Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[MaryJanet]

I've been trying to find out what are the standard vaccinations for UK battery chickens. It seems there is no standard as such and there is some variation.
These seem to be the most common.
Looks okay doesn't it. They've got the important ones covered.
So when the rescue concerns tell people the hens they get are vaccinated at the batteries there is no need to worry right. I mean all that inconvenient quarantine stuff can be ignored because the hens are vaccinated right.
Wrong. Not just a bit wrong seriously criminally negligent wrong imo.

Mareks disease
Salmonella Enteritidis
Coccidiosis
Infectious Bursal disease
Infectious Bronchitis (various strains)
Newcastle disease
Infectious Laryngotracheitis
Egg drop syndrome

I haven't stripped down each vaccine. I don't need to. I just need a basic understanding of how vaccines work and a little bit of research on one or two.
The vaccine for Marecks disease for example. It doesn't prevent a chicken from being infected with Marecks disease, it just prevents a high proportion of the getting to sick to lay eggs and die from it. Thing is, once a chicken is infected with Marecks disease it carries that disease for life and consequently has the potenial to pass the disease on for life.

From everything I've read the same applies for Newcastles disease. Once infected the chicken is a carrier for life.

Next add to this that there are different strains of the various diseases and even the best vaccines only cover a small range of these strains.
It's great having a chicken vaccinated for say the local strain of Coccidiosis but move that chicken to another area where the strain is different and the vaccine won't work.

From what I've read Infectious Bronchitis may remain transmitable by an infected chicken for up to 25 weeks post infection.

I cannot find any advice on Pear Tree Farms Animal Sancurary website. or on their Hen Keeping Guide on Quaratining any hens you get from them.
If you've read the link Perris supplied

https://assets.publishing.service.g...f-practice-welfare-of-laying-hens-pullets.pdf

it seems to me that not only are Pear Tree Farms completely irrisponsible, they are probably breaking the law in quite a few areas from transport to holding to distribution.

Say you get some their hens and not knowing much about chickens as I beleive many chicken keepers don't, their hens infected your existing hens with one of the more unpleasant diseases. Can you sue them? What recourse do you have?

I suggest it would be difficult to find a solicitor to take up the matter. Not sure how things are in other countries, but in Australia law professionals are obliged to advise clients when a matter is not in their best economic interest, perhaps even declining to write a $2000 letter over a $20 chicken.

Recourse might be better through social media?

 

[Shadrach]

Is that the future tree hugger again?

It is. Or at least the one drinking in the first picture seems the most likely candidate.

 

[Shadrach]

I suggest it would be difficult to find a solicitor to take up the matter. Not sure how things are in other countries, but in Australia law professionals are obliged to advise clients when a matter is not in their best economic interest, perhaps even declining to write a $2000 letter over a $20 chicken.

Recourse might be better through social media?

Push come to shove their are other avenues like you mention.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I do know Mareks vaccine can only be done at hatch age

 

[Marie2020]

Not sure what Size yogurt you get. I use 5 gallon buckets for my large birds and banty.. The small one I had 4 silkie
at the time .. A day in the tractor I had to refill it.

I've only got 5 chickens. But these would be good in a small bucket. Especially for the two littles, I think they will like these

 

[Shadrach]

I'm going to have an accident down one of these holes.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I lay the lid on do not latch it down only weird part

 

[Windrider]

I'm going to have an accident down one of these holes.
View attachment 2927235

Are the ex-batts digging these holes, or just Matilda (?) and the leg bars? If the batts are getting into the whole "real chicken" thing enough to create hazards like that, I say good for them!

 

[Shadrach]

Nope, it's not the Ex Batts. It's Matilda and Cloud mostly. The Ex Batts watch and they'll check the holes out but I've yet to see any of them do any major digging.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I swear I have craters in my coop but now have my radar on stick tells me where to step