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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 assumed I might pen just a few phrases about shopping for chicks to your youngsters this Vacation.
Like many dad and mom, I bought child chicks for my youngsters at Easter, who shortly grew inside just a few weeks to egg-laying birds that we stored in a yard coop.
As I’ve been a yard poultry keeper for a few years now, I assumed 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
Vaccination within the hatchery has at all times been thought-about by the business to be the “greatest case situation” for child chicks. (1)
For a few years, just a few vaccines had 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 fantastic spray, subcutaneous injection at day previous, and the more and more well-liked ‘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, those who had been vaccinated as chicks don’t have a tendency to put eggs very lengthy.
Whereas they appear to put usually for the primary yr to yr and a half, after that, egg manufacturing declines sharply in contrast with unvaccinated hens.
By comparability, unvaccinated hens I’ve stored over time will lay repeatedly till they’re 5-6 years previous!
Vaccinated Hens Are Sickly
One other downside with hens that had been vaccinated as chicks is that they are typically rather more sickly.
To provide you some thought, out of a batch of 6 vaccinated chicks I raised a bit over 3 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 may be questioning why I bought vaccinated chicks to start with.
The reason being that I used to be below 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!
Weaker Hens Most popular by Predators
One other factor I’ve observed over time is that the vaccinated hens are focused extra by predators.
For instance, over the past 5 years we’ve more and more skilled hawk assaults in our neighborhood on account of some heavy growth in a rural space to the north of our group.
With out exception, the hens which have fallen prey to the hawks had been vaccinated.
Predators instinctively know which animals are the weakest and sickest. They have a tendency to go for these animals because it offers the next price of success.
Is it only a coincidence that each single hen I’ve misplaced to a hawk over the previous couple of years was vaccinated? Maybe, however provided that they had been extra sickly anyway, I doubt that it was happenstance.
All the time Insist on Unvaxed Chicks!
My suggestion to those that maintain yard hens is that it’s value it to spend the time looking for out unvaccinated chicks.
And, in fact, after getting these cuties, make sure you feed them natural unmedicated feed!
You spend a whole lot of time elevating these infants into adults, and sickly birds that don’t lay as lengthy will not be a great funding in my expertise.
As well as, who is aware of what the decreased dietary worth of their eggs may be on account of this medicalization?
For instance, considered one of my vaxed hens persistently lays deformed eggs (and at all times has). I’ve by no means had an unvaxed hen lay any such egg.
Even when the egg seems to be regular, nevertheless, are the yolk and white truly the identical? We don’t know at this level. I haven’t discovered any analysis that has appeared into it.
The place to Get Unvaccinated Chicks
There are 3 ways to make sure that the child chicks you choose for your loved ones to develop up into egg layers are unmedicalized.
Feed Retailer
Some feed shops could have unvaccinated chicks.
Trace: These institutions will nearly at all times be independently owned.
Nevertheless, some regionally owned feed shops could have vaccinated chicks too, so make sure you 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 good friend or two is a good suggestion in case you 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.
We bought a big, formidable, and but light cockerel from a neighborhood rooster sanctuary. You don’t even have to lift them from a chick in case you don’t need to.
Be aware that hatching chicks laid from unvaccinated hens goes to supply the perfect outcomes!
Have you ever observed a distinction at your own home between the well being and egg-laying capability between vaccinated and unvaccinated hens?
Please share your expertise with us!
(1) Vaccination within the Hatchery
(2) Poultry Vaccinations
(3) Hoover’s Hatchery
