Vaccination of chicks.

[Dave1979m]

Hi everyone, its been a while since I last posted anything. I have had 6 hens for just ver a year now all laying well except one which is always broody. I asked my local farm supplie store if they sold any fertilised eggs and the store assistant gave me 4 fertilised eggs for free. I put these under the broody girl and let her sit on them for 20 days. I now have 3 beautiful little chicks. The 4th egg was not fertile. Sorry about the long winded intro but my question is do I vaccinate the chicks or not worry. They are 3 days old now, eating and drinking and doing everything that their surrogate mum does.
Thanks for any info. How to determine their sex would be great too. I live in a suburb which prohibits roosters.

 

[Judy]

Most small flock owners don't vaccinate, particularly when the chicks are hatched at home. None of mine are vaccinated. Vaccinations in general must be purchased in very large quantities and cannot be stored once opened or mixed; they are not marketed for the small flock owner. I used to have a link that talked about this at length but I see I've lost it. I'm sure you could Google it and learn more if you wish.

Try looking at some posts in the What Breed or Gender is This? forum, here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this

Depending on the breed, you may be able to tell the sex when they are pretty young. We have some people here who are very good at this, too, if you post pics. There are some guidelines in the sticky (blue bar) at the top of that forum to help you get good pics for gender.

 

[Dave1979m]

Thanks for the quick reply. I figured as much from the research I have done with regards to vaccination. I wont be selling them on or making a business out of hatching. It is more of an education thing for my kids and myself I guess. My wife has really enjoyed watching the mother and chicks in action too.

As far as breed and sex goes. The only thing I have to go on is the eggs they arrived in. 1 was small and blueish and the chick is black with a yellow bum. 1 was from a small brown egg and is yellow with a black beak. Both of these have fluff or feathers all the way down to the tip of the outside toe. The last 1 came in a standard brown egg and is yellow but is about 20% larger than the other 2 chicks.
The supply farm I got them have a wide variety so I am interested as to how they will turn out.
Thanks again.