*** Please Read****

[kardar2]

I bought all my chicks from Ideal.
http://m.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/01/organic-chicken-and-egg-antibiotics-edition

 

[Spangled]

I hatched my own last year. Chicken eggs, that is.

I am entirely missing your point. Yes, I read the article. But I still don't know what your point is. Am interested in hearing what it is.

 

[dealfinder500]

I hatched my own last year. Chicken eggs, that is.

I am entirely missing your point. Yes, I read the article. But I still don't know what your point is. Am interested in hearing what it is.

Same here. I also detest threads that the title isn't anything descriptive of the topic or even remotely useful.

 

[kardar2]

People buy chickens to eat healthy and to eat organic foods. But the hatcheries are pumping chemicals into the chickens.so when you eat your chickens or their eggs it is not Organic. Cause they been pumped with chemicals.

 

[MrsBachbach]

People buy chickens to eat healthy and to eat organic foods. But the hatcheries are pumping chemicals into the chickens.so when you eat your chickens or their eggs it is not Organic. Cause they been pumped with chemicals.

Well, the lesson would be buy your eggs or chicks from somewhere other than large hatcheries.

 

[kardar2]

Now you know the rest of the story I am Paul Harvey good day!

 

[Spangled]

Now you know the rest of the story I am Paul Harvey good day!

Okay. Thanks for explanation.

The article seems to be saying that it's chicks to be raised as broilers and fryers by the poultry industry that are receiving this procedure.

I doubt that egg-layers sold by Ideal have this happening to them. 1) Mareks' vaccine must be requested. 2) So it's usually after the hatch in the case of small batches. 3) The Gentamicin is used as a way to sterilize the egg hole for the Marek's vaccine, which isn't necessary for Marek's when given after the chicks are hatched.

I say, if anyone thinks that hatcheries for backyard growers, like Ideal, are doing this, that they should call the hatchery and ask. If it matters to them. I don't think that if I order a layer that got a little Gentamicin on it when it was an embryo ... I doubt that any eggs from that chick will have much antibiotic residue in it. What I feed that chicken that is making me my eggs is way more important if I want 100% organic eggs.

But yes, there are a number of loopholes in the organic production law. For instance, unless the label on your organic potato chips says, "100% organic," then up to 5% of the ingredients can be non-organic. Often "natural flavors" in organic products are not organic. Read the labels and see. It's like that for all labelled organic items. Read the law and see. Also, the article itself states, "... when commercially available." There's a big loop hole. If they can't find organic alfalfa seeds, what kind are they planting to grow that "organic" alfalfa that is fed to the "organic" beef we're eating?

Very interesting article. Thanks for posting it, Paul Harvey.

 

[kardar2]

Yes I agree with you at the end of the Article it does say these hatcheries are moving away from this practice also.

 

[capsicum]

While antibiotic resistant bacteria is a real concern, this article is disingenuous and irrational fear mongering. It attempts to appear legit with citations yet provides no direct references or links to the original sources and misrepresents the few I could find. (The links provided are generic and only loosely related, but do not contain the original source. The 32 time increase in poultry workers was actually about workers in contact with live broilers practicing conventional antibiotic use, nothing to do with in-ovo or other single dose uses. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18087592 )

Even if it was a legit article, it is about large broiler producers and isn't relevant to backyard poultry.
Fancy breed hatcheries have no incentive to practice in-ovo antibiotic injection, which is not synonymous with in-ovo vaccination, and I have doubts that any are large enough to justify in-ovo vaccination equipment anyway. In-ovo requires very close adjustment, meaning all the same breed and age per adjustment, and even the smallest equipment is meant to do 10,000 eggs per hour.

On the other hand I bought unvaccinated chicks last year(from good sources) and 90% of them died of marek's. (Likely from wild birds, as there are hardly any other vectors here.) Not pleasant for them or me. Diagnosis was confirmed by a professional avian health lab. Vaccination happens to be the only prevention, there is no treatment once they catch it, and the few that make it and live to adults will be infectious for life.
FYI for those who get vaccinated chicks, the vaccine takes 2-3 weeks for full effect but shows some useful effect in 7 days, keep sanitary and separated from flock until then.(it spreads via feather & dander dust)

 

[SuburbSpurs]

I am 100% Into vaccines for mareks disease especially in commercial hatcheries. It is a terrible thing to watch... I've watched birds die from it and it is just painful and sad. I hope it is someday eliminated. Though vaccinating an egg sounds... odd.