To those who did NOT or will not vaccinate

[speckledhen]

This is a completely personal decision, neither one being right or wrong. If there was a disease in my area that was rampant, then I may change my mind about vaccinating for that particular disease. And there are many diseases that have vaccinations available besides Mareks or cocci. To some, it would be cost- prohibitive to vaccinate for every possible disease a chicken may encounter and some vaccines do automatically make the bird a carrier, if I have read the information correctly. So, it's up to each person to make his/her own informed decision.

 

[ChickieKeeta]

I don't know who is right or wrong or even if there is a right or wrong. I vaccinated. It was inexpensive & I thought prevention to be better than cure.

 

[Momo]

I didn't vaccinate my first set of chicks because the hatcheries said it wasn't necessary for a small flock (read: economically feasible for a small flock). I spent months researching everything, designing and building a coop, the usual routine. I ordered 30 day-old EE chicks from a small breeder and they seemed really healthy. I was excited and got pretty attached to them.

As they started to grow up, I started losing birds and found out they had Mareks. I don't know if they were already infected with it, or if they got it from the apparently healthy chickens living across the street (in the same air stream). At the time I figured well, that sucks, I'll have to lose some and keep the strongest ones and end up with a resistant flock. I'll have birds that are well suited to the particular conditions on my little farm and everything will be fine.

Unfortunately it was a pretty virulent strain.

Only 3 birds survived.

Do I vaccinate now? You betcha. Is vaccination necessarily unnatural or unhealthy? No. When I vaccinate my chicks for Mareks I am exposing their immune systems to a naturally occurring variant of the Mareks virus (there are several strains; some are harmless to chickens, some cause a milder disease, some are fast and deadly). Their little immune systems quite naturally mount a response to it so that when the virulent strain comes along they are able to fight it off fast enough. Nothing unnatural about that, unless it's unnatural to give them a fighting chance.

I vaccinate my horses, my dog and my cat. I've seen other (unvaccinated) animals suffering with easily preventable diseases. I myself am effectively immune to things like polio and pertussis. Smallpox is no longer the scourge it once was. Our immune systems are unable to withstand rabies, but if I get bitten by a rabid animal, there are vaccinations available that will save me from a horrible death.

And I just gotta say, on the subject of science, I like living in a comfy house, having a hot shower, using a computer, driving a car, traveling by air, talking on the phone, etc. I like knowing that if I suffer a terrible injury or medical emergency, there's all kinds of specialized help available to me. I got nothin' against science.

 

[JessaLynn]

And I just gotta say, on the subject of science, I like living in a comfy house, having a hot shower, using a computer, driving a car, traveling by air, talking on the phone, etc. I like knowing that if I suffer a terrible injury or medical emergency, there's all kinds of specialized help available to me. I got nothin' against science

Well said momo! That's it in a nut shell!​

 

[Whispering Winds]

This is my worry, because while I am clean as a pin about all our inside animals, and will be with the outside, its our neighbors that have a horse, cows, goats and chickens next door that concerns me. . .I think I might vaccinate the first batch just as a precaution and see where it goes. NO one around here vaccinates, and I know they do not have clean hen house practices, which is where my concern lies . . .I do believe that we are innoculating ourselves our of existance, especially with the chicken pox vaccine for our kids . . .we NEED a disease to build up resistance to other germs . . .it makes sense. I worked for a chiro who did not have his children vaccinated, and Illinois has not yet passed a law that I know of that says you HAVE to have your kids innoculated before they go to school. One of the chiro's had Tourette's syndrome and he knew that it was a direct correlation between his baby shots. So, while I am not saying this is for everyone, and do NOT want to step on anyone's toes, I feel like sometimes we are mistakenly led to believe one thing when it probably may not be the right thing to do. . .

 

[Chicken Fruit]

No hatchery or vet of any merit suggests vaccinating small back yard flocks. I dont vaccinate.

Its personal preference.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
Definitely not true!!! I have spoken to poultry vets at major universities that recommend vaccinating for Mareks and any diseases that have been in your area. Also, here is what is posted on the McMurray Hatchery website.

Marek's is a widespread disease affecting domestic chickens in all sections of the world. It is characterized by lesions affecting the nervous system, organs, and other tissues. Young chickens under 16 weeks of age are most susceptible. There is no treatment for Marek's once the birds are infected. Chicks must be vaccinatead as close to the time of hatch as possible for the vaccine to be effective. We vaccinate all of our own breeding stock and strongly feel that you should do the same. Vaccinating your birds for Marek's is another appropriate step in strong poultry management. Don't take any chances. Let us vaccinate your chicks prior to shipment of your order. Don't forget to mark your order blank in the appropriate location for vaccination.

That hardly sounds like they recommend against it. I highly doubt that that vets that specialize in researching poulty diseases and a huge hatchery have no merit.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Quote:
The purpose of a vaccination IS to build up resistance.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'innoculating ourselves out of existance'. Sometime vaccination can 'almost' innoculate diseases out of existance (such as Polio or Smallpox).

Quote:
I think most studies would agree with the following quote: "Genetic and environmental factors each play a role in the etiology of Tourette's, but the exact causes are unknown." There is no way for the Chiro to know for sure.

I have to agree though that whether to vaccinate your child or chickens is a personal choice. It is up to the individual to weigh the risks and benefits.

Me personally, I look at it the same way folks here do at chicken predators. There are many posts here at BYC that discuss how to predator proof you coop and chickens to protect them. To me a disease is just another predator that is out to kill and destroy my chicks. I'm going to do everything I can to protect them from big predators (dogs, hawks, weasels) as well as smaller predators that kill from the inside out.

Quote:
I take "NO" as meaning every. Its nonsense to say that no vet or hatchery suggests vaccination. If you don't want to vaccinate your chicks its your preference as you state. My vet is all for vaccination. The Vet here at MARC is also for vaccination. Your statement is incorrect.

 

[Laura78]

Quote:
I would agree that a chicken that has acquired immunity by directly encountering a pathogen may have the strongest immune response. The problem though is that some chicken diseases (such as Mareks) will result in the chicken being a carrier and potential source of infection for the rest of its life. Often the chickens that do survive some of these disease will never fully recover from the diseases effect.

Yes I know you asked for posts from folks that chose NOT to vaccinate and that is fine. I waited until MANY folks had posted before I did. I was concerned about folks who might be ordering chicks for the first time or who are new to BYC that they have a balanced view (and not think everyone here at BYC is against vaccination)

What dieses makes a bird a carrier? I would like to research those more. For the most part I will not be vaccinating, simply because growning up we never vaccinated our chickens. My kids are going to be showing in 4H and that may force us to vaccinate, but I'm going to look into that first.

 

[ntiveheart]

Quote:
i'm in 100% agreement with this.