Hi everyone,
I am in a bit of a pickle and I am looking for some advice from somebody who has some deep knowledge about the coccidiosis vaccine, medicated feed, and coccidiosis prevention in general.
Recently I got some coccidiosis vaccinated baby chicks which I didn’t know were vaccinated. I got one batch on April 4, and the second batch on April 11. On April 18, I started feeding them medicated feed because I had lost two baby chicks out of the April 11 batch, and I suspected coccidiosis. After talking to the feed store later, it seems that the cause was probably something else, because a number of chicks were lost out of the April 11 batch to a number of customers. I also then found out that they are vaccinated for coccidiosis.
Now that I know that I have done something wrong by introducing medicated feed to cocci vaccinated chicks, I am trying to figure out how long it takes for the vaccine to kick in and provide some immunity so I can figure out how much damage I have done by rendering the vaccine useless (in other words, is it possible that they had developed immunity prior to me feeding them the medicated feed in 1/2 weeks? And, if I stop medicated feed after only a week from April 18-25, is it possible that maybe I haven’t given them enough yet to completely render the vaccine useless?).
In short, now I need to decide what to do from here forward. If I take them off medicated feed, and the medicated feed has rendered their vaccine worthless already… Am I leaving them too exposed to cocci? Will this differ largely between the two batches of chickens due to timing? On the flipside, if I haven’t had them on medicated feed long enough to completely negate the vaccine, should I take them off medicated feed to allow the vaccine to work?
Any advice somebody with a lot of experience in this area can give would be super appreciated. Thank you!
I am in a bit of a pickle and I am looking for some advice from somebody who has some deep knowledge about the coccidiosis vaccine, medicated feed, and coccidiosis prevention in general.
Recently I got some coccidiosis vaccinated baby chicks which I didn’t know were vaccinated. I got one batch on April 4, and the second batch on April 11. On April 18, I started feeding them medicated feed because I had lost two baby chicks out of the April 11 batch, and I suspected coccidiosis. After talking to the feed store later, it seems that the cause was probably something else, because a number of chicks were lost out of the April 11 batch to a number of customers. I also then found out that they are vaccinated for coccidiosis.
Now that I know that I have done something wrong by introducing medicated feed to cocci vaccinated chicks, I am trying to figure out how long it takes for the vaccine to kick in and provide some immunity so I can figure out how much damage I have done by rendering the vaccine useless (in other words, is it possible that they had developed immunity prior to me feeding them the medicated feed in 1/2 weeks? And, if I stop medicated feed after only a week from April 18-25, is it possible that maybe I haven’t given them enough yet to completely render the vaccine useless?).
In short, now I need to decide what to do from here forward. If I take them off medicated feed, and the medicated feed has rendered their vaccine worthless already… Am I leaving them too exposed to cocci? Will this differ largely between the two batches of chickens due to timing? On the flipside, if I haven’t had them on medicated feed long enough to completely negate the vaccine, should I take them off medicated feed to allow the vaccine to work?
Any advice somebody with a lot of experience in this area can give would be super appreciated. Thank you!