[Marches Farmer]

Some diseases will be shed intermittently by the animal or bird, especially when stressed (e.g. going to a new home) and be picked up by naive stock they come into contact with or if strict biosecurity measures (boot dip, etc.) isn't being observed by the new keeper.

[Marches Farmer]

What colour are your welsummers eggs? Also will you have hatching eggs available from welsummer and gold laced wyandotte towards the end of summer?

I kept only a Welsummer cockerel to run with my Legbars and then sold the parent stock so now have only the crossbreed hens laying.  We've kept Welsummers in the past but I wasn't that keen on the temperament and the colour layer on the dark brown shells was much more susceptible to being scratched than that of the Marans we've kept.  We have some excellent Laced Wyandottes - utility type but they also won a 1st and 3rd at the Royal Three Counties last year.  All being well we should have some hatching eggs this Summer.

[farmers wife]

yes you are right the unvaccinated passes on any disease to the vaccinated but depends on what risks you think may happen and the numbers.  If you are relying on the eggs as a business then you cant afford to have sick hens.  Bar mycoplasma I've never had an issues with either types of hens whether vaccinated or not.


Ive gone down the vaccinated route as we are more commercial hence our hens are crosses more than pure.


You can do as much biosecurity however unless its a closed shed you cannot stop wild birds (which bring myclo)


In the past we have had some beautiful hens here costing over £20 each however, after losing a few (fox, jack russell pup, myclo and odd drop dead) we couldnt justify having these beauts here wondering around the yard freely not laying and then dying. Our reason for hens was purely egg driven and decided to opt for a commercial breed at a lower price (which allows for losing the odd 5- 10 over a year).  Ours are pasture raised with electric fence in the summer.


I love to see a beautiful hens however it depends on what you want to do with them.

[Fleecewife]

We have less than a dozen, which are kept purely to supply ourselves and the postie with eggs.  They free range wherever they want but are shut in at night.  You're correct in that we cannot keep wild birds away, from tiny songbirds to large corvids.  We worm the flock with Flubenvet regularly but we've not needed other meds.

[waddy]

yes you are right the unvaccinated passes on any disease to the vaccinated but depends on what risks you think may happen and the numbers.

As far as I am aware it is the vaccinated hens passing on the diseases they carry from being given live vaccines and causing not only unvaccinated stock to get the diseases such as Mareks but potentially the wild bird population as well. A friend of ours had three vaccinated hens and one when about three came down with Mareks. The vet said the vaccine could eventually wear off. Of course if rearing commercial birds they wouldn't last that long but I prefer to keep a closed flock of unvaccinated birds and so far touch wood haven't had any problems.


Helen

[lord flynn]

Another question then....if you mix vaccinated stock with unvaccinated, what happens.

depends on which vaccine is used and I am not sure which (if any) are live these days and its the live ones that carry a small risk of transmission.

The main 'problems' with vaccinated stock as I see it are:

If you do end up with something you've vaccinated against  on your property you might be less likely to see it early with vaccinated stock. Remember vaccination doesnt prevent infection, just (hopefully) prevents full blown disease. So vaccinated stock can still pick it up and pass it on to non-vaccinated but not show any signs themselves and the vaccine isnt  to 'blame'. And then there are those animals with which vaccination will be less successful anyway-its biology, nothing works 100% a 100% of the time.

The other problem is imho many of these commercial birds are pushed very hard from the outset and (apart from the odd one) seem to die quite young or not lay much after their second year. My last hybrid died at the weekend at 4.5 years old. The rest of that batch died or were culled in their second year.

The only way to keep them disease free is to keep wild birds away from them-and pheasants.