Chicken Vaccines?

[ChknMom]

Do you vaccinate your chickens? What are the pros and cons? Would you eat eggs from a vaccinated chicken? Thanks!!!

 

[leadwolf1]

All my chickens are vaccinated, and yes I eat the eggs as does numerous friends and relatives...they are only vaccinated against Marek's.

 

[groydollar]

I don't vaccinate mine and never would give them any type of medicine of any kind. I think it the birds live in clean conditions and are properly cared for most of them will live long healthy lives.

 

[leadwolf1]

I know that I shouldn't take offense to this, but I do. For 10 months I have been battling Marek's. Was this somehow my fault? You betcha. I purchased chicks from someone I thought was reputable. Along with that purchase, I infected my flock. Are my birds kept in filthy conditions and allowed to eat rotten feed or not be fed at all? In the past year, I have spent thousands on trying to eliminate this disease. Do I wish that I had vaccinated them in the beginning? Oh yeah.

I don't vaccinate mine and never would give them any type of medicine of any kind. I think it the birds live in clean conditions and are properly cared for most of them will live long healthy lives.

 

[Suzierd]

If givin a choice I would vaccinate. If everybody did it would help to eliminate some disease.

 

[ChknMom]

Thank you for your reply! I do not know what Mareks is. I work at a veterinary hospital, I am a technician. We see chickens very infrequently, but today a couple came in who bought chicks a few days ago, now their whole flock consisting of 3 adults have either died on their own very quickly of where euthanized. The one that was euthanized was mandated by the state agriculture veterinarian. I have no idea what killed these birds and we will not know for many weeks until all the results come back. It was just heartbreaking! The owners were sobbing, they loved thier chickens so much. The new chicks are fine so far, but all chickens first symptom was coughing. I am just so afraid of enduring what this family has.

 

[leadwolf1]

Marek's is a horrible chicken disease. It is a virus that is highly contagious. It causes cancerous lesions throughout the bird. Read some info on it and decide for yourself if vaccinating is something that you want to do. I would highly recommend it. To date, I have lost 30+ birds to Marek's. They are pets, they are all named. We cry and mourne each one. It is traumatic and nothing I do makes a difference

 

[Erica]

I don't vaccinate, though I sometimes buy vaccinated birds without batting an eyelid. I gather some diseases may be spread by certain vaccines (i.e. some make the bird a carrier of live virus) so it's worth reading widely.

Marek's is a terrible disease, but I prefer breeding for resistance, i.e. you can end up with a Marek's-resistant flock in about 1 generation. The first generation you may get many losses, and in some vulnerable strains there might be no survivors. I prefer to buy hardy birds that have some hope of surviving these things, and if Marek's appeared tomorrow I'd deal with it by humane culling and really valuing (and breeding from) those that stay asymptomatic. I wouldn't do this with too many other diseases, but Marek's is a special case.

Good luck whatever you choose, don't let anyone tell you not vaccinating is irresponsible. There are many ways to achieve a healthy, disease-free flock. Vaccination sometimes results in a flock that carry contagious disease agents, so it isn't perfect. However it may be the only way some pet strains of chickens can survive, so by all means do it if your birds are your friends.

Just my thoughts,
Erica

 

[CorlyB]

I'm raising my first flock now, and I did not have them vaccinated. My vet (whose practice is about 90% agricultural) recommended only medicated feed to prevent coccidiosis but no vaccinations, and he knows better than anybody else what sort of issues are present in my area. I do keep a spotless (well, close

) coop and practice rigorous hygiene, but sometimes that's just not enough, so I understand leadwolf1's post. I'll see how avoiding vaccinations goes for this season and might change my practice next year if I see problems.

 

[dawg53]

I've never had my birds vaccinated. It's a personal choice. I think it would be wise to find out what poultry diseases are prevelent in your area and possibly vaccinate for that particular disease(s.)
Here where I live, it's fowl pox and alot of people vaccinate accordingly. Most of my birds have had it and are immune to that particular strain. Biosecurity and a closed flock goes a long way in preventing diseases as well.