Chick Study Chicks - Chicagoland Area

[Djrdn]

Hi all! In April I am doing a chick study with a group of kids, and I am thinking about using eggs from my own flock for the kiddos to incubate. We will incubate a couple dozen eggs or more if we are able to move forward with this. I have Silverlaced Wyandottes and Rhode Island Reds. Chicks will be a combination of straight Silver Laced Wyandottes and Wyandotte-RIR mixes. My question is do you think I would have a good chance of finding homes for all of them if I sweeten the deal by vaccinating them for Marek’s disease and giving them away in straight runs of threes? I don’t know if I should try selling them. The only caveat is that takers would have to pick them up from me. I am trying to see if I will be permitted to arrange a scheduled pickup in a park or outside our institution. Im located in the Chicagoland area.

I was advised to post in the Illinois thread, but I’m new here and can’t figure out how. I used the link and could read posts but didnt see where to add a new one. So posting again using tags in hopes this helps to get me to members in my area.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Responding to threads is pretty easy. When you get to the bottom of a page (doesn't have to be the last page of the thread, you can do it from the bottom of any page) you just type what you want in the box and hit the "post reply" button

As to your question, I'm not sure that vaccination would be worth it for your situation. The Merecks vaccine doesn't actually prevent the disease. It just prevents the bird from developing symptoms. Vaccinated birds can still carry the disease and spread it to other birds. Some people might be more likely to buy because of it (if they have a Merecks positive flock or don't understand how the vaccine works) but others might actually pass because of it (vaccinated birds appear healthy but can be stealth carriers and spread the disease). None of the farm stores that sell chicks offer vaccinated chicks and they don't have any problems selling chicks.

 

[Knobby]

This is your Illinois thread where you can also post your question:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/illinois.37/

 

[Djrdn]

Responding to threads is pretty easy. When you get to the bottom of a page (doesn't have to be the last page of the thread, you can do it from the bottom of any page) you just type what you want in the box and hit the "post reply" button View attachment 4290279

As to your question, I'm not sure that vaccination would be worth it for your situation. The Merecks vaccine doesn't actually prevent the disease. It just prevents the bird from developing symptoms. Vaccinated birds can still carry the disease and spread it to other birds. Some people might be more likely to buy because of it (if they have a Merecks positive flock or don't understand how the vaccine works) but others might actually pass because of it (vaccinated birds appear healthy but can be stealth carriers and spread the disease). None of the farm stores that sell chicks offer vaccinated chicks and they don't have any problems selling chicks.

Great advice and thanks for your help!