Do I need all this stuff? Or is McMurray just trying to make a buck?

[Cetawin]

I did not buy all that non-sense except the Marek's vaccination.

When they arrived they got a little sugar in their water, medicated chick starter and a scrambled egg.

Then their second and subsequent water fills for the first week have apple cider vinegar in it - no apple flavored or distilled, then after 1 week it is every other water fill.

cocci - they can get from your dirt with the vaccination or not...it is no guarantee. It is treatable to if you notice bloody poo start giving them amprolium. Cocci will kill babies or weak birds if not treated. It causes minute internal bleeding which will appear in the stool.

Broiler booster will not benefit your layers and I doubt seriously if it helps the broilers aka meat birds.

All that stuff is the add-on stuff.



smithhouse - ACV helps with their digestion and can help as a natural aid in controlling internal parasites. Mine get ACV in every other 5 gallons of water... 1 tsp per gallon of water is the mix ratio

 

[aussieheelr]

last year I ordered 25 chicks from Welp... Didn't get any of the extra stuff and had one DOA and one die the next day. Other than that they are all little egg laying rockstars now.

 

[dntd]

The hatchery I'm using doesn't give a choice to vaccinate, they all are. I'm not sure about the extra thing, I don't even know if my feed store sells that.

 

[VerlonCox]

The first problem that I see here is buying from a hatchery................I have heard way to many problems with them to do business with them and I no longer do after a few VERY bad personal experiences. I agree with those that say to get the Marek's vaccination but the rest of it is uncalled for extra's that you are wasting your money on. I like everything that Speckledhen put out and if I were to do business with a hatchery I would choose the Ideal route just because of their reputation and the supposed quality of their birds. My chicks cost me a little electricity and some water to hatch out and if I want another breed I go to local hobby farmers in the area who keep their pens clean and care about the quality and health of their birds.

 

[PeepsInc]

I haven't any scientific evidence to back me, just what I've observed & read. So this is merely my opinion!..I think the vaccinations are more important to have done with hatchery birds than local bought. The parents & their parents were all vaccinated, which doesn't allow the hatchery birds to build any kind of passed down immunity to disease. A true heritage flock that's been around for 50 years has built natural immunities & they don't seem to suffer the losses that hatchery birds do. Then again it could just be the specific breed has a better immunity.

 

[gvntofly05]

I didn't get any of that for my chicks except I did get them vaccinated for Marek's, only because I have a few neighbors around me that have chickens. I didn't want to chance their flocks getting or having Marek's and it becoming airborne enough to travel to my flock. I did do a lot of research before making my own personal decision.

 

[nsanywhere]

I've been ordering from McMurray for years, sometimes a few times a year

I tried all that stuff my first time out, but haven't since, and haven't had one single issue with my birds.

I don't vaccinate - just a personal choice.

To get them started, I put a little molasses in the water for the first day or two. I feel the chick starter crumble. If they need extra snacks, I cook up an egg.

When they arrive, I check each one over carefully, dip their beaks in the water and then crumble. I do this a few times a day for the first two days, watching them every few hours to be sure everyone is eating and drinking and pooping.

That's it. No gro-gel or any of that other stuff for me.

 

[chixrus]

I'm getting a mix of meat chicks and layers from mcmurray, and my mom's really picky about the vaccines that go into the meat birds, and they let you do all or nothing (i even called to check) so, is it really necessary?

 

[chixrus]

Quote:
Really? I hated my birds from welp! they never laid well and then they started dying (stress, i don't know) but I did love their broilers! Anywho, I don't think I would order there again,