Vaccinations

Do people get their birds immunised? Have heard different things about getting your chooks (or in my case ducks) vaccinated. I got my first ducks from a big breeder at 6 weeks old or older but never thought to ask about vaccinations. Since then I have got a couple more ducklings from a small breeder at about a week old and hatched some of my own and these are not immunised I know. They all seem very healthy and certainly I've had no problems with the eggs (salmonella) even when eaten raw (can never resist licking out the cake bowl ). Just wondering if people get their birds immunised, if so what against and what are the practicalities of getting it done?

I was told that my hybrids were vaccinated at one day old.
However, I have seen a list of vaccinations which seem to be administered at various stages from day one upwards.
Have you looked at the DEFRA site?
Sorry I cannot be of more help.
cathangirl

Yoohooo, I'm here!!!!

Yes, at the moment vaccines come in doses of 1,000, and although they are coming down in price now, it's still a waste if you only have a few chooks, as you can't keep the leftover stuff.

I think it was Aunt Sally who said once they are thinking of doing them in smaller packs, but at the moment they are only really for the commercial farmers.

Most vets as we know, dont know much about chickens either, but even they couldn't vaccinate poultry any cheaper if they still come in doses of 1,000 unless they could get people with 1,000 chickens to come in!!!

I did vaccinate the last batch of Babcocks, but it was put in the drinking water.  And not one person who bought the Babcock's was at all impressed! lol

But I think as long as your housekeeping is good and you keep your coop and run clean, you shouldn't get ant problems.

If you buy from a hatchery like we do at day old they are vaccinated against Mareks disease.  And if you buy from a big breeder or rearer then they will sometimes vaccinate, but most little rearers like me don't.  Saying that though, we have never had anything nasty happen to our chickens, and we haven't heard of any of our customers losing chickens to anything nasty, although a few have died.  One man lost 7 of his last year amberlinks to a bad pecking problem, but we don't know his circumstances, although he said they have a BIG field, like several acres.  Another bloke lost his to a fox or several.

so I will now stop waffling, but this latest flock of chicks I didn't vaccinate, but I do tell people when they come to collect their chickens.

Oh and like Rob said, the feed we use has an anticoccidiostat in it, but the worst vaccine to give them is the Salmonella.  Simon who we buy our meat chicks from has to vaccinate his parent flocks against Salmonella, and they have to have 3 lots of injections, and afterwards the vet has to do test to make sure the vaccine worked, and that is expensive

I did have a vaccination plan I got from the internet, that I was going to put on here Sassy, but when I had to re-install XP unexpectedly, I forgot to back up and lost everything, and now like you, I can't find it again!!  But apart from the Salmonella, most things are given between day old and up to POL, but mostly in the first couple of months.  My last flock had their mareks at day old, newcastles and IB at 10 days and AE when they were about 2 months I think.  Salmonella comes later, but is very costly.  You could spend a fortune and still have the chicken die of heart attack on you!!

Thanks CL, that's just right!!! lol