[Ben94]

Do ducks need vacanating for egg or meat production?

And people who rear there own chickens do you vaccinate?

[Steph Hen]

Personal preference. If I was keeping a few extensively then no, if I were keeping loads in smaller space I'd be more inclined to. The general advise seems to be not to mix vaccinated and unvaccinated as the vac ones may carry diseases to the unvaccinated birds. How true this is I don't know.

I've reared hundreds of chicks over the years, unvaccinated and had very little in way of disease; probably no more than half a doz (I can only think of three) ill birds over the years, but I've always kept them with plenty of space (brooder was a single bed frame for no more than 40 chicks at a time and later plenty of short, fresh grass, cover and clean houses.

But you do hear of other folk, doing everything like this, who get one sickly bird and within a week they're all ill, so maybe it's just luck.

[Marches Farmer]

The general advise seems to be not to mix vaccinated and unvaccinated as the vac ones may carry diseases to the unvaccinated birds. How true this is I don't know.

It is indeed true.  Vaccinated birds will shed the virus intermittently and it will affect naïve stock.  We once lost some very fine birds through bringing in a cockerel we were told hadn't been vaccinated but in fact had been, even though it was quarantined for six weeks before mixing with the flock.  It's why we only now buy hatching eggs.