Does anyone here NOT vaccinate for fowl pox?

[welasharon]

I'm in North Florida and there are creeks and swampy areas around so tons of mosquitos. I don't vaccinate. Last year mine got it but it was mild and the dry form. Haven't seen any yet this year.
sharon

 

[rancher hicks]

I don't vaccinate for anything. I didn't think it necessary. I don't mess with chickens that get sick and recover and I certainly don't breed from them. I breed for healthy disease resistant stock.

You should be aware that Hybrids are more prone to problems than heritage or pure bred stock. Purebreds also last longer. Not a machine but still good layers. This of course depends on the line.

Take care and have a nice day,

Rancher

 

[ninabeast]

I didn't even know I was supposed to! So I guess my answer is no.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

haha
I seen some stuff on this thread that shows people really dont know much about this problem.
Fowl pox is not so much transmitted bird to bird, though it can be if a clean bird picks the scabs of an infected bird. So bringing in new birds IS NOT how your birds get Fowl Pox. Like many viruses, it's transmitted by mosquitoes. Once a mosquito gets it, it can then fly pen to pen and transmit it to every bird it bites.

No, if you are in dry or cold climates where mosquitoes arent a major issue, you most likely have never seen it before and have no need for worrying with it.
However, if you live here in the hot steamy south...give it time, you'll see it if you dont vaccinate if you stay with it long enough.
No it's not deadly in the dry form, wet pox is however. The ability to be healthy and NOT be effected by pox is not true. Arnold Schwarzenegger chicken chicken will get it if it gets bit.
So the "a healthy bird is my goal, if they get it I dont want them" way of thinking is not the case with pox. Breeding for resisitance doesnt work with viruses, That applies ONLY for bacterial infections, any and all birds are susceptible to viruses, period, no matter how strong the line is.

The idea that once infected, you dont want them is wrong too. Once they get over the infection, they will then be immune. Just like us with chicken pox. Get it once and you're done for life, you'll never get it again. Many bacterial infections again are where the "being a carrier for life" comes from, MG and MS are some of these

The idea of them getting the birds sick from the vaccination is not true either. Yes it gives them a MILD case of it. The ONLY sign of the pox is a small bump at the injection site. If your birds develop it, chances are they were already infected before the vaccine. I have done Oh ,3000+ or better birds since an outbreak here 10 years ago. Never once had one get it from the vaccine, so rule that out.

Yes, dry pox is not a big deal. The problem is, even with the healthiest of birds, when they get something like the pox it pulls their immune system down while fighting the virus. At this point they are more prone to catching other bacterial infections they may well other wise naturally fight off. This is where most of your dry pox deaths come from.

SO, that being said, if you are in a mosquito rich environment, or have seen the pox in the past in your flock or area...why not do it. There's NOTHING non organic about it. It's not a chemical, it's a natural vaccine so dont say that. It's for the safety of your flock, healthy or weak, they can all get it, cross breeds or top of the line show birds, it DOENT matter.
A eagle to a sparrow can get it. IT'S CHEAP! a 1000 dose vial is only $6. It's easy to do, can be done at 1 day old and up to adults. There's no withdrawal time for eggs or anything like that.

No I dont vaccinate for other problems, they're not an issue here...but fowl pox are...so why not take the precaution for the health and betterment of your flock IF it's an issue in your area?

 

[pgpoultry]

I don't vaccinate for anything, and fowl pox is pretty uncommon in Britain

My flock is a 'closed flock'....i.e I only ever buy hatching eggs and not birds. However, i am fully aware that some illnesses are carried in wild bird populations, so know they are not immune to everything.

I don't have any fundamental problem with vaccination and was first in line to get my own family protected. I also use sheep vaccines in my small flock of sheep....they get a 7 vaccines in one jab. Failure to do so results in heavy lamb loss.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I do not vaccinate for anything.

 

[Tracydr]

I don't vaccinate either, although if I did have a problem with it I would. I have one rooster who has a lesion on his comb, can't decide if it's a mild dry pox or fungal infection but whatever it is it's very mild.
We get some moquitoes here year-round because of flood irrigation but nothing like the gulf coast states.

 

[pips&peeps]

Fowl pox is not an issue where I live, so I don't vaccinate for it.

I show, so my birds could possibly be exposed to mareks, ILT, MG and Coryza. I routinely vaccinate for mareks and ILT since those diseases are most common where I live. Some birds get an MG and/or Coryza vaccine depending on if they are to be shown and where.

 

[makoman]

My small flock of 4 hens 2 bantams broke out with Fowl Pox early in Oct.. in 3 weeks they had all cleared up... no complications.. no vaccine
I don't believe that they can catch it again.

 

[elmo]

In the first year I started keeping chickens, all of our flock came down with fowl pox in the fall. Our little roo even developed wet pox, but he recovered. In discussing vaccination with our vet, he mentioned that the only studies he knew of on how long fowl pox vaccination lasts come from the commercial poultry industry, where birds are killed after their second year or so. Vaccination may or may not confer lifelong immunity to a backyard chicken destined to live out a natural life span.

We raised a batch of chicks from our original hens naturally (hens brooding their own chicks). Interestingly enough, none of these chicks now grown have developed fowl pox after two falls. I know we have mosquitoes around, and I know others in our area saw fowl pox in their flocks the last two years, so I wonder if the hens somehow passed along immunities to their chicks. Or, maybe we've just been lucky. Who knows?