June Hatch A Long

[jolenesdad]

The little chick didn't make itView attachment 1820941

Oh so sorry! Thanks for trying!



@Mixed flock enthusiast and @CluckNDoodle there is an “opal legbar fan club” group on FB that Candace runs. It’s pretty active and you could find someone closer to you maybe with opal eggs.

The only concern with a breeder is that they are really trying to improve the breed and not hopping on the bandwagon. It’s a very new lavender breed and you should only breed a single generation of opalxopal.

Most breeders that you will get hatching eggs from is from an opal x split pen and you’ll get 50% opals and 50% splits. Opalxopal for more than a generation and sometimes two, starts to degrade the feathers pretty bad.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

The real feel here today is 105 degrees

Hello first day of summer


I'm worried about my hen, I give her some watermelon and I'm keeping a check on herView attachment 1820948

I forgot that I still have half a watermelon left in the refrigerator in the garage. I'm definitely giving it to the girls when I get home! Half today and half tomorrow (its a huge one)

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Oh so sorry! Thanks for trying!



@Mixed flock enthusiast and @CluckNDoodle there is an “opal legbar fan club” group on FB that Candace runs. It’s pretty active and you could find someone closer to you maybe with opal eggs.

The only concern with a breeder is that they are really trying to improve the breed and not hopping on the bandwagon. It’s a very new lavender breed and you should only breed a single generation of opalxopal.

Most breeders that you will get hatching eggs from is from an opal x split pen and you’ll get 50% opals and 50% splits. Opalxopal for more than a generation and sometimes two, starts to degrade the feathers pretty bad.

I should check out the group, thanks! With our Marek’s problems I don’t think we will do any real breeding, just for ourselves. I still don’t understand how everyone that takes their birds to a show doesn’t come down with Marek’s? I saw that Candace stated that her philosophy is not to vaccinate and to breed for resistance instead. That was the philosophy of our breeder, who was pretty well known for her showing and was active in CCL. She sold us the 7 chicks in which all but one died of Marek’s and gave it to the rest of the flock for further losses... Needless to say, I’m not a fan of that philosophy; I’m vaccinating our eggs in ovo, though I don’t know if this will be very protective as they aren’t quarantined long enough to develop solid immunity. I doubt I’ll ever buy chicks again and, while I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t have Marek’s problems, I don’t intend to sell chicks or go to shows and spread our virus around...

 

[jolenesdad]

I should check out the group, thanks! With our Marek’s problems I don’t think we will do any real breeding, just for ourselves. I still don’t understand how everyone that takes their birds to a show doesn’t come down with Marek’s? I saw that Candace stated that her philosophy is not to vaccinate and to breed for resistance instead. That was the philosophy of our breeder, who was pretty well known for her showing and was active in CCL. She sold us the 7 chicks in which all but one died of Marek’s and gave it to the rest of the flock for further losses... Needless to say, I’m not a fan of that philosophy; I’m vaccinating our eggs in ovo, though I don’t know if this will be very protective as they aren’t quarantined long enough to develop solid immunity. I doubt I’ll ever buy chicks again and, while I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t have Marek’s problems, I don’t intend to sell chicks or go to shows and spread our virus around...

Honestly, I think part of that philosophy comes out of a justification for necessity. If that makes sense. It’s totally not “cost effective” for any small scale producer to be vaccinating their chicks and spoiling the rest of the vaccine. So we talk about disease resistance.

I have a couple thoughts. Most of those breeders most certainly have not had Mareks on their property or they wouldn’t be selling birds.

And to truly be breeding disease resistant birds, I’d sort of think you need to be breeding OLDER birds. Most breeders have culled from their program by the age id be thinking “well this is a proven, hardy bird.”

I totally understand all of the points from both sides of the argument and not “bringing the disease” to a flock that doesn’t have it. But I feel mostly I wish everyone would say “we have NO IDEA what’s best and so this is what we try.”

Im actually personally sad that some of my favorite birds that I have hatched DONT have the vaccine. Anything I’ve ordered in the past from a hatchery all have it.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Honestly, I think part of that philosophy comes out of a justification for necessity. If that makes sense. It’s totally not “cost effective” for any small scale producer to be vaccinating their chicks and spoiling the rest of the vaccine. So we talk about disease resistance.

I have a couple thoughts. Most of those breeders most certainly have not had Mareks on their property or they wouldn’t be selling birds.

And to truly be breeding disease resistant birds, I’d sort of think you need to be breeding OLDER birds. Most breeders have culled from their program by the age id be thinking “well this is a proven, hardy bird.”

I totally understand all of the points from both sides of the argument and not “bringing the disease” to a flock that doesn’t have it. But I feel mostly I wish everyone would say “we have NO IDEA what’s best and so this is what we try.”

Im actually personally sad that some of my favorite birds that I have hatched DONT have the vaccine. Anything I’ve ordered in the past from a hatchery all have it.

I've never had a chick that was vaccinated so I've always been super cautious. It's my understanding that it can't actually prevent the disease, it just makes it less severe if they do catch it, is that correct?
I hope I don't ever have to contend with it. I think if it happened to me I would just let my flock age out and then leave my coop empty for a while before doing it again...that would be so sad though! I even googled to see if I could temporarily switch to another poultry and it seems the outcome would be unfortunate no matter what.
So sorry you're dealing with it @Mixed flock enthusiast .

