[Bobbie]

We are all set up and ready to go for it, all we need now are the chickens.
We are going for about 10 birds, but not to sure whether to get some young chicks or POL. Could anyone advise about vacine for young chicks or for any of the poultry.
We have also got a Covatutto 12 incubator, unfortunatly no instructions on how to use it, has anyone out there got the instructions that could be photocopied.
Many thanks

[richyrich7]

Hi bobbie welcome to the forums

As far as I know the problem with vaccinating your own chicks is the vaccine comes for the 100's if not 1000's. If you buy point of lay from a large breeder then again they should all be done, they only need doing once  

[Foxy]

Most commercial suppliers hatch chickens in the hundreds and thousands so it is important for financial reasons not to have non-vacinated birds  because of the dense bird population any infection would mean a lot of birds culled - some of the diseases commonly vaccinated against dont necesarily have symptoms initially ( like Mareks )so it would be too much of a risk.

However, hatching a few chicks shouldn't really be a problem. Just be really careful about sourcing new birds, quarantine and good husbandry.
Bodger has written this which is useful


http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=19629

[Old Whiskers]

Vaccines?  :roll:  I've been hatching and keeping chickens  for more years than I care to remember, and I've never vaccinated one. Proper food (especially grass and grain), fresh air and plenty exercise - that's better than any vaccines!

[Foxy]

Vaccines?  :roll:  I've been hatching and keeping chickens  for more years than I care to remember, and I've never vaccinated one. Proper food (especially grass and grain), fresh air and plenty exercise - that's better than any vaccines!

heres hoping you stick around so what breeds do you keep?

[Old Whiskers]

Vaccines?  :roll:  I've been hatching and keeping chickens  for more years than I care to remember, and I've never vaccinated one. Proper food (especially grass and grain), fresh air and plenty exercise - that's better than any vaccines!

heres hoping you stick around so what breeds do you keep?

Mostly Marans, Light Sussex and crosses between the two. Also a few Barnvelders. What about yourself?

[Foxy]

salmon faverolles, bantam orpingtons.... I have a few cochins but I only breed the 2 first ones

[Old Whiskers]

Foxy, maybe you (or anyone else) could give me some advice?  I'm thinking of getting a Cornish Game cockerel to improve the quality of the cockerels I kill for the table.  I have no experience of this breed, and I'm wondering... will he assassinate my other cocks?  My Marans cocks are pretty tough, but I have a couple of very big Light Sussex cocks who might be at risk.

[GrannieAnnie]

Because so many new people keep asking about vaccines, I've just bought 2 lots, the combined one for Newcastle's  disease and infectious bronchitus, and the one for avian encephalomelitus.  They are for our next batch of day olds, but for 200 chicks, I've had to buy the doses in 1,000.  What isn't used will be thrown away.  I've also enquired from the poultry vet about a salmonella vaccine, but they wold have to be done twice before we sell them at POL and those 2 lots would cost over £74, plus we'd have a long drive up to the vets to collect them, about another £20 in petrol.  

Our chicks are vaccinated at day old by the hatchery for Mareks anyway, and with the vaccines I've got, I think I will leave it at that.  Like Old Whiskers, I've never vaccinated them before, and all our chooks are healthy, the only one that died did eat all the foxgloves and everything else in this man's garden, so he thinks it was that rather than an illness!!

But good husbandry when you are caring for your chickens is more important than anything else!!!!

[Paddywack]

Hi Old Whiskers

When your Marans and Light Sussex cross, what type of bird are you getting, i guess they would be a good size, are they good layers and are they good table birds?

[Old Whiskers]

Hi Old Whiskers

When your Marans and Light Sussex cross, what type of bird are you getting, i guess they would be a good size, are they good layers and are they good table birds?

Hallo Paddywhack,
They come out very attractive - like a pale Marans, especially pale around the neck (funnily enough where the Sussex is darker!); but the most unusual thing - the hens' combs are large and all flop over to one side, unlike either of their parents!  They come out fine strong birds, good layers of pale brown/pinkish eggs. The cockerels make good eating birds:  I allow them to run on till they're about 8 months, hand-feeding them every evening with a mash of flaked maize.

[Paddywack]

Hi Old Whiskers

When your Marans and Light Sussex cross, what type of bird are you getting, i guess they would be a good size, are they good layers and are they good table birds?

Hallo Paddywhack,
They come out very attractive - like a pale Marans, especially pale around the neck (funnily enough where the Sussex is darker!); but the most unusual thing - the hens' combs are large and all flop over to one side, unlike either of their parents!  They come out fine strong birds, good layers of pale brown/pinkish eggs. The cockerels make good eating birds:  I allow them to run on till they're about 8 months, hand-feeding them every evening with a mash of flaked maize.

Thanks for that Old Whiskers,

I got some Light Sussex, Marrans ( 7 months old) and warrens this year bought them as 1 week old, since they have matured the cocks have been treading any of the hens so i have been hatching some interesting crosses, some that look like speckle Light Sussex and some as you have described. I am surprised to get what looks like a white Sussex which are about 8 weeks old now, this confusers me! any ideas on how this could happen (i thought the offspring would take a bit from both parents not lose some) ?

this last week i have separated them in to there own breeds, except for 5 Light Sussex hens i have put with a RIR Cockerel, i understand these should hatch warrens?    

Thanks again for the reply

[Old Whiskers]

Paddywhack, when you cross Light Sussex hens with a RIR cock, you'll get two kinds of chicks: brown ones and white ones.  The brown ones will all be hens, and the white ones will all be cocks. It's called  sex-linkage.

[Paddywack]

Old Whiskers,

Thanks for the colouring advice on sex linkage, i knew about it but was not sure which way round it was ( i would have ended up with a pen full of cockerels)

What would this cross be called, is it a warren, if not is the cross worthwhile,
would appreciate your advice

Thanks

[Old Whiskers]

As far as I know, Warren Studlers are a hybrid chicken brought about by God-knows-what genetic messing about.  Your hybrids are just known as RIRxSussex, and they are great birds.  When poultry keeping really took off, after WWII, they were the most popular hybrid used.  But one thing to remember - with all breeds of hen, the strain is at least as (and maybe more) important than the breed.  You can get a strain of RIR which will comprehensively outlay another strain, even though they're technically the same breed.  I had a few "show strain" RIR pullets which were useless, even though they looked beautiful.  Hens are like people - handsome is as handsome does!