need awnsers about raising chicks?

[cluckin tractor]

ive 4 got questions

1. iv got two chicks that have hatched under a broody and about ten more chicks coming under other broodys. can i mix all of the se chicks together will it work

2. im getting a second hand incubator and hatching two lots of chickens for another bloke
do i need to get the vaccines for the new chicks immune system

3. can the hens with the chicks eat the medicated chick feed
it says that hens cant if producing eggs but these hens arnt as they are busy supervising
will it clear out of their body when they do start laying the medication is coccodi stuff

4. what are the vaccines i need to have a desease free worry chicken life. renember im in australia

thanks if u can help

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote:

 

[Erica]

Hi cluckin tractor.

Those are pretty wide ranging questions so I'll do my best. I'm not an expert though.

1. If you take the chicks off the broodies and they're not more than a few days apart they should go well together. But chicks under a day or two old will be pretty vulnerable if the other chicks are older, so if that's the case I'd leave it until they're all at least 3 days old. (And if you leave broodies and chicks together, you'll find the broodies might kill one another's chicks... So that's not an option most of the time though I'm sure many people have group reared broodies successfully. If you mean you want to put all the chicks under the one hen, *don't* do this unless all the chicks are a day or two old. Some hens will take other chicks without batting an eyelid, but many many more will kill the 'intruders'.

2. Some people vaccinate, some don't. For instance I don't bother, partly because I keep an isolated flock and partly because I want to breed strong birds with high natural resistance. Vaccines often come in big batches that are too many and too expensive for home breeders. However some people do vaccinate especially if they've lost birds to things like Mareks. It all comes down to what you want your birds for, and what diseases are common in your area. You could always weigh up what's out there and think about how good your biosecurity is, then decide...

3. Depending what the cocci medication is it's probably fine for non-laying hens and will give them extra protein. It's probably not good farm practice (essentially you're medicating a bird that doesn't need it) but it can be hard to get hen food to hens and chick food to chicks when rearing naturally. Back when I used medicated starter with naturally brooded chicks I used to try putting the chick food under a milk crate so the chicks could get to it but the hen couldn't.

4. The diseases in Australia are similar to elsewhere: Mareks, Infectious Bronchitis (it may not be common in your area), Newcastle disease (it isn't supposed to be in Austraila but there was an outbreak a few years ago in Mangrove Mountain), CRD (mycoplasma gallisepticum for instance), and several others. Remember, just because a disease exists doesn't mean you should vaccinate for it. Some vaccines may produce carriers of live virus (though this is probably very rare) so once you vaccinate you should always continue doing it with new chicks. Some of these diseases can be really distressing to have to watch... Basically it's a personal decision and you should research further for yourself.

regards
Erica

 

[cluckin tractor]

thanks 4 that

really helpful information and thank you for your time