Chantelle Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Ok so where i live there only appears to be small breeders of hens i know know i want pure bred hens of a couple of breeds at pol age as ive never had chooks and this is. My first chicken adventure im trying to get it right, i have. Now read that they dont tend to vaccinate on smaller breeding farms and ifk i go to buy my babys couldnt they lie and just tell me their vaccinated? Or do i get some kind of papers with them? soory if thats sounds a little foolish. Ive also thought if i do bvuy them can i just take them to the vetss to Get jabed? Does anyone know. How much it costs, do they have to be inoculated, i mean i want them to be healthy but like your dog only needs regular boosters if their going in kennels these girls will get a permanant home and not be moved so is it nessessary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Hybrid hens sold by supploers who source them from the big hatcheries will always be vaccinated Vaccinations are injected or more commonly sprayed on batches of chicks in a strict timetable from hatch up to about 6 weeks old, there is a whole raft of things that they cover Vaccinating on a large scale is sensible as many will end up in intensive environments laying eggs for commercial purposes and so disease control needs to be agressive Pure bred chickens from small scale breeders will not usually be vaccinated, this is because they will most likely end up in a small flock that has plenty of room, fresh air etc.. the ethos of most pure breed breeders is that they would rather have a naturally resistant flock and that vaccinating is actually unnecessary The odd pure breed breeder will vaccinate against Mareks disease but even that is rarely done vaccinations are sold in industrial sized quantities and so vaccination of small batches of chicks is not cost effective as once opened the vaccines have a life of hours A small scale breeder who says they supply fully vaccinated chickens is probably not being completely truthful. I know of a couple that breed on a bigger scale that do and could produce a record to show that (but not a bit of paper for you if that makes sense) I also know that a place near me advertsies fully vaccinated birds but buys from breeders who dont vaccinate so I have no idea how they can say that! Vaccinations after 6 weeks old have very very limited sucess I believe and certainly you cant just take your chickens for boosters, if vaccinated they dont need boosters and if not vaccinated injecting them at POL isnt going to help I can see how the average buyer would think its a good thing and what a responsible owner would do but to the average breeder its not a desirable or beneficial thing to do If its important to you I would recommend that hybrids are the best opt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantelle Posted April 21, 2013 Author Share Posted April 21, 2013 No its not important if its normal i just didnt wNt to be neglectful if it is normality to uy chickens that have been vaccinated and i also dont want to go and buy chooks and go and put them through the trauma of a needle unessecaily, not to mension pay all the extra a local (very small) breeder is asking for and it all be a lie... Which i get he distinct inmpression. May be the case if this can only be bought iin large format as a vacine why would a small time back ard keeper invest?? Id rather buy from some ne respective whos going to at least tell me the truth... Theres so many out there but how can ou tell the good ones is there anything i shoulgd be looking. For other than going with my gut inStinct? And thanx redwing youve been really helpfull all the way xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
