California - Northern

[SpringPeeper]

I got my first quail eggs today! The pale wonky-looking egg in the picture is the first pullet egg from on of my Dominiques, and the last egg is just a normal egg from my red.

 

[tridentk9]

I only know of one and that was two years ago.

We may live in an area that does not have a bad strain tough. Coccci seems worse in other places too.

Either that or the chickens are resistant?

A potential reason could also be the much shorter (or no) winters so birds are not kept in coops in close proximity.

Hotter, dryer weather may inactivate the virus.

Hotter, dryer weather may cause birds to feather out differently and produce less dander.

Hotter, dryer weather may minimize roosting in extremely close proximity.

The use of fire and flamethrowers to sterilize soil

There can be multiple reasons, bird A's reason may not be bird B's reason.

Or it's that Happy Cows er Chickens, yeah, that's it Happy Chickens come from California.

 

[CackleJoy]

Thanks for the update! It is good to know that breeder was interested in the results and it sounds like they will take some action. We do have to take risks to get new blood and usually that risk pays off, but not always. At least the rest of them seem to be OK and you haven't lost any more.

Weo...that is a really interesting!... Maybe I need to get a green rope light for the coop. I wonder if this would halep with my Red Sexlink whe seems to be, once again, having some eggshell issues. She has been doing great all summer, but I have found a couple of broken, thin shelled eggs in the nest boxes the last couple of days.

It is common to have egg shell issues in the summer because the birds lay more eggs Perhaps adding Calf Manna once a week will help.

Oh good. I bought my first ever chicks from a feed store in vacaville. Well a couple of weeks ago one came down with symptoms that could be Mereks. I called the store to see if they vaccinated for Mereks and the girl said no but it's only 0.12cents. I was so upset with them. I will never go back. Now l have a closed flock and can only ever have chicks vaccinated for Mereks. It's good to know about concord feed.

It is my understanding that the vaccination does not prevent Mareks, it merely reduces the chances of death. A lady I talked to at UC Davis said that she wouldn't even recommend the vaccination for my flock. Edited to say that my flock consists of roughly 60 adult chickens as breeders and the number of chicks/juvies fluctuates well into the hundreds. You did not just see that in print.

@sewandgrow had a pen of fancy chickens. I think they were her Son's. Maybe she knows where to find some.

@sewandgrow does indeed have those fancy chickens, or she did. I know she and her family are going through a terrible time of grief right now so she may not be on BYC. Those of you who pray may want to include them in your prayers.

So I realize this could sound controversial, but please hear me out.

The USDA recommends against Merek's vaccines for small flocks, so none of my birds are vaccinated. I have never owned vaccinated birds and I have never had a case of Mereks, a disease which is endemic EVERYWHERE. After 6 months of age virtually all chickens have been exposed to Merek's and most fight off the disease without ever having symptoms much the same way 85% of humans have been exposed to herpes by age 25, but only 12% of people ever have symptoms. In addition, the Merek's vaccine is only effective in 7% of birds. For a commercial flock of 300+ birds that is a significant enough number for the USDA to recommend it. For a small flock of 10-30 birds, it may not be effective for even a single bird in your flock.

I recommend against an immediate panic reaction when a case shows up in your flock of unvaccinated birds. Wait and observe your flock and remove any other birds that show symptoms, but you dont necessarily need to cull them all or replace them, as most will likely recover without ever showing symptoms.

Excellent advice against the panic reaction. If you see a bird with Mereks or symptoms, it is easy enough to remove said bird. Once doesn't have to remain limited. Although many breeders prefer a closed flock for other biosecurity purposes, Merek's isn't usually the sole reason.

You have made very sound points and the conclusions are spot on.

I too received that doom and gloom message but ignored it. All I have ever had was one hatchery hen that died at 2.5 years old from the cancer that comes after mareks. No other symptoms.


edited to add: after about a week, vaccinated and not vaccinated chickens can be in the same flock. There have been studies and the vaccinated chickens will not infect the not vaccinated chickens.
One does not need to close a flock due to mareks since all chickens are exposed to it within several days of age.

