Vaccination or no Vaccination that is the question

[e'sbackyardchickens]

We have always purchased chicks at our local farm store. I have assumed since they came from Cackle Hatchery they were vaccinated. We currently have 7 chicks hatching from these hens and I am wondering if I should try to get some vaccine today to vaccinate them? Do they have immunity from their mother? Is vaccination helpful?

 

[Eggcessive]

Hatcheries do not vaccinate chicks unless they are ordered that way, and paid for. There is a lot of difference of opinion about vaccinating chicks for Mareks disease. Many people don’t vaccinate or want their chicks vaccinated. I have had some chickens vaccinated in the beginning, but any chicks hatched here were not vaccinated. The hatcheries have a better vaccine than what is sold online, I understand. The Mareks vaccine does not guarantee that your chickens won’t get Mareks.

I would call your feed store and ask them if they sell only vaccinated chicks. More than likely, it is no. You could also call the hatchery. If they weren’t vaccinated, I wouldn’t bother vaccinating the chicks, but that is up to you.

 

[Dheimmer]

I have a 5 year old flock that was not vaccinated and they are super healthy! I’d like to add more to my flock but I’m concerned about adding vaccinated chicks. Does anyone know where I can find multigenerational unvaccinated chicks for sale??

 

[debid]

@Dheimmer
Most chicks for sale are unvaccinated as there is an extra cost to have the service performed. I'm not sure what you mean by "multigenerational unvaccinated chicks" but if you ask at the farm store where they get their chicks and if they are vaccinated, they should be able to answer those questions for you.
And, getting chicks from licensed hatcheries is safer than backyard keepers because the adult birds are tested routinely for illnesses and they use proper sanitation procedures for their incubators.

 

[Dheimmer]

Most chicks for sale are unvaccinated as there is an extra cost to have the service performed. I'm not sure what you mean by "multigenerational unvaccinated chicks" but if you ask at the farm store where they get their chicks and if they are vaccinated, they should be able to answer those questions for you.

Yes!! I’ve spoken to multiple suppliers and they all have explained that I have the option to not vaccinate but that the parents of the chicks were vaccinated. If possible I would like to find a seller that has not vaccinated their chicks chicks for many generations. I’m trying to find the purest chickens possible. It’s not easy to do. Your reply is appreciated!!

 

[Dheimmer]

@Dheimmer
Most chicks for sale are unvaccinated as there is an extra cost to have the service performed. I'm not sure what you mean by "multigenerational unvaccinated chicks" but if you ask at the farm store where they get their chicks and if they are vaccinated, they should be able to answer those questions for you.
And, getting chicks from licensed hatcheries is safer than backyard keepers because the adult birds are tested routinely for illnesses and they use proper sanitation procedures for their incubators.

I’ve been using chlorine dioxide in my flick’s water for 5 years and they’ve been super healthy! Not one vaccine!
https://safrax.com/wp-content/uploads/SAFRAX-CHLORINE-DIOXIDE-CLO2-Livestock-Poultry-2022.pdf

 

[Folly's place]

I'm happy to pay extra for Marek's vaccination for chicks ordered from hatcheries, and isolate those chicks for two to three weeks, so they aren't exposed to our flock, and can develop immunity. Chicks we get from the farm stores, or who are hatched here, aren't vaccinated against Marek's, and if that disease hits here, they would get sick before the protected birds, and we would know that our flock has Marek's disease.
The cost of having those hatchery chicks vaccinated is minor compared to the total cost of buying and raising those birds.
We've been lucky, and careful, and have avoided Marek's disease here for 30+ years!
It's certainly an individual decision, as is getting 'random source' birds from flocks that might have Marek's, or Mycoplasma, or whatever.
Mary