vaccinate my Langshan chicks

JOHN1988 · **Joined:** Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:06 pm **Posts:** 3

I want to vaccinate my Langshan chicks but they are now 3 weeks old is that too old? I want to avoid some of the pit falls below

Commercial poultry are usually vaccinated to protect them against a variety of diseases. Vaccination, however, is seldom practiced by small flock owners. There may be several reasons for this, including:

Rarely have disease problems

Unaware that disease is present

Do not get the disease properly diagnosed

Do not know where to purchase vaccines

Too expensive because poultry vaccines usually come in 500 to 10,000 dose vials.

Unfortunately, small poultry flocks do suffer from many diseases which could be controlled through appropriate vaccination. These diseases may result in loss of income from the sale of eggs, meat or stock. Other losses may include death of valuable breeding stock, or the inability to participate at poultry shows. This can be especially devastating for youth with 4-H or FFA projects.

Deciding whether or not to vaccinate against a disease depends on the likelihood that the birds in a flock may be exposed to that specific disease. If a flock is closed, such that new birds are never introduced and the birds that leave the farm are not permitted to return, the likelihood of many diseases is greatly reduced. In these cases, since the risk is small, the owner may decide not to vaccinate.

Vaccination should be considered if the flock owner has experienced one or more of the following:

Takes birds to poultry shows

Buys birds from hatcheries, bird auctions, or other sources and adds them to an existing flock

Has had disease problems in the past

J.P. Jacob, G.D. Butcher, and F.B. Mather2
University of Florida

andre · **Joined:** Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:21 pm **Posts:** 612

If they have not been exposed to disease (particularly marek's) then it is OK to vaccinate them. If they have already been exposed then its pointless. This is the reason why the commercial hatcheries vaccinate their chicks pre-hatch or as day olds.

JOHN1988 · **Joined:** Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:06 pm **Posts:** 3

They have been out side the hole time so it maybe pointless now I guess. So I take it they should be done at day old?

idealducks · **Joined:** Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:34 am **Posts:** 3

Did you buy them or breed them because if you bought them from a commercial breeder they may have already vaccinated them.

JOHN1988 · **Joined:** Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:06 pm **Posts:** 3

No I bred them. I had heard that commercial farms vaccinate chicks but they don't sell Langs do they?

idealducks · **Joined:** Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:34 am **Posts:** 3

Oh ok yes you will have to do it yourself sorry didn't read that you has bred them

BestBantams · **Joined:** Fri Jul 16, 2010 9:27 pm **Posts:** 1

If you only have a few chooks it’s not worth buying the vaccine as it’s very expensive. It’s really only for large breeders like commercial poultry farms

andre · **Joined:** Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:21 pm **Posts:** 612

Where are you John?

AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

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