Vaccinated vs Unvaccinated Chicks? | Healthy Home Economist

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 in your youngsters this Vacation.

Like many dad and mom, I bought child chicks for my youngsters 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 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 at all times been thought of 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vaccination have occurred with vaccination by eye drop, coarse spray and nice spray, subcutaneous injection at day outdated, and the more and more well-liked ‘in-ovo’ injection a number of days earlier than the chick hatches.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 conserving 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 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By comparability, unvaccinated hens I’ve stored through the years will lay often till they’re 5-6 years outdated!

Vaccinated Hens Are Sickly

One other drawback with hens that had been vaccinated as chicks is that they are usually 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 may be questioning why I acquired 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!

Weaker Hens Most popular 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 because 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 an inclination to go for these animals because it offers a better charge 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 on condition 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 value it to spend the time looking for out unvaccinated chicks.

And, in fact, after getting 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 funding in my expertise.

As well as, who is aware of what the decreased dietary worth of their eggs may be because 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 one of these egg.

Even when the egg appears to be like regular, nevertheless, are the yolk and white truly 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 child chicks you choose for your loved ones to develop up into egg layers are unmedicalized.

Feed Retailer

Some feed shops can have unvaccinated chicks.

Trace: These institutions will virtually at all times be independently owned.

Nevertheless, some regionally owned feed shops can 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 number of 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 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 acquired a big, formidable, and but mild cockerel from a neighborhood rooster sanctuary. You don’t even have to lift them from a chick in the event you don’t need to.

Be aware that hatching chicks laid from unvaccinated hens goes to supply the very best 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!

References

(1) Vaccination within the Hatchery

(2) Poultry Vaccinations

(3) Hoover’s Hatchery