Odd Growths On Chicks

[threehorses]

Honestly, if it's fowl pox, there's no need to vaccinate - overcoming the disease gives the chicken immunity against it in the future.

You could consider vaccinating for it in the future, but honestly dry pox is usually easily managed. If you've had wet pox in your flocks, then I would possibly consider vaccinating chicks born afterwards. But the flock isn't the way the disease spreads; mosquitoes, other insect vectors, and scabs are.

As for vaccinating to prevent wet pox, you have to do two separate fowl vaccines of different origins and then I've read that it often helps to use a pigeon pox vaccine as well. I'd consider it if you have wet pox while you have broodies or incubated eggs or are about to get chicks. But you must vaccinate with a different booster, and even then vaccines are only good if the bird's developing immunity isn't threatened by the disease while it's taking hold. So even if you did vaccinate, you aren't preventing.

I love vaccinations - I've considered them for pox as we live in a high-mosquito area. But for my own flocks I've decided against it for my own reasons. Hopefully the information above will help others make their own decisions for or against.

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
Again, if the birds have fowl pox, there's no need to vaccinate against it and in fact you shouldn't vaccinate a bird with an active case.

Vaccination requires a booster, and then even during that time a vaccine won't keep a bird from getting pox if the vaccine hasn't 'taken hold' yet.

Here's an article that will help clarify the disease. https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-diseases-AvianPox.html

Once the birds have it, they have essentially vaccinted themselves for life - NO need to vaccinte them.

Mosquitos and scabs are the vectors for the disease.