HI! From Jupiter, Florida

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HomeofHappyHens

HomeofHappyHens

In the Brooder
5 Years
Dec 27, 2014
4
4
25
Finally! I joined this wonderful group. :) What an amazing help it has been to me. I started "stalking" here about a year ago. I knew I would join eventually. Thanks for all the insight. I have already learned so much from you.

I do have a couple of questions: 1) If your chickens were vaccinated for Mereks, can they still get it? and 2) My buff hatched 8 chicks 12/27/14 making my flock 27. Should I vaccinate the babies?
Thanks for any and all replies.
 
HomeofHappyHens said:
Finally! I joined this wonderful group. :) What an amazing help it has been to me. I started "stalking" here about a year ago. I knew I would join eventually. Thanks for all the insight. I have already learned so much from you.

I do have a couple of questions: 1) If your chickens were vaccinated for Mereks, can they still get it? and 2) My buff hatched 8 chicks 12/27/14 making my flock 27. Should I vaccinate the babies?
Thanks for any and all replies.
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Glad you joined us!

Even vaccinated chickens can get Marek's disease, since the vaccine is only 90-95% effective. If you're having a lot of problems with Marek's, though, even that 90-95% that survive is better than nothing.

However, the vaccine is generally only effective when given to young chicks (3 days or less) that haven't been exposed to high levels of the Marek's virus. Since your eggs hatched under a mother hen, that means that they were probably instantly exposed to Marek's if your flock has it. Therefore, it is useless to vaccinate them now.

Don't despair too much about your unvaccinated chicks, though. Chickens have varying degrees of immunity to diseases, and though they are unvaccinated, it is likely that most of the chicks will survive.

Good luck with your flock!
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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BantamLover has given you some great advice! Generally with Mareks vaccinations, they can still contract it, however the symptoms are far less severe. So it is a good idea to vaccinate if you can. Mareks vaccine is best given at day old as well.

However if you have never had issues with Mareks in the past, as BantamLover has said, I wouldn't worry about the other chicks. They can learn to become immune to their environments over time.

Good luck and welcome to our flock!
 

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