Does anyone vaccinate or see need to vaccinate..

[dawg53]

pips&peeps :

I vaccinate all my birds for a few things, but I show and therefore am exposing my birds to disease that most backyard farmers do not.

In WA, mareks is common, so I vaccinate for that. I vaccinate for ILT, since it can be spread at shows and I started vaccinating for MG this year.

I have vaccine on hand for coryza should I venture into the CA or more southern regions of the Western States since it is more common in those areas.

If you live in the warmer South you can count on fowl pox making it's way to you one day. I don't vaccinate for cocci since treatment is fairly easy.

Being NPIP just means your State has used a screening test on a portion of your flock for pollurm. There are no vaccinations required.

Good info pips&peeps...You're right about the fowl pox issue down south, skeeters everywhere. Mine have been through it already, I guess I can count my blessings.​

 

[CMV]

Quote:
Hi,
What is failure to thrive?

Joe

Failure to thrive...CMV most likely means an organ failure if there's no other reason why an otherwise healthy chicken would suddenly die for no apparent cause. I recently had it happen to my 5 year old Black Star, hands down my favorite hen and best egg layer. She was in the best of health and laying normally when I found her dead on the floor in their house one morning. I thoroughly inspected her and found nothing wrong. I never had that happen to me before and is still a mystery to me, maybe she just burned out from all the egg laying she did...not sure. I still miss her.

All my "failure to thrives" have been unthrifty chicks that were hatched and died within a day or two of hatching. These were chicks that I knew or strongly suspected were not going to make it. They had no obvious defects, but were small, weak or lethargic at hatching.

 

[MandyH]

I do not vaccinate, nor have I ever. I believe in survival of the fittest. Now that being said, I have never had a bird die that was not predator related.

 

[greenSearcher]

I have had my 2 hatchery orders vaccinated for Merak's disease, nothing else. My 1st 12 chicks grew to adulthood, with heat being the biggest toll taker on the birds. My second order of 33 chicks lost 1 silkie to shipping stress and another silkie to splayed leg. I tried treating it, but the chick didn't respond, and despite a a strong will to live, she was half the size of the healthy silkies and just not thriving. Won't wait to see what happens in the future, I'll cull any chick that doesn't respond to treatment and walk normally. I felt like an absolute murderer when I had to cull her, especially since the other silkies are very roo looking.

I haven't decided if I will vaccinate for merak's when I hatch chicks, but I know we are in a migration flight area, so there could be a greater increase of exposure from wild birds. Need to do more research.

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
Hi,
As pips&peeps wrote it's best to know what diseases are most prevalent in your area and vaccinate accordingly. IMO anything that is mosquito borne is my first choice for vaccination.
Joe

 

[growinupinfl]

Wow I can't even say I know what mearek's is or fowl pox or any of the other illnesses listed. I am very interested in which diseases are mosquito born. How old are they when you vaccinate, and do you have to repeat at different ages? What is this microplasma gallispectiem vaccine offered at Jeffersonlivestock.com . What is coryza and cocci? I have only had my small flock for about a year and we have yet to have any illnesses. I do live in the deep south. It may be Florida but I'm closer to Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi than the rest of Florida.

My next questions would be where do you buy your vaccines?

I would also like your opinion of what would you vaccinate for if you lived in this area, and where can I find more information about poultry disease in my area?

 

[PepsNick]

Here's my opinion.

Due to horrible Marek's and Cocci experiences, I ALWAYS and live off vaccinating. In fact I wrote my own 'SOP' for what I want my flock to be like, and vaccinating is ALWAYS a top priority. I am soon to get my new coop, and in it non-vaccinated birds will not be allowed. I don't take death very well, treating is a pain and a few extra bucks is certainly worth it, instead of tons of trips to the vet for a bird that will die anyway.

 

[AnnainMD]

Take this for what it's worth since this is my first year with chickens. I first bought 3 chicks (from a breeder) that had never touched the ground and I had my hatchery chicks (a month later) vaccinated against Marek's. Fed them non-medicated feed, introduced worms and bugs from our yard to expose the girls to the local micro-organisms (to reduce the chances of cocci infection). Success, there were no infection/disease issues. Can I knock on wood?
Try to get chicks that have not been exposed to the soil of their hatchery. If you order chicks from an online source, they've never seen the ground. If you get them from someone who happened to have extra chicks, you can't be sure unless you ask and you trust the answer!
My opinion anyway.

 

[growinupinfl]

Quote:
What would your SOP be? I am understanding SOP correctly as standard operating procedure right? I never want to lose a.flock due to disease. I'm also wanting to.start keeping rarer birds and would real like to know more. Where do you buy your vaccines from?

 

[PepsNick]

Quote:
What would your SOP be? I am understanding SOP correctly as standard operating procedure right? I never want to lose a.flock due to disease. I'm also wanting to.start keeping rarer birds and would real like to know more. Where do you buy your vaccines from?

SOP= Standard of perfection. Typically it's for showing birds, but mine is pretty much for how I raise my flock. I do also have one for show just for fun, though. I don't vaccinate myself, I order vaccinated. Though worming is another story.