Are chickens really evil or just misunderstood, at least concerning biosecurity?

[Susan Skylark]

So I’ve been haunting byc for about a year and raising coturnix quail for a few months longer than that, during that time I’ve run across several posts regarding ‘keep chickens away from quail/gamebirds because they carry lethal diseases for gamebirds.’ Does anybody have a list or even an example? Certainly merricks could be in that category as would avian influenza, but how about from apparently healthy chickens, what lethal bugs will wipe out my quail flock but not affect the source chicken? I’m asking this professionally and seriously, does anybody really know or is this one of those internet rumors? I’m talking about things with aerosol transmission or that can be spread from the environment or something like clothes, not direct contact or things like body fluids (rabies). And things like coccidia and mites that already affect gamebirds without a handy chicken source don’t count either!

So here are the rules for this round of name that pathogen:

The source must be apparently healthy chickens (No AI!)

Transmission must be through air, environment or contact with clothes etc.

No diseases already endemic to gamebirds (coccidia, mites…)

Disease must cause significant morbidity and mortality in naive gamebirds (no fowl pox or other minor illnesses)

If I take my quail to a show or a swap meet, where other birds are, but there is no direct contact, what can they bring home?

Or is this more of a general biosecurity issue rather than chickens in particular, I should use practical measures to keep my flock isolated from all strange birds, not just chickens (that’s my working theory). And if that is the case (as I’m having trouble coming up with any disease in any two species that meets those criteria) maybe we should start advising on good biosecurity measures instead of just saying ‘beware the chicken,’ because the house sparrows and that new quail I just bought are just as likely to carry something as my neighbors chickens. What are your thoughts? Can you name a disease of interest?

 

[FrostRanger]

Dunno about quail but I do know for turkeys chickens can be carriers for blackhead disease. Completely harmless to chickens but often fatal in turkeys

 

[Beau plus penny]

So I’ve been haunting byc for about a year and raising coturnix quail for a few months longer than that, during that time I’ve run across several posts regarding ‘keep chickens away from quail/gamebirds because they carry lethal diseases for gamebirds.’ Does anybody have a list or even an example? Certainly merricks could be in that category as would avian influenza, but how about from apparently healthy chickens, what lethal bugs will wipe out my quail flock but not affect the source chicken? I’m asking this professionally and seriously, does anybody really know or is this one of those internet rumors? I’m talking about things with aerosol transmission or that can be spread from the environment or something like clothes, not direct contact or things like body fluids (rabies). And things like coccidia and mites that already affect gamebirds without a handy chicken source don’t count either!

So here are the rules for this round of name that pathogen:

The source must be apparently healthy chickens (No AI!)

Transmission must be through air, environment or contact with clothes etc.

No diseases already endemic to gamebirds (coccidia, mites…)

Disease must cause significant morbidity and mortality in naive gamebirds (no fowl pox or other minor illnesses)

If I take my quail to a show or a swap meet, where other birds are, but there is no direct contact, what can they bring home?

Or is this more of a general biosecurity issue rather than chickens in particular, I should use practical measures to keep my flock isolated from all strange birds, not just chickens (that’s my working theory). And if that is the case (as I’m having trouble coming up with any disease in any two species that meets those criteria) maybe we should start advising on good biosecurity measures instead of just saying ‘beware the chicken,’ because the house sparrows and that new quail I just bought are just as likely to carry something as my neighbors chickens. What are your thoughts? Can you name a disease of interest?

not all chicken carry disease if that were case chickens would all die. its just that chickens can get a wide array of disease like coccidiosis which can be treated and also people wont bring birds to shows if they have any lice or mites pretty sure the rules say something about tthat also gamebirds could spread disease to chickens as can chicken spread disease against them. chickens are not evil that angels. im not really sure what the post is asking tho.

 

[Susan Skylark]

I’m joking about chickens being evil, it is just I’ve seen so many ‘beware of chickens’ warnings I can’t help myself, we should practice good biosecurity no matter your species. We also all carry pathogens, in small numbers, it is when the conditions are right and they get out of hand that disease occurs. Shipping fever (pastuerellla/manheimia) in cattle is endemic to bovine sinuses and nasal tissue but stress can cause the buggers to explode and cause lethal pneumonia in previously healthy cattle. It is mostly about conditions not just pathogens, without the right conditions a potential pathogen is just another nameless bug! Blackhead in turkeys is a great example! Malignant cattarhal fever in cattle (carried by sheep) and blue tongue in sheep (carried by cattle) are also examples but both diseases are fairly rare. Keep them coming!

 

[Perris]

Please edit your OP to correct merricks to Mareks. It's difficult to take a conversation about diseases seriously when a typo like that lands in the first para.