Any South East Poultry Farmers? Need advice!

[JuicyFatHead]

We've just moved back to Western North Carolina from Alaska. What diseases should I be concerned with here? I imagine since it's warmer and humid in the summers I'm looking at more of a challenge with our birds. We never had disease in Alaska.

I'm placing an order for chicks soon and I wonder if I should vaccinate? We have dogs and will soon have sheep. I was reading Cocci can be transmitted to dogs?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Wisher1000]

Hey, JFH, welcome back to God's country.

Coccidiosis is the most common, but there are others. I do not vacinate, though I would if I had problems or if there was something going on, locally, that required it. The secret to being disease free (or at least low) is cleanliness. You must not let the bedding get dirty to the point of being moist. It means fewer birds per square foot and routine cleaning.

I culled my whole flock of layers because I had an outbreak of Coryza (after years of seeing none of it) that must have come in from wild birds. I have dealt with cocci several times and I have blackhead in my soil, meaning I cannot keep turkeys.

My suggestion is to call your State Ag office to inquire about NPIP testing in your state and to speak to the state vet about what you have in your area. It is much easier to prevent disease than to treat it.

Good Luck and let us know if you need anything.

 

[JuicyFatHead]

Great advice, thank you! In Alaska my turkeys ranged with my chickens. I know that's pretty unheard of, but you can do it there. I'm thinking if all is clear (the land we bought has never been farmed), I'll fence off the destined turkey area before letting chickens touch the ground.

Thanks for the insight.

 

[JuicyFatHead]

What aboout worms? Is that an issue down here?

 

[dawg53]

Yes, worms will be an issue. How often you worm depends on your soil conditions. Warm moist or wet soil soil may require frequent wormings. Cool/cold soil or rocky mountainous soil or desertlike soil may require less worming.
Here where I live, I worm every 3 months sometimes sooner if there's alot of rain like we had last year. Birds that dont free range require frequent wormings because they are on the same soil all the time. I use 4 types of wormers: Valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer, Safeguard liquid goat wormer, liquid pyrantal pamoate and Zimectrin Gold equine paste strictly for tapeworms.
Natural products dont cut it when dealing with worms.

 

[JuicyFatHead]

I took notes. Thanks for the info! I was born in raised in JAX btw.