Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Chicks

[VTChick10]

I am asking here because I have poured over countless threads and am not finding answers to my specific situation. I am hoping someone much more experienced than I can assist! Thank you in advance. I have a two part question;
1) I just successfully hatched 2 chicks in an incubator from eggs of one of my bantam hens. The flock is a year old, and were all purchased at the same time from TSC. Am I safe to introduce my newly hatched (unvaxxed) chicks to the flock in a few months? I was told to buy medicated feed for them… is this the safest plan? How long do they need it?
2) I have 16 chicks coming from McMurrays in 2 weeks. I chose to have them vaccinated for Mareks and Coccidiosis, as my flock at the time of purchase consisted of only vaccinated birds. When can I add the chicks, both vaxxed and unvaxxed, together (if at all) before/with the older birds?
All of my chickens are healthy. I haven’t seen any “sick” birds. I have seen too many conflicting threads. I know people hatch their own chickens and keep expanding their flocks- what are the tricks to this? How do I do this safely?

 

[nuthatched]

Theyll all be fine.

 

[VTChick10]

Theyll all be fine.

Thanks for the confidence! I believe this. I’m mostly just trying to figure out when they can all meet eachother. I’ve never used medicated feed and it was recommended to me to use on the new hatched chicks for a few weeks at least. My concern of course is when can I stop this feed, and how will it affect all parties involved? Can the chicks coming in two weeks be added directly in with my two newly hatched chicks in the brooder?

 

[Stravager]

Thanks for the confidence! I believe this. I’m mostly just trying to figure out when they can all meet eachother. I’ve never used medicated feed and it was recommended to me to use on the new hatched chicks for a few weeks at least. My concern of course is when can I stop this feed, and how will it affect all parties involved? Can the chicks coming in two weeks be added directly in with my two newly hatched chicks in the brooder?

If you're using medicated feed for Cocci then I will link this wonderful post here by Ridgerunner that has been super helpful in the past:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...medicated-chick-starter.1615218/post-27588803
If you have vax'ed chicks and they eat the medicated feed it will cancel out your vax and you'll essentially have unvax'ed chicks again.

 

[nuthatched]

Thanks for the confidence! I believe this. I’m mostly just trying to figure out when they can all meet eachother. I’ve never used medicated feed and it was recommended to me to use on the new hatched chicks for a few weeks at least. My concern of course is when can I stop this feed, and how will it affect all parties involved? Can the chicks coming in two weeks be added directly in with my two newly hatched chicks in the brooder?

Medicated feed only contains amprollium, a coccistat. It helps reduce the coccidia to reduce the chances of it taking over. If your chicks aren't exposed to dirt or adult birds, they don't need the medicated feed at all. Medicated feed shouldn't be fed to coccidiosis vaccinated chicks or it cancels out the vaccine. You can mix them all together and feed them all normal growing

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Congrats on the new hatch! I've had both vaccinated and unvaccinated chickens and chicks together. For my bantams, I had never vaccinated them. The chicks should be fine with your vaccinated flock and vise versa. The only concern is (though I haven't had an issue with it yet) is the vaccines shedding onto the unvaccinated, giving them the disease. Again, with me mixing my vaccinated and unvaccinated chicks together, I haven't had an issue and both stayed perfectly healthy.

I'm assuming the parents to these chicks were vaccinated, correct? When it comes to breeding chickens, the parents' immunity will be passed down to their offspring. (This is why it is good to breed older birds, as they've been exposed to more, thus passing down a stronger immune system.)

On your question one, is these bantams going into a bantam flock? If so, they should be fine to add at 3-4 months old. What breeds are they and the flock they are going in? Some breeds are more aggressive, so that will have an effect on the age you should add them. A lot of your Game breeds were once bred for cockfighting (now for show), so the roosters should always be kept separate, even as young as 4 months old.

On medicated feed, I have either given my chicks starter mash, or game bird crumbles. I don't see medicated feed as highly important, especially if your parent flock and the chicks themselves are healthy. Keeping their brooder and water supply clean is typically more important. Adding electrolytes to their water every once and awhile might be good as well, though if they're healthy, I wouldn't bother.

