The Middle Tennessee Thread

[Cinny]

I don't.

I usually get mine vaccinated before I get them.....but lost one to a form of Mareks AFTER it was vaccinated and had absolutely no problem with the ones I've gotten that were not vaccinated. From what I read, if you hatch them yourself and raise them yourself you are probably ok....it's when you introduce others to yours that you risk infection. The one that was infected was not raised by me.....I was lucky that she had a form of Mareks that was not easily spread and I caught it early so the rest of mine were ok. It was just strange, she showed no typical symptoms and was 9 months old which is usually too old to get it. .....it's a crap shoot.

 

[Okla-doodle-doo]

We will have call ducklings when Spring arrives. Our have just started laying. We have white, butterscotch and pigeon all running together.
...

Is pigeon a color or do you have pigeons also? I love pigeons!

 

[Masonicflock]

I don't vaccinate

 

[pacnu]

Oh, and my hardware cloth arrived today while we were in the garage working on the run so the delivery guy brought the heavy box to the job site . It is what I ordered. So, I guess I'd buy from them again but expect my order may take a week or two to arrive no matter what their site says. And, my order status still says "to warehouse" so their tracking system is woefully lacking.

Glad it came! That box was heavy. Wish I'd had the FedEx delivery guy take it to the workshop. Wasn't thinking. Thank goodnes for wheelbarrows.

 

[msmeower]

I vaccinate for Marek's. As a veterinarian, I am vaccine-happy anyway, but I know that Marek's is endemic here.....it's on just about any farm that's had chickens on it in the last 100 years and the vaccine is very effective in preventing deaths and illness. The vaccine comes in a bottle of 1000 doses and you can't find it at TSC or the Co-op, you have to buy it online. I freeze the liquid in 10cc doses and conjugate the vaccine for every batch of chickens that hatch. I always suggest buying only vaccinated birds, and if you order from hatcheries, pay the extra pennies to have your chicks vaccinated. It only takes one infected bird to introduce Marek's to your farm, and you won't see birds dying until at least 6-8 weeks later.

 

[stefan333]

I am just now establishing my flock (got my first chicks in October), and I can attest to the fact that Mareks is alive and thriving. I never expected to deal with this when I first started out. It seems like my BRs and RIR from a TN farm have a resistance to it and are thriving despite it, but I added some 2 month old chickens in with them that I hatched from hatchery eggs. It did take a while, but every couple of weeks I'd lose one. Today we're culling one more -for a total of about 8 deaths out of 27 chickens. I have done a lot of research on it and came to my own decision. I have heard that back in the day anytime a local bird was sick the farmer would share his sick bird with the neighbors to purposely expose flocks. There'd be deaths, but the ones left were the strongest, and when you bred the survivors they'd pass down resistance to their offspring. Quite the opposite of what we're taught today about biosecurity. People who breed for resistance do some pretty heavy culling within the first couple years. In my own experience, I have found that the chickens from farms/breeders fare much better than those from hatcheries. I don't want to rely on vaccines, and I'm one of those who believe vaccines have done more harm than good. I think God designed immune systems to build up a natural resistance, so I'm trying to do it the old school farmer way. If you decide to do it this way be prepared for some heavy culling, though. Every person is different, situations are different, and I do suggest if you only have a few chickens to vaccinate, but it's a decision you have to make on your own. Not everyone agrees, but the one thing we do agree on is that you absolutely have to make a decision, because it is that common.

 

[Cinny]

I vaccinate for Marek's. As a veterinarian, I am vaccine-happy anyway, but I know that Marek's is endemic here.....it's on just about any farm that's had chickens on it in the last 100 years and the vaccine is very effective in preventing deaths and illness. The vaccine comes in a bottle of 1000 doses and you can't find it at TSC or the Co-op, you have to buy it online. I freeze the liquid in 10cc doses and conjugate the vaccine for every batch of chickens that hatch. I always suggest buying only vaccinated birds, and if you order from hatcheries, pay the extra pennies to have your chicks vaccinated. It only takes one infected bird to introduce Marek's to your farm, and you won't see birds dying until at least 6-8 weeks later.

I had one die from "a form of Mareks" at about 9 months of age....I got her from a reputable hatchery here that several people on this site have used. I was told she had been vaccinated. Can they still get it anyway? I was told it's like Parvo to a dog, you can vaccinate but there's no guarantee.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
yes they can still get it. Some people run turkeys with their chickens to immunize the chickens with mereks too. Turkeys have a mild form of mereks and they can pass the immunity off to chickens.

 

[heirloomorps]

yes they can still get it. Some people run turkeys with their chickens to immunize the chickens with mereks too. Turkeys have a mild form of mereks and they can pass the immunity off to chickens.

They say you learn something new every day. Today I actually have! Our turkeys run with our chickens because they won't stay in their own pen.

 

[debid]

We have lots and lots of wild turkeys running around. I guess I should toss any turkey feathers I find in the coop? My chickens aren't vaccinated but we are pretty low-risk with the history of land use here. Any chicken-specific disease would have to travel here by shoe or purchased bird.