Biosecurity? REALLY?
- Thread starter dogdollar
- Start date
I free range and I've never had a problem with disease in any of my flocks. I've only had a problem with mites twice. The first time was before I started providing a covered dust bath in this rainy climate. The last time was with a broody that wasn't dust bathing, before I started the habit of taking broodies out to poo, dust bathe, eat and drink once a day.
Maybe I have just been lucky all these years. Maybe I have less of an issue because we have such severe winters. Maybe it makes a difference that you can't just take any chicken to a swap. Flocks/chickens need to be tested, here. Do they require testing for all diseases? No, they don't, but it keeps the number and type of people that swap chickens around much more limited, due to the hassle. I don't know.
My personal belief, because of what I know about nutrition, exercise and the effects of stress on the immune system, is that free ranged chickens on good range are healthier and have a better immune system than the typical confined chicken. If you provide extra space, activity and better nutrition, confined chickens can also be healthier, which I know a lot of people on this forum do.
So far, I've never added adult chickens to an existing flock. If I did, I would quarantine.
For me, health is about managing disease risk, not eliminating even the remotest possibility. It's also about doing everything I can to help my chickens have the strongest immune systems that I can.
I think managing risk can be very different for different flocks. There is such a wide range of variables. I think people need to look at their own situation, when making choices, not just do what may be right for someone else in a totally different situation.
Maybe I have just been lucky all these years. Maybe I have less of an issue because we have such severe winters. Maybe it makes a difference that you can't just take any chicken to a swap. Flocks/chickens need to be tested, here. Do they require testing for all diseases? No, they don't, but it keeps the number and type of people that swap chickens around much more limited, due to the hassle. I don't know.
My personal belief, because of what I know about nutrition, exercise and the effects of stress on the immune system, is that free ranged chickens on good range are healthier and have a better immune system than the typical confined chicken. If you provide extra space, activity and better nutrition, confined chickens can also be healthier, which I know a lot of people on this forum do.
So far, I've never added adult chickens to an existing flock. If I did, I would quarantine.
For me, health is about managing disease risk, not eliminating even the remotest possibility. It's also about doing everything I can to help my chickens have the strongest immune systems that I can.
I think managing risk can be very different for different flocks. There is such a wide range of variables. I think people need to look at their own situation, when making choices, not just do what may be right for someone else in a totally different situation.
Quote:
Your chickens leave scraps?... god help any one or any thing get in the way of my layers and their treats!
Scraps as in tiny microscopic pieces of corm,wheat, millet, etc. Usually see a group of cardinals come out each evening after the flock has returned to roost...they spend alot of time and energy trying to come up with something
Your chickens leave scraps?... god help any one or any thing get in the way of my layers and their treats!
Scraps as in tiny microscopic pieces of corm,wheat, millet, etc. Usually see a group of cardinals come out each evening after the flock has returned to roost...they spend alot of time and energy trying to come up with something
The wild birds live with my chickens, the live in the same shed! And I've never had a problem with them, the wild birds eat a bit of spilt feed, not a lot though. And I enjoy having them around.
Our wild birds gte their own feeders, the geese and turkeys clean up after them... the chickens leave nothing! I haven't seen a wild bird in their run..
Quote:
A way for the government to create hysteria? Are you kidding me?????
Good luck to you, and to your flock.
This is a quote from a Florida Extension Service article.
The chickens pick up the parasite eggs directly by ingesting contaminated feed, water, or litter or by eating snails, earthworms, or other insects (intermediate hosts) which can carry the eggs. Further down it mentions earthworms and grasshoppers as intermediate hosts for roundworms.
Just for the record, here's a link to the article. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM015
Unless you keep your chickens in solitary confinement, away from earthworms, insects, and wild birds, there is a great chance they have worms. The contaminated feed, water, and litter means that it has bird droppings in it, like when an infected bird perchs above a feeder or a wild bird leaves a deposit in the run.
Some worm prevention methods:
Keeping the grounds dry and clean. Use pine shavings (not chips) instead of hay, put down sand instead of letting them be on bare soil. These methods dry out the ground and worm eggs and bacteria have a harder time existing in those conditions. They keep the birds' area more hygienic and thus more clean smelling. It's WAY easier to clean, too!
For treats like scratch, use in the bedding instead of the ground. They'll fluff up and aerate the bedding for you, have less access to droppings and shed parasite eggs, and will dry the bedding as well.
Why, thank you, Kathy! How nice of you to wish me luck....but I won't need it. My flock management style has kept me disease free for all these many years and my parent's flocks before mine. My birds free range and don't need to have a barren run cleansed nor decontaminated from all the diseases that confinement poultry seem to have.
So far my animal husbandry skills have been proven to be safe and effective....call me if you need any advice!
A way for the government to create hysteria? Are you kidding me?????
This is a quote from a Florida Extension Service article.
The chickens pick up the parasite eggs directly by ingesting contaminated feed, water, or litter or by eating snails, earthworms, or other insects (intermediate hosts) which can carry the eggs. Further down it mentions earthworms and grasshoppers as intermediate hosts for roundworms.
Just for the record, here's a link to the article. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM015
Unless you keep your chickens in solitary confinement, away from earthworms, insects, and wild birds, there is a great chance they have worms. The contaminated feed, water, and litter means that it has bird droppings in it, like when an infected bird perchs above a feeder or a wild bird leaves a deposit in the run.