On your second question, are these chicks from the hatchery standards or bantams? Bantams and standards should be kept separate. For the first 48 hours to week from them arriving, they should be watched closely and kept in a peaceful, quiet place so they can recover from their long trip. I suggest giving them electrolytes in their water. They'll be stressed, so adding them to older, more active chicks might be too much for them.

If you are going to add them in with the unvaccinated chicks, I would do so when they're two weeks old (the older chicks should be four weeks old at this time). At that age, they will be stronger, and to settle their pecking order, they do it by height, not pecks (so it is easier to establish it while they are still young). Then together, when the youngest batch is 3-4 months old, it should be safe to add them to the adult flock. (Again, do not mix bantams and standards together.)

On your last question, my biggest suggestion/warning is do not breed brothers to sisters in your flocks. Unless you are doing line breeding, you want to introduce a non-related parent to every new generation that you hatch. (If you have multiple roosters or flocks of the same breed that isn't related, that would be your easiest route.) Breed your quality birds and sell off the non-quality birds to keep your stock good. If you're breeding a specific breed, keep your lines pure, and separate all the birds that isn't the same breed. If you have any deformities, leakage, or any other unwanted qualities in your flock, separate them before breeding (better yet, sell them off so they're never a concern).

Would you be interested in becoming NPIP certified? If you’re looking to sell off a lot of your breedings, this is something people may look for when buying chicks.

Hopefully I answered all your questions and that you've found this post helpful. Best of luck with your new chicks and breeding!

~Lacy Duckwing

 

[VTChick10]

Medicated feed only contains amprollium, a coccistat. It helps reduce the coccidia to reduce the chances of it taking over. If your chicks aren't exposed to dirt or adult birds, they don't need the medicated feed at all. Medicated feed shouldn't be fed to coccidiosis vaccinated chicks or it cancels out the vaccine. You can mix them all together and feed them all normal growing

Thank you for your help! I had read in another thread that the problems can arise when the chicks are added to the area where other chickens are. So- At the risk of sounding extremely uninformed! I can keep my two bantam chicks together on unmedicated feed for the next two weeks, then add the the 16 (if all make the trip) to the brooder with them, and then a few ml the from now transfer them all to the cool with the other chickens? What are the risks at that point?

 

[VTChick10]

Congrats on the new hatch! I've had both vaccinated and unvaccinated chickens and chicks together. For my bantams, I had never vaccinated them. The chicks should be fine with your vaccinated flock and vise versa. The only concern is (though I haven't had an issue with it yet) is the vaccines shedding onto the unvaccinated, giving them the disease. Again, with me mixing my vaccinated and unvaccinated chicks together, I haven't had an issue and both stayed perfectly healthy.

I'm assuming the parents to these chicks were vaccinated, correct? When it comes to breeding chickens, the parents' immunity will be passed down to their offspring. (This is why it is good to breed older birds, as they've been exposed to more, thus passing down a stronger immune system.)

On your question one, is these bantams going into a bantam flock? If so, they should be fine to add at 3-4 months old. What breeds are they and the flock they are going in? Some breeds are more aggressive, so that will have an effect on the age you should add them. A lot of your Game breeds were once bred for cockfighting (now for show), so the roosters should always be kept separate, even as young as 4 months old.

On medicated feed, I have either given my chicks starter mash, or game bird crumbles. I don't see medicated feed as highly important, especially if your parent flock and the chicks themselves are healthy. Keeping their brooder and water supply clean is typically more important. Adding electrolytes to their water every once and awhile might be good as well, though if they're healthy, I wouldn't bother.

On your second question, are these chicks from the hatchery standards or bantams? Bantams and standards should be kept separate. For the first 48 hours to week from them arriving, they should be watched closely and kept in a peaceful, quiet place so they can recover from their long trip. I suggest giving them electrolytes in their water. They'll be stressed, so adding them to older, more active chicks might be too much for them.

If you are going to add them in with the unvaccinated chicks, I would do so when they're two weeks old (the older chicks should be four weeks old at this time). At that age, they will be stronger, and to settle their pecking order, they do it by height, not pecks (so it is easier to establish it while they are still young). Then together, when the youngest batch is 3-4 months old, it should be safe to add them to the adult flock. (Again, do not mix bantams and standards together.)

