I do not show birds yet, but I am going to for the first time this fall so I have it on good authority that no vaccines are required to show birds. At least not in Maine. It is possible that some ninny will bring a carrier bird to the shows and infect everyones birds with something, that is why it is suggested that after returning from the show, you keep those birds quarentined for 30 days or so. I have been reading up on vaccines and for the most part, they are generally discouraged unless there is an existing problem in your flock. I hope that helps
I have attended many poultry seminars and the only thing that is recommended is to: 1. Have your birds bled before the show. FL has a NPIP program that will come to your house and do it for free. Our rep is coming Thursday. 2. Give your birds antibiotics one week before the show. You can get that at any Tractor Supply Store or feed store. 3. Worm in the fall and spring. We've shown quite a bit and our birds are pretty much OK. Stress will get them before disease will, so handle your birds often. ---don't forget to bathe them a few days before the show!--
The ILT vaccine is a good one to give if you are going to show. You might want to call your Department of Agriculture and find out if there have been any outbreaks of infectious disease in chickens in your area or where you plan to show. I do not recommend putting healthy birds on antibiotics.
I have been showing now for over 40 years and have never vaccinated. In addition I virtually never have to deal with all the illnesses that people post questions about. The reason is simply that I breed for disease resistance. For many years I culled any bird that became ill and only bred from healthy birds. The result is I almost never have a sick bird. When I return home from a show each bird that was shown is treated with louse powder and returned to the flock. That's it!
