Most of the vaccines we suggest through Thrums Backyard flock vaccine club are for viruses which cannot be effectively controlled with antibiotics, so it is worth ensuring your birds are protected even if they haven’t had health challenges in the past. The key is to provide current protection to prevent signs of disease in the future. We are striving to reduce antibiotic usage in livestock and vaccines are a core part of this strategy. Good biosecurity such as keeping the birds away from other livestock and wild birds, cleaning their drinking water daily, changing your clothing and footwear and washing your hands will help keep diseases at bay, but are not always easy, practical or failsafe.