On your last question, my biggest suggestion/warning is do not breed brothers to sisters in your flocks. Unless you are doing line breeding, you want to introduce a non-related parent to every new generation that you hatch. (If you have multiple roosters or flocks of the same breed that isn't related, that would be your easiest route.) Breed your quality birds and sell off the non-quality birds to keep your stock good. If you're breeding a specific breed, keep your lines pure, and separate all the birds that isn't the same breed. If you have any deformities, leakage, or any other unwanted qualities in your flock, separate them before breeding (better yet, sell them off so they're never a concern).

Would you be interested in becoming NPIP certified? If you’re looking to sell off a lot of your breedings, this is something people may look for when buying chicks.

Hopefully I answered all your questions and that you've found this post helpful. Best of luck with your new chicks and breeding!

~Lacy Duckwing

Lacy, thank you so much for your very thorough response. I’m going to try and answer your questions! I do want to make sure I’m doing this “correctly”!
Yes, both parents of the bantam chicks are vaccinated. I currently have 3 leghorns with 3 bantams; one of which is a rooster. They have all gotten along great so far but my extended worries come with adding in the additions. All chicks coming from the hatchery are full size chickens. All that were ordered are hens and one rooster. Most are “bigger” breeds like leghorns, including the rooster. We had a vision to have essentially two flocks based on size… but we aren’t sure if that’s feasible right away now. My hope was to keep the chicks together if at all possible until they can be moved outside to the coop(s). We have a smaller coop that we purchased and put together last year, and then in the fall, built a much bigger coop/shed for the birds. This bigger coops is currently where all 6 reside. The hope was to put all bigger breeds in the shed, and the smaller ones in the little coop. Or, at least move all chicks together out into the little coop and keep it alongside the run of the big coop so they can get used to seeing eachother.
The more I think about it, the more I regret throwing these little bantams babies into the mix at this current time. I was gifted an incubator and tried my luck with 3 eggs that my girl gave me… the only eggs she’s laid all winter! I wasn’t too hopeful being my first ever hatch. And now, here we are! Would adding some sort of separator in the brooder “trough” not be advisable? I’m trying to think of a way to keep them separated for two weeks that makes sense financially!

 

[VTChick10]

If you're using medicated feed for Cocci then I will link this wonderful post here by Ridgerunner that has been super helpful in the past:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...medicated-chick-starter.1615218/post-27588803
If you have vax'ed chicks and they eat the medicated feed it will cancel out your vax and you'll essentially have unvax'ed chicks again.

Thank you, this is extremely helpful! After reading, I’m really wondering about never using the medicated feed and introducing what’s needed via dirt from the run. However- I already purchased the medicated feed… based on what I just read, I can also use both the medicated feed and feed them dirt every three days for at least a few weeks, correct? Unless I’m misunderstanding, that would be beneficial too. And then I wouldn’t waste what I’ve purchased?!

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might try following the link in @Stravager 's post above, post #4. It should answer most of your questions about medicated feed and Coccidiosis. I'll try to give a few highlights but it can get confusing with all the "if's.

You need to check what medicine is in medicated feed. Usually in the USA it is Amprolium but there are a few that have something else.

Feeding them medicated feed does no good unless they have been exposed to the protozoa that causes Coccidiosis.

Vaccinated chicks cannot pass a virus on to other chickens. The vaccine is made from a form of Marek's virus that affect only turkeys, not chickens. The vaccine does not stop them catching Marek's, it stops the tumors that cause the problems from forming.

Parents cannot pass protection they get from vaccination to their chicks, either through the eggs or in person. It just doesn't work that way.

I just saw your post where you did follow that link. You can feed that medicated feed to not vaccinated chicks if you wish. It will not hurt them. I'd only feed the medicated feed to them and not mix it with any other feed until it is gone. Otherwise you can water down the dosage of the Amprolium to where it doesn't help you if you need the help. But remember, if you feed medicated feed to vaccinated chicks you can negate the vaccination.

They will still get the immunity if you feed them dirt from the run if you already have that protozoa in your flock. If you don't have it present they will not get any immunity from the medicated feed.