Marek vaccine

[Cheryl1948]

I got some fertile eggs from a friend and my broody hatched two sweet little chicks. When I got my 14 girls Aug. 2013 they were already vaccinated for Mareks. If these two are girls I am going to keep them. Am I supposed to get them vaccinated?

 

[BantamLover21]

I got some fertile eggs from a friend and my broody hatched two sweet little chicks. When I got my 14 girls Aug. 2013 they were already vaccinated for Mareks. If these two are girls I am going to keep them. Am I supposed to get them vaccinated?

No, you are not "supposed" to get them vaccinated. However, if you don't vaccinate them, it is very likely that they will get sick with Marek's and die. Because of that risk, it is recommended that chicks get vaccinated at no more than 3 days old (preferably 1 day old).

Of course, the vaccine is 95% effective; there are cases where it doesn't work. But vaccination is better than nothing if you're concerned about the life of your future birds.