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If you hatch them in an incubator, you can give them the shot. If you let the hen incubate them, they will probably be exposed before you are able to vaccinate. You can actually vaccinate your feed store babies even if they are a few days old. They have probably never been exposed to the outdoors, adult poultry or wild birds. Keep in mind that other shoppers in the feed store might have brought Mareks contamination in with them. I have talked to vets and have been told that the vaccination can still be effective if given when they are a few days old. The manufacturer of the vaccine recommends the shot for day olds because they assume contamination in brooder houses, etc. I even called the manufacturer once and talked to their people about this. The Vaccine is cheap. $13 - $15 for a amount that covers 1000 birds (thats the smallest quantity they sell). I bought a bottle and vaccinated 23 this year. 57 cents per baby is cheap compared to the heartbreak of Mareks.
