Beware: Tractor Supply Co. chicks are NOT vaccinated--never

[Misfits Farm 92]

I just lost my entire flock to Marek's. None were vaccinated. I was told it is becoming more prevalent, more strains. Even vaccinating does not guarantee anything but a greater chance of survival. We think wild birds brought it in. We live in the country and have ducks, geese, turkeys and many other wild birds nearby. Half our birds came from a local hatchery and the other from Tractor Supply. They were adult birds a few years old, not chicks. I guess each owner can choose for themselves. But I will vaccinate from now on. IF I can ever make my coop, barn and soil safe enough to have them again. It can stay in your soil for years and is super easy to transmit. Best of luck to all!

Be aware that if you buy a vacinated chicken then you can't have any unvaccinated chickens.

 

[Ryguy3684]

Be aware that if you buy a vacinated chicken then you can't have any unvaccinated chickens.

There's plenty of people that have flocks with both vaccinated and unvaccinated chickens. It's not that uncommon. My first chickens were vaccinated for Mareks at the hatchery. Those chickens have now hatched out chicks, who are not vaccinated. If there's any science behind mixing them, I'd love to learn. I'm not arguing, I'm just curious.

 

[FloorCandy]

I just lost my entire flock to Marek's. None were vaccinated. I was told it is becoming more prevalent, more strains. Even vaccinating does not guarantee anything but a greater chance of survival. We think wild birds brought it in. We live in the country and have ducks, geese, turkeys and many other wild birds nearby. Half our birds came from a local hatchery and the other from Tractor Supply. They were adult birds a few years old, not chicks. I guess each owner can choose for themselves. But I will vaccinate from now on. IF I can ever make my coop, barn and soil safe enough to have them again. It can stay in your soil for years and is super easy to transmit. Best of luck to all!

Can you do like with parvo for dogs, bleach everything even the soil? I know people who have bleached their whole yard, killed the lawn, put down new seed the following year, and their new dogs did not get parvo prior to being old enough to vaccinate. I’m not even sure if that’s the proper procedure, I’ve never had any disease like that in my animals, but it seemed to work for them.

 

[Misfits Farm 92]

There's plenty of people that have flocks with both vaccinated and unvaccinated chickens. It's not that uncommon. My first chickens were vaccinated for Mareks at the hatchery. Those chickens have now hatched out chicks, who are not vaccinated. If there's any science behind mixing them, I'd love to learn. I'm not arguing, I'm just curious.

From what I've heard, a marek's vaccination introduces marek's to the birds so that they can build up immunity but doesn't allow it to get bad. As I'm typing this though I see that that doesn't make much sense and that theory probably just popped up because someone's vaccinated birds had marek's and they didn't know it.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Be aware that if you buy a vacinated chicken then you can't have any unvaccinated chickens.

It's a turkey strain so it doesn't affect unvaccinated birds I believe. You can have vaccinated and not and not lose all the unvaccinated ones

 

[TheCrochetChick]

I have never bought any chicks from TSC. A friend did though and she got 14 males out of a purchase of 16 chicks. Only 2 were females! I don't trust TSC for chicks, but their coops are wonderful, i got mine from there.
Vaxing is not neccessary by the way, b/c if you keep your brooder clean when they are chicks, and don't expose your birds (adults/chicks) to other birds/germs you will be fine. I know many people who raise 50+ chickens, that have never vaxed and have never had any problems. Its not a MUST.

 

[TheCrochetChick]

None of my chickens are vaccinated I have 5 years to 1 week what should I do?

Nothing at all, you are fine as long as you arent having any playdates with any other flocks.

 

[CreveChris]

It's a turkey strain so it doesn't affect unvaccinated birds I believe. You can have vaccinated and not and not lose all the unvaccinated ones

This is from the Zoetis company (I bought this vaccine thtough Jefferspet.com):

MAREK’S DISEASE (MD)

A HERPES VIRUS INFECTION OF CHICKENS AND, RARELY, IN TURKEYS IN CLOSE ASSOCIATION WITH CHICKENS, FOUND WORLDWIDE​

Highly virulent strains of MD have become a problem in North America and Europe since the 1980s and 1990s. The disease manifests itself in three ways: neurological, visceral and cutaneous. Mortality rates in affected flocks typically continue at a moderate or high rate (up to 100%) for quite a few weeks. Also, affected birds are more susceptible to other diseases, both parasitic and bacterial.

• Symptoms
  Symptoms of MD include paralysis in legs, wings and neck; weight loss; grey iris or irregular pupil; impaired vision; and raised and roughened skin around feather follicles.
• Prevention
  Keys to MD prevention include excellent hygiene and sanitation practices as well as vaccinations. Vaccines are often used to help provide protection from the various strains of the disease.
• Treatment
  There is no course of treatment at this time.
• Our Product(s)
  Poulvac® Marek CVI+HVT
  VVMD-Vac® + Bursine®-2
  MD-Vac® + Bursine®-2
  MD-Vac® CFL <== our choice
  VVMD-Vac®
  
  Material Name: MD-Vac CFL (lyophilized)
  Trade Name: Synonyms: Chemical Family:
  MD-Vac CFL, Poulvac
  Live Turkey Herpesvirus (HVT) Serotype 3 Mixture

 

[NatJ]

There's plenty of people that have flocks with both vaccinated and unvaccinated chickens. It's not that uncommon. My first chickens were vaccinated for Mareks at the hatchery. Those chickens have now hatched out chicks, who are not vaccinated. If there's any science behind mixing them, I'd love to learn. I'm not arguing, I'm just curious.

As I understand it:
--the vaccine does not directly cause Mareks
--vaccinated birds can still get Mareks
--vaccinated birds who do get Mareks will often live and seem healthy
--those apparently-healthy birds spread Mareks everywhere they go
--vaccinated birds who do not have Mareks will not spread Mareks

The problem with vaccinated birds is that you cannot tell whether they have Mareks or not.

If you have only unvaccinated birds, either they have Mareks or they don't, but there's a good chance that you KNOW which one it is.

 

[Brooks_]

Germ theory v. terrain theory. I'll take terrain theory.