Vaccinations and introducing a new bird

[Mrs. K]

It is practically impossible for a backyard chicken set up to do a proper quarantine, and if you don't do it properly, you may as well NOT do it.

However, IMO it does not hurt to be rooster less the first year. Roosters take some experience, and some are wonderful and some are nightmares.

Mrs K

 

[ChelsieW]

It is practically impossible for a backyard chicken set up to do a proper quarantine, and if you don't do it properly, you may as well NOT do it.

However, IMO it does not hurt to be rooster less the first year. Roosters take some experience, and some are wonderful and some are nightmares.

Mrs K

I had chickens for a decade and then took a break from it because my son was having some reconstructive surgery and I just couldn't care for them properly. So, even though my flock is young, I have experience. The difference now is that my last flock was one that I sort of inherited and we had a rooster that was already part of the deal. And then we lost him to old age and got another one from my brother who also raises chickens. So, having a roo isn't new to me. We always had one before but I never introduced birds to the flock other than chickens that my brother had hatched out and I knew their whole deal.

 

[ladybrasa]

Not just Marek’s!! With Marek’s since your hens are vaccinated the risk lies more to him. Your hen might have been exposed and carry the virus. While they might not get ill from it and survive it (not 100% but better chance for it), the roo probably wouldn’t. Way too late to vaccinate for it.

So I’ve been reading a little about respiratory issues in chickens. Many never go away and with most respiratory diseases, and fairly to very contagious.

And then there’s lots of other diseases and parasites - mites, lice, fowl pox, a variety of worms, etc etc

HOWEVER, in life people get new chickens all the time. Some have problems some don’t. Best to check him over well and quarantine for ... I think the recommendation is two weeks? It’s a good idea to do for many creatures and even plants if you are a hobbyist of specific plants like orchids or something.

As far as this rooster, my guess the bigger concern would be from external parasites and respiratory issues. If he had Marek’s he most likely would look ill and not be doing so well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens can develop what we call flock immunity. They may have a disease and be carriers that can infect other chickens but will not show symptoms themselves. Coccidiosis is a good example but there can be others. If a chicken is exposed to a certain strain of the protozoa that causes Cocci for two or three weeks they develop an immunity to it but can still pass it on to other non-protected chickens. Whether the chickens are vaccinated against Cocci or not they may still be carriers. That could be your flock or your friend's flock. The vaccine may not protect against all strains of Cocci.

Quarantine is a very effective tool when done properly. Most of us can't do it right. Chicken diseases and parasites can spread by sharing food or water dishes, pecking where others have pooped, by vectors like mosquitoes or grasshoppers, or just on the wind. You can infect one flock by wearing the same clothes (especially shoes) when you manage them or or use the same bucket to carry feed or water to them. The more you isolate them the better your quarantine, even a partial quarantine offers some protection, but most of us aren't set up to really manage that.

I keep a pretty closed flock. I do not vaccinate any of mine for anything. The only chickens I add are just-hatched chicks from established hatcheries or from eggs I hatch, my own eggs or from a neighbor's eggs. I do not wear the same clothes to manage my chickens as I wear to a show. I do not show my chickens or sell them at a swap or auction. I try to minimize the exposure to diseases or parasites. It's not a 100% guarantee, my flock has at least one strain of Cocci. It was just in the ground or maybe a wild bird pooped in the area.
If your friend keeps a pretty closed flock and that flock has not been exposed to outside birds for a couple of months and your friend would recognize a disease or parasite if they saw it, that other flock has essentially been in quarantine. Probably a better quarantine than you could do but those are some big if's.

If you bring that boy into your flock it is possible he could bring something bad in. It's possible your flock will give him something. If you bring in hatchery chicks it's possible your flock could infect them. Many hatchery vaccines take two or three weeks before they become effective. You need to isolate them from your flock like a quarantine for those vaccinations to be effective. If you brood them in your house you're probably OK. If you brood in the coop like I do the vaccinations may not be effective anyway.

To me there is no clear cut answer. The safest way to add a new chicken is as a newly hatched chick from an established hatchery or hatch some eggs yourself. The most risky is from a swap or auction, though many people regularly do that. If they do bring something in it will most likely be more of a nuisance that can be treated like like mites or worms than something that will destroy your flock. But the risk exists.

I don't know how much risk there is from your friend's flock or how much it would devastate you if something bad did happen. That has to be your decision.

 

[ladybrasa]

This is kind of going off on a tangent - but in the chicken world are coccidia really called ‘cocci’? I’ve seen it here and on other threads called ‘cocci’. Reason I’m bringing it up is that the term is an important descriptor for identifying bacteria in microbiology. It’s tripping up my brain

In cats and dogs, coccidia are mainly an issue of the young. Any age can get them, but rarely a problem for a healthy adult. Some vets don’t even treat if only a few are seen on a fecal and instead dispense probiotics. In puppies and kittens and already compromised adults coccidia can potentially kill. Is this the same with chickens?

Back to quarantine - maybe just pretend the roo is a person who flew in from another country and needs to quarantine for two weeks to watch for Covid symptoms A reasonable thing to do, and just watch for something developing. Practice ‘social distancing’ from the other chickens and wear a ‘mask’, ie covering or some way To minimize picking up a germ on your person. Wash your hands between your chickens and the roo. we all should be washing hands after messing with chickens anyway. Nothing earth shattering, fairly routine. Besides a quarantine would give you opportunity to interact with him one on one and get him accustomed to his new person and surroundings. See his likes and dislikes. Before throwing him to the ‘wolves’.

What I’m getting at is don’t let us scare you away from ever getting another chicken! Even in a perfect world us simple chicken keepers are never going to completely eliminate disease spread!

 

[Mrs. K]

Well, I would get him. If he looks and acts healthy, if he behaves well. I would not take anything I feel sorry for, or an aggressive rooster.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

This is kind of going off on a tangent - but in the chicken world are coccidia really called ‘cocci’?

It's just a convenient shortening for Coccidiosis. A little easier to type and often used on this forum. Coccidiosis is a disease, not a microbe, though it is caused by a protozoa.

 

[ladybrasa]

It's just a convenient shortening for Coccidiosis.

Thanks!

 

[ChelsieW]

Update:
We decided not to get him. I just think I don't know enough about this whole thing to risk it. It would be extremely difficult for us to quarantine him for that length of time and I'd feel horrible if we got him and then he died. So, we decided to wait and possibly get a male chick in the future. We want to increase the flock again in the spring, possibly so maybe we'll order chicks and get a specific breed.
I feel like there is so much conflicting information about vaccinations for chickens it's extremely confusing but at this point, my entire flock was vaccinated as chicks so I'm gonna keep on with that and not introduce any unvaccinated birds. I don't want to do anything to risk the new birds if my flock are carriers of Mareks or something. I don't know how anyone introduces birds with this much anxiety around it
He's a cute boy so I hope he finds a good home.