagnosed' via photos by a poultry specialist, no pathology was done so could have been either. I just wrote it off, haven't had any other losses due to it, nor seen it in the birds I've slaughtered. My take is you can't control everything any only the strongest survive. I use no vaccines, antibiotics, medicated feed, herbs/spices..only a boost of vitamins once in a while and Electrolytes for extreme temp stress(both cold and heat).
Lots of info out there, not all of it good, best not to panic.

 

[K0k0shka]

Can it also be carried in eggs? Sorry.
The vaccine is not 100% tho, won't protect against all strains and only suppresses symptoms, so birds can still be carriers....and it's very expensive, the package covers a lot more birds than you have.
Had a couple birds with what appeared to be Leukosis, another very common virus similar to Mareks, it was 'diagnosed' via photos by a poultry specialist, no pathology was done so could have been either. I just wrote it off, haven't had any other losses due to it, nor seen it in the birds I've slaughtered. My take is you can't control everything any only the strongest survive. I use no vaccines, antibiotics, medicated feed, herbs/spices..only a boost of vitamins once in a while and Electrolytes for extreme temp stress(both cold and heat).
Lots of info out there, not all of it good, best not to panic.

It can't be carried in the hatching eggs, so the chicks will hatch clean, which is good. From then on it's all about dander contamination of supplies and stuff. I know the vaccine is not 100%, but it's supposed to make the symptoms less severe and reduce the death rate, which is something. I don't have the luxury of "the strongest survive", because I don't have a large flock with room to lose birds to diseases. I have compromised shipped eggs with bad air cells, a potentially low hatch rate, and small number of chicks that will probably hatch. I'll be lucky if I get 3-4 hens out of this very expensive and very time- and labor-intensive project. The odds are already stacked against me, so I can't afford to be cavalier and let them die because they weren't "strong enough" - I'll be left with nothing after all this work and money.

 

[K0k0shka]

I bit the bullet and ordered the vaccine from Meyer Hatchery:

https://www.meyerhatchery.com/productinfo.a5w?prodID=VACM

I have too much to lose with such a tiny flock (assuming that they actually hatch), so I want to check off at least the preventable causes of death.

 

[K0k0shka]

@aart what do you think about the candling results - development, air cells etc.?

 

[adirondak5]

You are getting pressed for time so I assume you are choosing the higher cost faster shipping on the vaccine . I have a bit more time to make decision and order . I am reading more into it today and will talk it over with my daughter but I could be convinced to vaccinate . I'll have to study up on syringes and how where to inject .

 

[K0k0shka]

You are getting pressed for time so I assume you are choosing the higher cost faster shipping on the vaccine . I have a bit more time to make decision and order . I am reading more into it today and will talk it over with my daughter but I could be convinced to vaccinate . I'll have to study up on syringes and how where to inject .

They only have one shipping option, so it doesn't matter. They ship overnight or as fast as possible, because the vaccine is extremely temperature-sensitive and loses its potency if allowed to get warm. So they ship it on ice and fast. It comes with a syringe, needle and everything else you'll need.

This site has good instructions with pictures:

https://backyardpoultry.iamcountrys...inister-the-mareks-vaccine-to-poultry-chicks/