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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 in your children this Vacation.
Like many dad and mom, I bought child chicks for my children at Easter, who shortly grew inside a couple of weeks to egg-laying birds that we saved 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 through the years!
Does it actually matter? The reply would possibly shock you.
Most Hatcheries Vaccinate Chicks Whereas Nonetheless within the Egg
Vaccination within the hatchery has all the time been thought of by the trade to be the “finest case state of affairs” 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)
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vaccination have occurred with vaccination by eye drop, coarse spray and superb spray, subcutaneous injection at day outdated, and the more and more widespread ‘in-ovo’ injection a couple of days earlier than the chick hatches.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 retaining 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By comparability, unvaccinated hens I’ve saved through the years will lay often till they’re 5-6 years outdated!
Vaccinated Hens Are Sickly
One other downside with hens that had been vaccinated as chicks is that they are usually way more sickly.
To provide you some concept, out of a batch of 6 vaccinated chicks I raised a little bit 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 is perhaps questioning why I bought vaccinated chicks to start with.
The reason being that I used to be beneath 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 through the years 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 consequence of some heavy growth 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 a tendency to go for these animals because it offers a better price of success.
Is it only a coincidence that each single hen I’ve misplaced to a hawk over the previous few years was vaccinated? Maybe, however provided that they had been extra sickly anyway, I doubt that it was happenstance.
At all times Insist on Unvaxed Chicks!
My advice to those that hold yard hens is that it’s value it to spend the time searching for out unvaccinated chicks.
And, after all, after getting these cuties, make sure you feed them natural unmedicated feed!
You spend numerous time elevating these infants into adults, and sickly birds that don’t lay as lengthy should not funding in my expertise.
As well as, who is aware of what the decreased dietary worth of their eggs is perhaps as a consequence of this medicalization?
For instance, one in all my vaxed hens persistently lays deformed eggs (and all the time has). I’ve by no means had an unvaxed hen lay this sort of egg.
Even when the egg appears to be like regular, nonetheless, are the yolk and white really 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 infant 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 all the time 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 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 when 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 bought a big, formidable, and but mild cockerel from a neighborhood rooster sanctuary. You don’t even have to boost them from a chick when you don’t need to.
Be aware that hatching chicks laid from unvaccinated hens goes to supply the most effective outcomes!
Have you ever observed a distinction at your 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
