Does it matter whether or not you purchase vaccinated or unvaccinated child chicks to create or develop your yard flock of egg-laying hens?

With Easter simply a few weeks away, I believed I might pen just a few phrases about shopping for chicks to your youngsters this Vacation.

Like many mother and father, I bought child chicks for my youngsters at Easter, who rapidly grew inside just a few weeks to egg-laying birds that we saved in a yard coop.

As I’ve been a yard poultry keeper for practically a dozen years now, I believed I might opine on my expertise with vaccinated versus vaccinated birds over time!

Does it actually matter? The reply would possibly shock you.

Most Hatcheries Vaccinate Chicks Whereas Nonetheless within the Egg

For a few years, vaccination within the hatchery was thought-about the “greatest case situation” for child chicks. (1)

For a few years, only some vaccines have been administered. These included:

• Marek’s illness (MD)
• Infectious bronchitis (IB)
• Coccidiosis
• Newcastle illness (ND)
• Swollen head syndrome (SHS)

In recent times, new developments in chick vaccination have occurred with vaccination by eye drop, coarse spray and superb spray, subcutaneous injection at day outdated, and the more and more widespread ‘in-ovo’ injection just a few days earlier than the chick hatches. Under is a video of the method.

This has allowed many extra injections to happen.

Vaccinated Hens Don’t Lay As Lengthy!

In my expertise holding egg-laying hens, people who have been vaccinated as chicks don’t have a tendency to put eggs very lengthy.

Whereas they appear to put usually for the primary 12 months to 12 months and a half, after that, egg manufacturing declines sharply in contrast with unvaccinated hens.

By comparability, unvaccinated hens I’ve saved over time will lay frequently till they’re 5-6 years outdated!

Vaccinated Hens Are Sickly

One other downside with hens that have been vaccinated as chicks is that they are usually far more sickly.

To provide you some concept, out of a batch of 6 vaccinated chicks I raised a bit of over Three years in the past, solely 2 stay (and a type of is at the moment sick and has solely ever laid deformed eggs).

A few of you is likely to be questioning why I obtained vaccinated chicks to start with.

The reason being that I used to be underneath the impression that the feed retailer the place I purchased them had unvaxed chicks. Sadly, this was a mistake on my half.

This error, nevertheless, gave me a perspective for comparability, which I’m now sharing with you!

All the time Insist on Unvaxed Chicks!

My advice to those that maintain yard hens is that it’s price it to spend the time looking for out unvaccinated chicks.

You spend a number of time elevating these infants into adults, and sickly birds that don’t lay as lengthy just isn’t an excellent funding in my expertise.

As well as, who is aware of what the decreased dietary worth of their eggs is likely to be resulting from this medicalization?

The place to Get Unvaccinated Chicks

There are 3 ways to make sure that the newborn chicks you choose for your loved ones to develop up into egg layers are unmedicalized.

Feed Retailer

Some feed shops may have unvaccinated chicks.

Trace: These institutions will nearly all the time be independently owned.

Nonetheless, some domestically owned feed shops may have vaccinated chicks too, so you should definitely ask and don’t assume (which was my mistake!).

Hatcheries

Whereas fewer and fewer hatcheries are providing unvaccinated chicks, there are nonetheless just a few round.

Hoover’s Hatchery is the one I like to recommend trying into (you choose vaccination standing at checkout).

The minimal buy is 15 chicks, so shopping for with a pal or two is a good suggestion for those who solely need just a few chicks at a time.

Hatch Your Personal!

One other nice possibility is to hatch your personal chicks.

All you want is a rooster and a DIY egg incubator to get began.

Be aware that hatching chicks laid from unvaccinated hens goes to provide the most effective outcomes!

Have you ever seen a distinction at your home between the well being and egg-laying capability between vaccinated and unvaccinated hens?

Please share your expertise with us!

References

(1) Vaccination within the Hatchery

(2) Poultry Vaccinations

(3) Hoover’s Hatchery