[brrian]

hi wondered if any one can help my chickens are about 20 wks old and have not been vaccinated i was told there are drops you can buy that you put on a chickens neck which has the same effect is this true and what are they called many thanks my learned friends

[joyfull]

no vaccinations start at day old through - they are either given in their water, by syringe and by oral drops.
Most of us do not have our birds vacinated as the vaccines come in doses of 500 - 1000.
the drops you may have heard could be drops to treat mites and lice.

[brrian]

sorry i am still a little confused what drops if any do you recomend and at what frequency or are they only given if a hen is pooorly i use xverm to warm them does this kill mites and flees thanks

[joyfull]

no, verm-x is a worm preventative in both pelleted and liquid (but has no proof that it works at all - indeed many people who have used it found their chickens still got worms - you need to use a poultry wormer called flubenvet which is proven to work - use this 3 or 4 times a year). Verm - x  also make a tonic which will be the same as all other poultry tonics - not needed but could be used in times of moult or illness just to give them a boost.
For lice/mites you need to get some proper lice/mites drops or spray - I use frontline spray which as it isn't licensed for poultry I get it prescibed by my vets and have to sign for it. Most powders do not work.
None of these are vaccinations and as your bird is not just hatched then you are too late. There is an annual vaccination which you have to use if you are showing your birds on the continent but not needed over here.

[brrian]

Thanks that is very informative and answerd a lot of questions just one last thing do my hens still need grit and oyster shell if they have a soil run to forage in ?

[joyfull]

oyster shell is to help them have strong shells (a good source of calcium) so this is needed, grit is for grinding their food and if they have ground that has small stones in it then they will be ok picking grit out of that.