vaccination for chickens for viruses

[Mek]

I made a phone call to our local vet ( who is prolly more for dogs and cats than birds) for a quote on vaccine for mareks.

I could get up to 1000 doses for $311.70
she mentioned that the last case of noted mareks was maybe an hour drive from where I am and was three or four years ago.
at the time I received the phone call I was busy working so I couldnt ask some more interesting questions like:


Can you store it in the fridge for later hatches?
How do you apply it to each chick?


I am also curious to know if this is the bare minimum of disease viruses I should vaccinate against.


my poultry book mentions Fowl Pox ( but i dont mind having freddy crougar chickens and I think its mainly for visual appeal {correct me if i am wrong})
Does anyone vaccinate for this?


Infectious Laryngeal Tracheitis ILT
Infectious Bronchitis IB

Does anyone vaccinate for ILT and IB? Can you describe to me how you implement your vaccine program?


The other diseases the book mentions are protozoans (coccidiosis) and bacteria (pullorum, Chronic Respiratory Disease and Coryza)
But I think these ones are more related on how your raise your birds and cleanliness and bio security

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't vaccinate for anything, but I keep a closed flock. That means I do not bring in any new chickens but add new chicken blood by getting hatching eggs or getting new chicks from a hatchery, which are pretty safe. I do not take my chickens to chicken shows or do anything out of my way to expose them to other chickens.

Before I got chickens, I spoke to my extension agent who put me in touch with a an Ag professor at the University of Arkansas that breeds chickens, has shown them, and is on the team that investigates chicken disease outbreaks in this region. He said the only reporeted case of Marek's in this county was two years previous. I know a lot of Marek's cases don't get reported, but I figured one reported case in two years is not an epidemic. We discussed how I planned to manage them and what some of the other possible problems would be. I could not see a reason to vaccinate mine for anything.

Some people live where there are good reasons to vaccinate. If you plan to show your chickens, certain vaccinations are probably advisable. The answer is not going to be the same for all of us. You might call your county extension agent, in the phone book under county government, and discuss it with them. There is a real good chance they won't know personally, but they should be able to put you in touch with someone familiar with the topic and your area. Not all extension agents are that good, but some are.

I agree with your assessment of coccidiosis in general. In most cases it can be handled by keeping the brooder fairly dry. There are some strains of the protazoa that are really strong. If you have those in your environment, treatment is probably necessary. However, there are several different strains of protazoa that cause coccidiosis. The vaccination does not cover all of them. There is no guarantee that the vaccine will protect against the strain in your area.

Good luck!

 

[RedRoosterFarm]

I vaccinate for Marekes and its about 15.00 for the meds and 20 to ship. I give it in the back of the neck. I give it to day old and up. I know it says day old only but was told by the vet to give it to all. Its good for about an hour after you mix it. I will start giving a vaccination for respitory next month but have not as of yet. I did the fowl poxs and will not bother with it again. Its sad we have to put so much out to have healthy birds but I want them that way. Good luck and hope others let us know what they do.

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