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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 believed I might pen a couple of 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 a couple of 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 believed I might opine on my expertise with vaccinated versus vaccinated birds over time!
Does it actually matter? The reply may 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, only some vaccines had been administered. These included:
- Marek’s illness (MD)
- Infectious bronchitis (IB)
- Coccidiosis
- Newcastle illness (ND)
- Swollen head syndrome (SHS)
Lately, new developments in chick vaccination have occurred with vaccination by eye drop, coarse spray and superb spray, subcutaneous injection at day previous, and the more and more well-liked ‘in-ovo’ injection a couple of days earlier than the chick hatches. Beneath is a video of the method.
This has allowed many extra injections to happen.
Vaccinated Hens Don’t Lay As Lengthy!
In my expertise maintaining egg-laying hens, people 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 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 stored over time will lay commonly 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 way more sickly.
To provide you some thought, out of a batch of 6 vaccinated chicks I raised somewhat over 3 years in the past, solely 2 stay (and a kind of is at the moment sick and has solely ever laid deformed eggs).
A few of you may 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, nonetheless, gave me a perspective for comparability, which I’m now sharing with you!
Weaker Hens Most well-liked 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 as a result of some heavy improvement in a rural space to the north of our neighborhood.
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 an inclination to go for these animals because it gives a better 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 advice to those that maintain yard hens is that it’s price it to spend the time in search of out unvaccinated chicks.
And, after all, after you have these cuties, you should definitely feed them natural unmedicated feed!
You spend a number of time elevating these infants into adults, and sickly birds that don’t lay as lengthy aren’t a very good funding in my expertise.
As well as, who is aware of what the decreased dietary worth of their eggs may be as a result of this medicalization?
For instance, certainly one of my vaxed hens persistently lays deformed eggs (and at all times has). I’ve by no means had an unvaxed hen lay such a egg.
Even when the egg appears to be like regular, nonetheless, are the yolk and white truly the identical? We don’t know at this level. I haven’t discovered any analysis that has seemed 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 may have unvaccinated chicks.
Trace: These institutions will virtually at all times be independently owned.
Nevertheless, 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 a couple of round.
Hoover’s Hatchery is the one I like to recommend wanting 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 in the event you solely need a couple of chicks at a time.
Hatch Your Personal!
One other nice choice is to hatch your individual chicks.
All you want is a rooster and a DIY egg incubator to get began.
We obtained a big, formidable, and but light cockerel from an area rooster sanctuary. You don’t even have to boost them from a chick in the event you don’t need to.
Be aware that hatching chicks laid from unvaccinated hens goes to supply one of the best 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