Mareks is everywhere. My flock is 90% unvaccinated (I can't be sure about a few but it could be as much as 98%). I was worried about adding vaccinated chickens to my unvaccinated flock. It turned out not to be an issue. I rescued some exhibition roosters once that had been vaccinated. I rehomed them after a few months but kept their offspring. Anyway, I know Mereks is a problem in some places but I find Cocci to be a much bigger problem. As an aside, we have neighbors with Turkeys. I've heard that Turkeys can be great to keep as they carry something that protects the chickens from Mareks.

Does anyone have info on the percentage one can expect to lose per year in an unvaccinated flock with Marek's?

-Kathy

My flock may qualify as unvaccinated. Can't be 100% sure on some of the chickens I've brought in. Anyway, in the 2 yrs we have yet to see Mareks. I hate to say that out loud.

Lots of Cocci and some Ecoli issues from purchased eggs/shipped chicks but no Mareks.

I have read them before. Vaccinating saves 1 to 3% over not vaccinating total, not per year.

That is likely why the USDA does not recommend vaccinating for small flocks. It is not really worth doing for small flocks. Small percentages make sense when you have millions of birds.

This is of course economics, not pet raising though.

Breeding for resistance makes great sense.

I like to think I'm breeding for resistance but I can't stop myself from hauling out the Corrid when the Cocci shows up!

I only know of one and that was two years ago.

We may live in an area that does not have a bad strain tough. Coccci seems worse in other places too.

Either that or the chickens are resistant?

Interesting thought. I've heard of other areas having real issues with it (Mareks).

 

[CackleJoy]

Here is a great article about Icelandic chickens. (no S unless plural)
http://www.aviculture-europe.nl/nummers/10E06A03.pdf

Lovely chickens! They are like the Swedes in that they don't have a designated color pattern. I love that!

Ohh a VIKING chicken. I may have to tell the husband. Hmmmmm.... whom shall I oust in order to keep these lovelys?

Well, maybe I shall put them on my dream list and see what happens next year with the Ameraucana's. I keep the AM's because they are listed with the APA and I've some nice birds (hoping to show a blue one in January) but they just are not my favorite egg layers. Silly birds. I think I'd prefer @ronott1 's BofA Blues if all I wanted was the blue eggs.

 

[AmyPaperlady]

Quote: Thanks.

I'm pretty sure she was hatchery stock, and all I know about her age is that, when I got her last year, she was "older". The up-and-coming chicks are some barnyard mixes from a friend--all I know of their genetics is that dad's a Barred Rock.

So, if Frieda, my broody, is sitting kind of crooked, could that mean that there could be something happening under there? I listened, but couldn't hear any peeping. Frieda's sort of chirping low in her throat, though.

Edited 'cause I really need to clean my keyboard

 

[ronott1]

Thanks.

I'm pretty sure she was hatchery stock, and all I know about her age is that, when I got her last year, she was "older". The up-and-coming chicks are some barnyard mixes from a friend--all I know of their genetics is that dad's a Barred Rock.

So, if Frieda, my broody, is sitting kind of crooked, could that mean that there could be something happening under there? I listened, but couldn't hear any peeping. Frieda's sort of chirping low in her throat, though.

Edited 'cause I really need to clean my keyboard

Is it day 21?

Just before they hatch, the broody usually goes into a trance and holds very still. They look determined. They do start clucking when the chicks hatch.

After dark, you can try to look under her--wear sturdy gloves!

 

[AmyPaperlady]

Quote:
Technically, tomorrow after dark would be day 21, but Frieda's been sticking like glue--the few times her off-the-egg times have coincided with my being out there, she's been off for less than 10 minutes. The eggs were very fresh, too--my friend told me that they were that day's eggs, and one was still a little warm.

I have a feeling that not much is going to get done after church tomorrow...

 

[AmyPaperlady]

I hear peeping!

 

[ronott1]

Technically, tomorrow after dark would be day 21, but Frieda's been sticking like glue--the few times her off-the-egg times have coincided with my being out there, she's been off for less than 10 minutes. The eggs were very fresh, too--my friend told me that they were that day's eggs, and one was still a little warm.

I have a feeling that not much is going to get done after church tomorrow...

I hear peeping!

The chicks will be out soon!

 

[AmyPaperlady]

Quote:

Yeah, not telling my daughters, or else they'll never get to bed. Not that my going outside every few minutes isn't suspicious

But, hey, I'm just checking to see if they're in the coop, since it's almost dark