Biosecurity advice greatly needed!

[Pork Pie]

Personally I'd use the vet fees to buy from a hatchery or reputable breeder. Maybe search on what to look for in a healthy bird?

 

[aart]

Some things can be determined from a fecal float...mostly just intestinal parasites, as far as I know
I've read good things about this place, but have never used them:
http://www.midamericaagresearch.net/instructions.php

Some things can be found doing a tracheal swab...respiratory diseases.

You'd have to ask your vet what they can do and how much it will cost.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

His original flock he got about 2 years ago from different neighbors. There was only 1 problem chicken who turned out to be an egg eater. Which he successfully fixed with ideas from BYC In March he got 13 chicks he ordered from Southern States (it's like a Tractor Supply). He did proper quaranting with them at our families insistence. He means well with the chickens but he's 70 yrs old and thinks if his Momma threw scraps to her chickens and didn't do anything else with em then his should be okay. He was 5 then and I doubt he saw the other stuff she did for them lol.

I'll take care of getting the area cleaned up properly and taking all the precautions suggested so as not to bring anything home on me. I'll also hold off on taking 2 of the 4 we wanted for now. I was going to quarantine 2 and if that and integration went well I'd take 2 more and repeat. If he maintains the sanitation and proper feeding and I see improvement in the flock I'll revisit the idea of bringing any home in the future. How would I test the specific chickens though? Take them to a vet or just get stool samples?

Edit: Lovely so even with higher protein and a safe clean environment there's still that chance of it being feather picking. I'm not opposed to using the beak bumper things if that'll help reduce damage done. I haven't used them before so not sure if it would help or not.

You have got a lot of good advice here, I know little to nothing my chicks coming in the spring but I do know that I will never bring adult birds into the flock.

I think there must be a good reason that most people are saying don't do it.....

Good luck

Gary from Idyllwild Ca here

 

[lazy gardener]

I also agree. Under no circumstances, would I bring any of these birds onto my land. Personally, I'd simply place a call to ACO and let them deal with it. While it's a noble idea to go and clean up his mess for him, it is not going to change his ongoing neglect issues. Cleaning up his mess is not going to make him suddenly care enough to provide them with adequate nutrition.

 

[centrarchid]

Pictures of potential bird source would be nice. A lot is being stated and assumed here without much evidence that others can use as a guide.

 

[Mrs. K]

Feeling sorry for some birds is a very poor idea for your current flock. Personally, I would mind my own business, not go near his chickens, and buy any new chickens I wanted from a place that I was happy with.

How someone else treats their chickens is their business.

Mrs K

 

[BeachMomma]

Thank you @aart for that link. I'll have him get some of the birds tested. Better to do it either way just to see if there's something internal going on that I haven't seen signs of, etc. Plus with the new drug regulations he'll need to get set up with a poultry vet anyway for emergencies.

@centrarchid I plan on going up this wkend and get before/after pictures of the enclosures as well as a couple of the rough feather looking hens. We're supposed to get snow so it'll depend on the roads.


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If this was some random person it would be different but as I stated this is a close family member so it isn't a matter of minding my own business type thing. Not gonna turn my back on family that needs help and willing to accept it. The blowup that happened over the wkend shook him up pretty good and his wife let me know he's been out there cleaning up what he's able to and the food situation is taken care of with 100 lbs worth of food. Again, taking any of the birds was never a definite thing. Something my husband would of liked to do but the decision is and always will be mine. My main concern and asking for advice was the biosecurity precautions I needed to take for the safety of my flock. I've got a rooster so really I don't need to buy chickens when I could wait till a hen goes broody.

 

[Folly's place]

Good for you! And good for his birds! Mary