To Vaccinate or not to vaccinate? That is the Question!

[TysonDSMIowa]

To Vaccinate or not to vaccinate? That is the Question! Where do you stand on having your baby chicks vaccinated?

 

[ErnieBerley]

oh my...well i just started raising chickens in May of 2019 (and i do love them !!) and i've already gotten 5 birds off craigslist that carried the Marek's virus. ....they all died the same way, paralysis followed by a slow death and i had to euthanize most of them - 4 white silkie babies that were so cute and 1 Ayam cemani rooster that was amazing, handsome and proud. If you're gonna experiment with purchasing chickens from people off craigslist and local farmers you better vaccinate or you may bring in something into your flock you definitely do not want. !

 

[KatharinetheGr8]

I wanted to know more about Marek's Disease so I did a quick Google Search and found this publication from The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension regarding the disease and the effects on a flock from vaccinations. The numbers are pretty hard to argue with, so I will continue to vaccinate my chicks. Hope this helps your decision.

 

[Ghosty]

oh my...well i just started raising chickens in May of 2019 (and i do love them !!) and i've already gotten 5 birds off craigslist that carried the Marek's virus. ....they all died the same way, paralysis followed by a slow death and i had to euthanize most of them - 4 white silkie babies that were so cute and 1 Ayam cemani rooster that was amazing, handsome and proud. If you're gonna experiment with purchasing chickens from people off craigslist and local farmers you better vaccinate or you may bring in something into your flock you definitely do not want. !

Sorry to hear that!
Silkies are particularly susceptible to Marek's. You might consider getting them from a breeder or hatchery with a good track record that vaccinates before sending them to you.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

There's a whole huge thread on it going on here with a lot of opinions;
https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/22124541/I don't vaccinate because I want the knowledge of Mareks in my flock and healthy genetics. But if I was keeping my birds as pets I would probably consider it.

 

[Fairview01]

Are you stating with certainty that a vaccinated bird that has been infected by the virus cannot pass that highly communicable virus to another bird? I know the vaccine prevents the bird from showing symptoms but what magic powers prevents the virus from doing what the virus does.
Are you saying that the vaccine prevents the multiplication of the virus.

Sorry, mind was thinking faster than fingers. Now that I'm not at work i have time to go back to my reference.

The vaccines will not be the cause of any Mareks infection. For noncommercial birds the most common vaccine is derived from the Turkey Herpesvirus (MDV-3). By itself the chicken will not shed the virus and not infect the chicken or other chickens.

The Rispens vaccination that is only available to veterinarians can cause false positives during diagnostic testing in the chickens vaccinated with it but once again the vaccinated chicken will not shed the virus or become infected or infect other chickens because of being vaccinated.

There must be an active virus and infection.

 

[KatharinetheGr8]

My family vaccinates. I figure they can use all the help they can get. It is no guarantee that the worst still won't happen, but it is a small price to pay to get a small leg up on all the things that can go wrong.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Never vaccinated never will, I prefer for chickens to develop their own immunity to what is a problem here, I am willing to cull if someone can't fight off an illness, I don't see too many diseases, build a strong flock, keep a strong flock.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm happy to have chicks vaccinated for Marek's disease when I order them, but chicks hatched here aren't vaccinated. They act as sentinals for the flock; so far no Marek's disease here. I don't show birds, and haven't vaccinated for anything else. Mary

 

[Folly's place]

The Marek's disease vaccine does NOT cause the disease in chickens! If the flock is infected, the vaccinated birds are less likely to die of the tumors that infected birds develop. If there's no Marek's disease in the flock, adding vaccinated and UNEXPOSED birds won't bring the disease in.
Adding any outside birds, except safe new chicks, is a risk for this disease to appear. That's why it's important to practice good biosecurity and be lucky. If the disease appears, then other decisions have to be made.
Mary