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Honestly, I think part of that philosophy comes out of a justification for necessity. If that makes sense. It’s totally not “cost effective” for any small scale producer to be vaccinating their chicks and spoiling the rest of the vaccine. So we talk about disease resistance.

I have a couple thoughts. Most of those breeders most certainly have not had Mareks on their property or they wouldn’t be selling birds.

And to truly be breeding disease resistant birds, I’d sort of think you need to be breeding OLDER birds. Most breeders have culled from their program by the age id be thinking “well this is a proven, hardy bird.”

I totally understand all of the points from both sides of the argument and not “bringing the disease” to a flock that doesn’t have it. But I feel mostly I wish everyone would say “we have NO IDEA what’s best and so this is what we try.”

Im actually personally sad that some of my favorite birds that I have hatched DONT have the vaccine. Anything I’ve ordered in the past from a hatchery all have it.

I’m actually a veterinary herpesvirus researcher; I’ve been working with equine herpesvirus and Monkey B virus. So, it’s kind of ironic that I’ve had so much personal issue with the Marek’s herpesvirus. I haven’t thoroughly researched the literature, but I’ve read quite a bit of it. Almost none pertains to backyard flocks, so it’s a little difficult to extrapolate. The large commercial operations have considerable biosecurity, yet researchers estimate that their flocks are constantly exposed to Marek’s disease, thus the need for vaccination. They employ a closed system and can’t keep the virus out, so I don’t see that anyone who walks into a show at the fair, or even a farm store, can avoid bringing the virus home to their flock. There are different strains, so I’m guessing that most people get a mild enough strain not to notice or be sure that they have it. The large operations are probably driving the increased virulence of the virus, but it’s poorly contained, so I would guess that the more virulent strains, termed “very virulent Marek’s disease virus”, will increasingly find their way into backyard flocks. Breeding for resistance sounds great, but commercial operations also have good genetic control of their birds, and they haven’t managed it, so I expect that it’s pretty difficult and wouldn’t believe it without good evidence.

 

[jolenesdad]

I’m actually a veterinary herpesvirus researcher; I’ve been working with equine herpesvirus and Monkey B virus. So, it’s kind of ironic that I’ve had so much personal issue with the Marek’s herpesvirus. I haven’t thoroughly researched the literature, but I’ve read quite a bit of it. Almost none pertains to backyard flocks, so it’s a little difficult to extrapolate. The large commercial operations have considerable biosecurity, yet researchers estimate that their flocks are constantly exposed to Marek’s disease, thus the need for vaccination. They employ a closed system and can’t keep the virus out, so I don’t see that anyone who walks into a show at the fair, or even a farm store, can avoid bringing the virus home to their flock. There are different strains, so I’m guessing that most people get a mild enough strain not to notice or be sure that they have it. The large operations are probably driving the increased virulence of the virus, but it’s poorly contained, so I would guess that the more virulent strains, termed “very virulent Marek’s disease virus”, will increasingly find their way into backyard flocks. Breeding for resistance sounds great, but commercial operations also have good genetic control of their birds, and they haven’t managed it, so I expect that it’s pretty difficult and wouldn’t believe it without good evidence.

Such interesting information.

Feed stores are creeping me out after Newcastle and really thinking about it. And.... Mareks. On our feet.... ugh. I’ve been thinking but really should have a separate pair of shoes.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I've never had a chick that was vaccinated so I've always been super cautious. It's my understanding that it can't actually prevent the disease, it just makes it less severe if they do catch it, is that correct?
I hope I don't ever have to contend with it. I think if it happened to me I would just let my flock age out and then leave my coop empty for a while before doing it again...that would be so sad though! I even googled to see if I could temporarily switch to another poultry and it seems the outcome would be unfortunate no matter what.
So sorry you're dealing with it @Mixed flock enthusiast .

I am vaccinating now, though not as it’s all intended so I don’t know the efficacy. Like most herpesvirus vaccines, it is “leaky”, that is it only confers partial protection. This is in contrast to a vaccine like rabies that enables the host to totally shut down viral replication. So, yes, the vaccine will still allow the chicken to replicate the pathogenic strain if infected. However, that bird is much less likely to develop the tumors and other other health problems that kill the bird. The vaccinated bird can live a totally healthy life, but may shed virus at any time. Note that any bird infected with any strain of Marek’s could shed virus at any time, vaccinated or not. If I hadn't started this project to do something fun with my daughter, I might have quit adding to our flock etc, as you suggest. But I only have two more years before my daughter starts college, so I want to do what I can with her right now.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Such interesting information.

Feed stores are creeping me out after Newcastle and really thinking about it. And.... Mareks. On our feet.... ugh. I’ve been thinking but really should have a separate pair of shoes.

Oh yeah, Newcastle’s is a whole other issue!!! I’ve been watching that whole situation with trepidation.

 

[two j farm]

I’m so sorry! That chick was so early, I’m amazed that it was able to last for the few hrs you had with it. So hard to lose them so late! GL with your hen! I’m also wringing my hands over our 105 heat index today and trying to help Naruto... She got off the nest for an hour today, which was probably for the best. It’s not like the chicks need her heat and it’s plenty humid too!

How much longer does your mama have to sit.

I went out a few minutes ago and she was off the nest eating more watermelon. I have 2 cantaloupes in the refrigerator for them tomorrow. I'm so over summer already.