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I haven't been on BYC for a while, but I have been keeping up with my chickens. Our flock was tested clean this last spring.
I'm offering several from my flock. Local pick up preferred, between Pleasanton and Floresville just south of San Antonio.

Five straight run day olds. $3 each 2 EE, 3 OE.
400


2 Straight run OE about 3 months. $15 each
400


Pure Blue Wheaten Ameraucana Cockerel. About 4 months. Asking $25
400


400
 
buggal said:
How many of you out there vaccinate your chickens. I have been blessed with chickens for about 5 months now and I have heard some people vaccinate every chicken that comes into their flock. What do you vaccinate for and what do you use? I am having an issue with my teenager chickens getting sick and dying. I have lost a total of 6 in the past 3 weeks*. We have given them Strike III wormer but we are still loosing the battle. Also what is Mareck? Is it something that I can vaccinate for and with what??? I hate loosing a chicken let alone 6. I gotta get this resolved before it goes through my entire flock.

*They are loosing weight but eating and drinking a lot. They then become lethargic can't seem to open their eyes for long. They get diarrhea and within 24 hours they are dead.
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It would be a good idea to take one of the dead chickens for Necropsy -- Texas A&M will do this and there is a fee.

Merek's disease does strike juvenile or teenage chickens -- especially pullets right around POL (Point of Lay) which at 5-months could describe your flock. It is contagous - and usually deadly.

This link is a page built to have a lot of links to Marek's information and I think info about how to get a necropsy too. Chickens related to Rhode Island Reds are more susceptible than white Leghorn chickens -- because of what is going on in the genetics..... So all the sex-links are vulnerable to a degree greater than certain other breeds.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mareks-disease-fact-site



kajira said:
You need to get a vet to come check out your flock and figure out what the problem is. Don't just give them random medication with out figuring out what's wrong.

I don't vaccinate my birds - and I also raise ducks, turkeys, etc together with my chickens.

I don't bring in adult birds from other peoples properties. that helps reduce the risk of exposure.

Also, how hot has it been where you are at? Sometimes birds won't drink hot water - I lost 2 of my big roosters during the hottest part of the summer, due to heat stroke, and I know a few other people who did, too.

Marek's is pretty obvious, one of their legs goes limp and they lay down with it behind them like it's dragging. You can't miss that.

You can try putting some apple cider in the water, because that won't hurt them.

Have you checked for pastey butt? Are you losing roosters, hens? Egg bound issues, or egg issues can also cause them to die.... You really need to have a vet come out if you're flock is dying the way you are describing to figure out what the issue is, so you can treat it effectively.

Anything else is guess work -

You can try posting on the incubator thread, Sally and Kathy may be able to help you better.
Click to expand...
This is so true! Good insights.

People IMO go crazy to pump their chickens with medications and antibiotics NOT knowing exactly what the chickens have...and doing a lot of "off label" activity. As a result --
Recently, I have read where they are going to remove access to meds that people use on their chickens -- because so many drug-resistant strains of bacteria are developing.

Here are a couple of articles:
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2015/05/antibiotic-resistant_superbugs.html
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm378100.htm
http://consumersunion.org/news/the-overuse-of-antibiotics-in-food-animals-threatens-public-health-2/

Here's a quote from the last: article
"The reason for this is that when you feed antibiotics to animals, the bacteria in and around the animals are exposed to the drug, and many of them die. But there are always some that the drug can’t kill, and those survive and proliferate. Voila, superbugs."

A sad fact of life is that chickens will die. To find out the cause (the exact scientific cause - confirmed by a lab) it is necessary to get a necropsy, and that costs more than many people are interested in paying.
chickens can develop resistance to disease - just like the 'superbugs' can develop resistance to antibiotics -- That is a better approach for the well being of your flock. IMO
so in answer to the OPs question --
Nope, I don't vaccinate for anything. and my flock seems to get healthier every year - (as the 'strong' will survive).

Just my 2-cents
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MandyJ said:
So cute! How many eggs? Anymore hatched?
You do great work!
Mandy
Click to expand...
I think 10 eggs. I wasn't really expecting a broody and one day my DH said, should I leave that chicken sitting on eggs alone? I said, WHAT? LOL, by the time I candled, some were far along and others were not. I brought two into the incubator. We moved her and her eggs yesterday to the fort knox pen. This one already had an external pip. I was so nervous about moving her I didn't even count the eggs. She sat right back down on them so I haven't had a chance to count. I'm thinking it will take a few days for them all to hatch based on what I saw the one time I candled them
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