The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[hoosiercheetah]

Thank you for those words of wisdom. ;-)
No vacs here... Ever... for anyone... Did I mention not ever!?!

Yeah, smallpox probably wasn't as bad as they make it sound.

And diphtheria, tetanus, yellow fever, whooping cough, polio, and measles. No big deal at all.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
I did qualify what I said...

Quote:

 

[hoosiercheetah]

I did qualify what I said...

I know you did, and I agree with you. I don't get flu shots, for example, because I think they do as much harm as good. I just chaff when people take an all-or-nothing stance on a complicated issue.

Except poison ivy. I'm standing firmly in the eradication camp on that one.

 

[lalaland]

lol, cheetah!

I vaccinated chicks I from the hatchery, and did so for more than a decade. very very rarely lost a chick.

Now I have had unvaccinated chicks for the past two springs, and now I have mareks in the flock. And I am looking at losing 40% or more of my current flock, to miserable deaths if I don't cull early enough.

vaccinating is a tough issue. someone told me, and I didn't verify whether this was so or not, that the fda says backyward flocks shouldn't be vaccinated against mareks. It is a mutating virus. the vaccine isn't foolproof - the virus mutates, and I've seen estimates that maybe 10% have errors in admintering the vaccine - it has to be kept cold, etc.

but, having watched my sweet little cream legbar rooster get paralysis from mareks,....would I do it differently if I could? absolutely.

To add to the complexity of the issue - broodies =unvaccinated chicks because the vaccine isn't set up for small flocks, and the one available isn't so great even if you went to the time and expense and effort of trying to do it right. And getting chicks from small breeders, ditto. SO if you are going to breed, you will likely have unvaccinated chicks. But, if you are getting from a hatchery.....why not?

I haven't ever gotten a flu shot. I would bet my reasons for not getting them would be the same as some of the reasons behind others on this thread who choose not to vaccinate when given the chance.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
Now...poison ivy.... I might get a vaccine for that

 

[hennible]

I know you did, and I agree with you.  I don't get flu shots, for example, because I think they do as much harm as good.  I just chaff when people take an all-or-nothing stance on a  complicated issue.

Except poison ivy.  I'm standing firmly in the eradication camp on that one.

Lol

Im a non vaccinater for the most part as said complicated issue

Back to the FF, I have used probiotics to jump start it... Just broke open a capes and added it... Works great so far.
Has anyone had fruit flies in their FF? I noticed some hovering around the feeder outside in the coop...

 

[jockeyeba]

Never got a flu shot, never will but unfortunately some of the bad diseases are coming back thanks to all the illegals that poured over our borders in the last few months ( & still do).

 

[lalaland]

by the way, I'm giving the flock lots of tumeric and nutritional yeast. Lots of garlic. Lots of probiotics, with the Pediococcus acidilactici kind of probiotic that is particularly helpful with viruses.

Down to one egg a day, sometimes two. THe funny thing is, one of the eggs is blue and is coming from a hen who is in the middle of a molt. never seen a molting hen laying eggs before, at least that I knew.

Of the 17 remaining chickens, I have 4 pullets about to start laying ( I hope), 7 hens going into their second year, and the rest are older hens, most of whom were still laying before molt this year.

But, one egg a day is not right!!

 

[hoosiercheetah]

Never got a flu shot, never will but unfortunately some of the bad diseases are coming back thanks to all the illegals that poured over our borders in the last few months ( & still do).

Hey look! There's worms in that can! :-D

I do think that a vaccination program for immigrants should be part of a carefully considered, long overdue, and utterly massive overhaul of our immigration policies.

 

[jockeyeba]

Oh I know, before you know it I'll be in trouble again