Cynthia, do you use that Mexican Oregano?
Yes, I do. I dry it and then put it in ziplock bags, use it in my sauces. I don't need to dry much since it's always here. I put some in a big pot and it comes back every year, too, without any protection.
Failure to thrive, yes, even on rare occasion with broody hatched chicks. Haven't had that happen in a few years, but just like people, they can be born with internal defects that do them in soon afterward. Shipping is a whole 'nother thing. I've never had shipped chicks, at least shipped to me. I've bought them at the feedstore soon after they arrived, so I guess I have had shipped chicks. I did have a failure to thrive with a bantam Cochin male who just never grew the two weeks he lived here. Poor little Mouse. I was so disappointed. He was a blue Cochin.
As far as vaccinations, I've never vaccinated a bird for anything. Seems there are pros and cons. I lean toward the anti-vaxx on the birds, but then, I've never had a reason to vaccinate mine. I think if Marek's popped up here, I'd quit raising chickens. I have enough issues to deal with as it is. The University of KY vets per conversations with a friend of mine maintain that Marek's vaccinations available to the general public are less than useful, a waste of money, that the only effective ones are the ones that are kept at below zero temps. Some disagree, I suppose.
I'm not going to start vaccinating my birds, no matter what, it's just too much. They live or they die. If they start being sickly, I don't raise them anymore. Not worth the stress for me. I just try to plump up their immune systems as best I can and hope that exposure doesn't mean infection to whatever is floating around. If exposure always meant instant infection, no one could ever go to a doctor's waiting room.
