Bavavia38 Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 I have six laying hens already who I believe are vaccinated. My query related to a little chick (no relation to my hens) who wandered into our garden a few weeks ago. We've been hand rearing it and it seems to be doing very well. Now that it's a bit bigger, we can tell that it's definately a chicken. Plans are afoot to move it outside (away from, but near, the hens) as it can't stay inside for much longer. I'll bring it into the (heated) garage at night when it's cold, until it's fully grown. My query is - is it recommended to vaccinate the chick? If so, at what age? I guess it's about 6 weeks old at present. In respect of the hens, is it worth redoing them also (given that I don't know if they were originally - they're about 9 months old)? Any advice would be welcome. Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Welcome to the forum....although I can see you joined a while ago. Your chick is what is know as a Chicken of Fate on this forum ...ie a chicken which turns up out of the blue, and appears to have come from nowhere in particular. Vaccination is only absolutely necessary if chicks are raised on a commercial scale. For the back yard keeper, there is no real need. I have a couple of unvaccinated chicks. Any idea what breed it is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bavavia38 Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 Thanks for your reply. I have absolutely no idea what type of chicken it is. At first, I thought it might be a pheasant chick (we have quite a few which pass through our garden) but it was quite a yellow, fluffy chick and they're more brown. Now that it's loosing it's fluff, it has white feathers with a slight speckle of brown. Not dissimilar to my hens which are Sussexs. I'd love to know where it came from. It just turned up one night when I was cleaning my lot out. My mum reckons it might have been dropped prey! It was a little scratched and listless when it first arrived. It sneezes a little. Should I do anything about this? Aside from that it's like an energiser chick - ie. constantly on the go! Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 You could try it with a few drops of Citricidal in its drinking water. Available in the Omlet shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
