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 number of phrases about shopping for chicks on your children this Vacation.

Like many mother and father, I bought child chicks for my children at Easter, who rapidly grew inside a number 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 of by the business to be the “finest 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)

Lately, 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 a number 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 frequently 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 present you some concept, out of a batch of 6 vaccinated chicks I raised just a little over 3 years in the past, solely 2 stay (and a type of is at present sick and has solely ever laid deformed eggs).

A few of you could be 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, 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 seen over time is that the vaccinated hens are focused extra by predators.

For instance, during the last 5 years we’ve more and more skilled hawk assaults in our neighborhood on account 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 the next 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 on condition that they had been extra sickly anyway, I doubt that it was happenstance.

At all times Insist on Unvaxed Chicks!

My suggestion to those that preserve yard hens is that it’s price it to spend the time in search of out unvaccinated chicks.

And, after all, after getting these cuties, you’ll want to feed them natural unmedicated feed!

You spend a variety of time elevating these infants into adults, and sickly birds that don’t lay as lengthy aren’t funding in my expertise.

As well as, who is aware of what the decreased dietary worth of their eggs could be on account of this medicalization?

For instance, one in all 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 really the identical? We do not 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 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 virtually at all times be independently owned.

Nevertheless, some regionally owned feed shops could have vaccinated chicks too, so you’ll want to ask and don’t assume (which was my mistake!).

Hatcheries

Whereas fewer and fewer hatcheries are providing unvaccinated chicks, there are nonetheless a number 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 number of chicks at a time.

Hatch Your Personal!

One other nice possibility 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 an area rooster sanctuary. You don’t even have to boost them from a chick in the event you don’t wish to.

Word that hatching chicks laid from unvaccinated hens goes to provide one of the best outcomes!

Have you ever seen 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!

References

(1) Vaccination within the Hatchery

(2) Poultry Vaccinations

(3) Hoover’s Hatchery