Kathy Golla
Crowing
I'm glad that has worked out for you. It doesn't always go so well for the rest of us.
Unfortunately I have been dealing with a prior owner of our property who raised livestock with a high parasite load in our soil (confirmed by a vet) and to my knowledge nobody yet has found a way to control the weather and prevent the wet cool springs we have here that make coccidia thrive in the soil no matter how much you rake and clean the runs.
Sometimes good management isn't enough. I do not believe in breeding for resistance either. I've had that little experience blow up in my face and lost over 2/3rds of my flock to Mareks thanks to birds that were 'resistant'. Things don't always go as you hope.
If my birds do become sick with something that only an antibiotic will cure, even if it's just a rooster with an infected eye from fighting, I want to be able to purchase medications that will save it's life and hopefully it's vision. And NO! There is no avian vet near me. I begged our local vet to help me when I suspected that I had Marek's in my flock. He treats emus and ostriches but won't touch a chicken and wouldn't help me other than telling me how to treat coccidia.
As I said. What and who this is hurting is the small flock holder like me who has no veterinary care available and who wants to treat a sick or injured bird.
Maybe we should en mass write our local elected representatives and tell them our stories. Maybe they can do something. I doubt it somehow. It's not an election year until next year. And after all, we are just chicken owners.
