mixing vaccinated w/ non-vaccinated

[rowan1]

sorry i'm probably asking a question that has been answered but i'm no good at searching, i couldn't find an answer. ok so i'll be going to my first show and sale and don't want to come home empty handed. the chickens i have, have NOT been vaccinated for anything and have never been on medicated feed. would it be alright to bring home chickens that have been vaccinated, like for cocci and mareks. i thought i remember reading that wasn't a good idea. thanks for any info. rowan

 

[Ridgerunner]

I would do it but watch for a few things. Let's discuss Marek's first. The Marek's vaccine is actually Turkey Marek's. It does not prevent Chicken Marek's but does prevent the lesions from forming. The lesions are what does the damage with Marek's. Either flock may have Marek's and not show symptoms. It s possible one flock may infect the other with Marek's. But the odds of that happening are absolutely no different because of the vaccination. The Marek's vaccination is not a factor in the decision. Turkey Marek's will not hurt your chickens.

The cocci vaccination is fairly new. I'm not a medical professional and do not claim to be an expert, so don't trust me totally. There may be different versions of the vaccination but I'll tell you a bit of what I understand about the one I am aware of. I believe there are seven identified different protazoa that cause cocci. The vaccine I am familiar with protects against three of the seven and provides absolutely no protection against the other four. My understanding is that the chicks are infected with weakened versions of the three protazoa so they can build up an immunity to those specific ones. It does not mean that the chickens cannot carry those specific protazoa. It just means that those specific protazoa do not harm that vaccinated chicken. Whether the vaccination makes the vaccinated chicken a carrier for those specific protazoa, I do not know.

I would merge the flocks, after the appropriate quarantine, and watch for signs of cocci. If cocci shows up, since you are on the watch for it and the symptoms, you can catch it early and treat if it does show up. The non-vaccinated birds may give the vaccinated birds a version of cocci they are not protected against so it could be either flock infecting the other.

Relative to your question, the main difference between Marek's and cocci vaccinations is that I know the Marek's vaccination does not make them carriers of Marek's. I don't know whether or not the cocci vaccination makes them carriers of the version of cocci they have been vaccinated against.

There are other vaccinations available besides Marek's and cocci. One of them, I believe it is for Laryngotracheitis, makes the bird a carrier and it will infect other chickens. This is the only vaccination I would worry about and it is seldom given.

Hope this helps some.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Quote:
It may not hurt my chickens, but what if we have unvaccinated turkeys?

I passed up a chance to buy some pullets the other day because they'd been given Marek's vax and I could not find anything about whether this would endanger my unvaccinated turkeys.

.....Alan.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Good question. I don't think the turkey virus would live in the chickens very long, but I really don't know. The Marek's vaccine has been around a while and I believe there is only one type, the turkey virus vaccine, so your county extension agent should be able to get you that answer from a knowledgable source at no cost. I'd suggest calling your county extension office on Monday. They should be in the phone book under county government.

 

[rowan1]

thak-you so much ridgerunner. very good info. i was glad to hear it so it doesn't limit my options. i might be buying ameraucanas from tootsie. thanks again for your quick response

 

[PunkinPeep]

The most important thing is that you QUARANTINE any new bird that comes to your property. They could be carrying anything. Specifically, if you get them from a show, they could be exposed to something AT the show that won't show signs for some time. So make sure you are prepared to keep any new purchases separated (air and dirt) from your flock for a minimum of 30 days to watch for symptoms.

People selling at those shows should be NPIP certified, but if one person fails to practice adequate biosecurity after having been certified, they could be carrying disease to the shows.

As to the vaccines, i am not aware of any vaccine that makes the bird a carrier of the disease. I agree with Ridgerunner about watching for signs of cocci - i would go so far as to give a new bird a round of Corid pretty soon after it had contact with my new soil, just as a precaution, whether i saw signs or not- just to help them build up their defenses against new strains in my soil that they're not accustomed to contending with.