What vaccines do chicks need and where do I get it?

Posted on Feb 15, 2010 under Chicks |

Q I am going to raise my own chicks but don’t know what vaccines they need or where to get it. I am planning on selling the chicks as they get to POL and want to be sure they are in good health. I have read up alot about how to raise them but can’t find anything on vaccines! I am buying fertilized eggs mail order as I don’t have a broody hen. ( all mine are ex battery hens). Please Help and thanks in advance.

A When Chicks are hatched they should be given the vaccine for Merrick’s disease. Most U.S. hatcheries provide them. Call your state veterinarian, and ask your county agriculture officer, and ask about risks about chicks with Merrick’s. Try your local Blue Seal Feeds store, Tractor Supply Company store, or another agricultural store to find more info/the vaccine. Merrick’s disease is a bacteria that has become common in chicks age hatch-POL. It paralyzes the chicken from the neck down.

The chick is unable to move, therefore it dies a slow and painful death of hunger and thirst. But once a chick get’s Merrick’s, it’s very difficult to bring it back. When they get to POL, call the state vet to have him/her come out and test your birds for Salmonella and Bird flu. In the state of Connecticut, the vet charges $5 to go out to your home, and $1 for each bird tested. It consists of taking a scalpel and cutting its wing, taking some blood, a vaccine and a ID band around its ankle, which is helpful when you sell them, if the future owner wants to send them in a show

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One Response to “What vaccines do chicks need and where do I get it?”

  1. The Chicken Queen Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 3:09 pm

    When chicks are hatched they should be given the vaccine for Merrick’s disease. Most U.S. hatcheries provide them. Call your state veterinarian, and ask your county agriculture officer, and ask about risks about chicks with Merrick’s. Try your local Blue Seal Feeds store, Tractor Supply Company store, or another agricultural store to find more info/the vaccine.

    Merrick’s disease is a bacteria that has become common in chicks age hatch-POL. It paralyzes the chicken from the neck down. The chick is unable to move, therefore it dies a slow and painful death of hunger and thirst. But once a chick get’s Merrick’s, it’s very difficult to bring it back. When they get to POL, call the state vet to have him/her come out and test your birds for Salmonella and Bird flu. In the state of Connecticut, the vet charges $5 to go out to your home, and $1 for each bird tested. It consists of taking a scalpel and cutting its wing, taking some blood, a vaccine and a ID band around its ankle, which is helpful when you sell them, if the future owner wants to send them in a show
    References :

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