found out that my chicks were not vaccinated

[lorain's fids]

After reading the post this morning about vaccinations I called the store(Agway) this morning where I purchased the chicks from to find out exactly what they were vaccinated for. So she told me cidicossis, she also gave me the number for the hatchery to ask them about it--I called the hatchery and was told that chicks that go to that store ARE NOT vaccinated, before I got the chicks I questioned them vaccinations and was told that all their chicks are done at the hatchery. So I called the store and told them what the hatchery told me-- they then called the hatchery. They called me back and apologized, saying that there chicks were dieases free. So are my 6 chicks safe from dieases. I also have 2 birds that I'm concerned about. I put a call into my vet to see what he says.
Does all chicks need to be vaccinated--They are 2 weeks old now, they were shipped the day they were hatched, I got them when they were 2 days old, the same day they arrived at the store. SO I am hoping they weren't really exposed to anything.

Lorain

 

[classicsredone]

If they weren't vaccinated for cocci, I would feed them medicated food. Chicks are generally disease free from the beginning, but that doesn't mean they can't pick up something. (Especially while sitting in the cage in the store.) Medicated food will help them build tolerance to cocci.

 

[yinepu]

None of mine are vaccinated and none are on medicated feed... never had a problem with disease.. the main thing is to see if there are any poultry diseases prevalent in your area (call your local agricultural extension office) and try to maintain a closed flock..
by a closed flock I mean ..
do not go to places where there other adult poultry (like farms) unless you plan to take a change of clothes and shoes.. it's very easy to pick up diseases on your clothing and bring them back to your birds
do not bring any new adult birds into your flock without a good quarantine period.. just good common sense.. you never know what that new bird has been exposed to
do not take your birds off your property (to poultry shows).. i have heard of people losing their entire flocks because of something one of their birds "picked up" at a poultry show.. if you do go to shows.. be sure to quarantine your bird when you bring it back home

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I've never had any of my chicks vaccinated for mereks or cocci. I do feed medicated feed to chicks that I don't hatch at my own home though. I read in one of my chicken books that small back yard flocks are less likely to get sick than larger commercial ones are, but there are always exceptions to that. I'm sure your chicks will be just fine. Good luck!

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Quote:
X2. We never vaccinate ours for mereks or cocci and have had zero problems. Just feed the medicated feed.

 

[klf73]

I just started vaccinating for Mareks, wish I had done all my birds

I got some day old chicks from a breeder and they brought mareks with them. If you don't get any more you will probably be fine. I never did it because there are no chickens within many many miles of me and up till this year I got mostly hatching eggs (only got 1 chick order last year and quarantined still)
mareks can be carried with the wind from other farms so if you have a lot of farms around you it may be worth considering vaccination. After 5 months old they can get age resistance(at least that's what I read)

I was also told most stores DO NOT get vaccinated chicks because it comes out of their bottom line