Some worm prevention methods:
Keeping the grounds dry and clean. Use pine shavings (not chips) instead of hay, put down sand instead of letting them be on bare soil. These methods dry out the ground and worm eggs and bacteria have a harder time existing in those conditions. They keep the birds' area more hygienic and thus more clean smelling. It's WAY easier to clean, too!
For treats like scratch, use in the bedding instead of the ground. They'll fluff up and aerate the bedding for you, have less access to droppings and shed parasite eggs, and will dry the bedding as well.
Why, thank you, Kathy! How nice of you to wish me luck....but I won't need it. My flock management style has kept me disease free for all these many years and my parent's flocks before mine. My birds free range and don't need to have a barren run cleansed nor decontaminated from all the diseases that confinement poultry seem to have.
So far my animal husbandry skills have been proven to be safe and effective....call me if you need any advice!
Last edited:
I dont worry about wild birds and such either...
Blah... you'd have to keep them locked up 24/7... i cant do that..
Wild birds are everywhere outside..not much you can do about it...
BUT... i do NOT take in any chickens from anothers flock anymore.... never...
I will buy my own eggs and incubate them ... but other than that... i have a closed flock..
Blah... you'd have to keep them locked up 24/7... i cant do that..
Wild birds are everywhere outside..not much you can do about it...
BUT... i do NOT take in any chickens from anothers flock anymore.... never...
I will buy my own eggs and incubate them ... but other than that... i have a closed flock..
- Jan 14, 2008
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Quote:
A way for the government to create hysteria? Are you kidding me?????
Good luck to you, and to your flock.
This is a quote from a Florida Extension Service article.
The chickens pick up the parasite eggs directly by ingesting contaminated feed, water, or litter or by eating snails, earthworms, or other insects (intermediate hosts) which can carry the eggs. Further down it mentions earthworms and grasshoppers as intermediate hosts for roundworms.
Just for the record, here's a link to the article. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM015
Unless you keep your chickens in solitary confinement, away from earthworms, insects, and wild birds, there is a great chance they have worms. The contaminated feed, water, and litter means that it has bird droppings in it, like when an infected bird perchs above a feeder or a wild bird leaves a deposit in the run.
Some worm prevention methods:
Keeping the grounds dry and clean. Use pine shavings (not chips) instead of hay, put down sand instead of letting them be on bare soil. These methods dry out the ground and worm eggs and bacteria have a harder time existing in those conditions. They keep the birds' area more hygienic and thus more clean smelling. It's WAY easier to clean, too!
For treats like scratch, use in the bedding instead of the ground. They'll fluff up and aerate the bedding for you, have less access to droppings and shed parasite eggs, and will dry the bedding as well.
Why, thank you, Kathy! How nice of you to wish me luck....but I won't need it. My flock management style has kept me disease free for all these many years and my parent's flocks before mine. My birds free range and don't need to have a barren run cleansed nor decontaminated from all the diseases that confinement poultry seem to have.
So far my animal husbandry skills have been proven to be safe and effective....call me if you need any advice!
A way for the government to create hysteria? Are you kidding me?????
This is a quote from a Florida Extension Service article.
The chickens pick up the parasite eggs directly by ingesting contaminated feed, water, or litter or by eating snails, earthworms, or other insects (intermediate hosts) which can carry the eggs. Further down it mentions earthworms and grasshoppers as intermediate hosts for roundworms.
Just for the record, here's a link to the article. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM015
Unless you keep your chickens in solitary confinement, away from earthworms, insects, and wild birds, there is a great chance they have worms. The contaminated feed, water, and litter means that it has bird droppings in it, like when an infected bird perchs above a feeder or a wild bird leaves a deposit in the run.
Some worm prevention methods:
Keeping the grounds dry and clean. Use pine shavings (not chips) instead of hay, put down sand instead of letting them be on bare soil. These methods dry out the ground and worm eggs and bacteria have a harder time existing in those conditions. They keep the birds' area more hygienic and thus more clean smelling. It's WAY easier to clean, too!
For treats like scratch, use in the bedding instead of the ground. They'll fluff up and aerate the bedding for you, have less access to droppings and shed parasite eggs, and will dry the bedding as well.
Why, thank you, Kathy! How nice of you to wish me luck....but I won't need it. My flock management style has kept me disease free for all these many years and my parent's flocks before mine. My birds free range and don't need to have a barren run cleansed nor decontaminated from all the diseases that confinement poultry seem to have.
So far my animal husbandry skills have been proven to be safe and effective....call me if you need any advice!
At our place our farm boots never leave the property and our out in the world shoes never go to the coop. We disinfect our shoes before going into any poultry show whether it's at a fair or a stand alone show. Then when we come out we disinfect our shoes again. New birds go into our quarantine area for a month at least, longer if I can. They get wormed twice during that time adn dusted with delousing powder even if I dont' see anything.
Our two newest aquisitions came from extremely reputable breeders with intense security measures, but they will still go through a full quarantine.
We lost a flock of bantams to Mareks even after a full quaratine. We were very lucky we didn't lose more.
Our two newest aquisitions came from extremely reputable breeders with intense security measures, but they will still go through a full quarantine.
We lost a flock of bantams to Mareks even after a full quaratine. We were very lucky we didn't lose more.
I wish I never ran into sickness with my birds. Honestly, the chickens I've kept for the past 4 years have been the most stressful things in my life. But I wouldn't give them up for anything in the world.
So...had to separate my birds or quarantine for a number of reasons during these years. Let's see if I can listen them.
-Feather-picking (not an illness, but it sure as heck spread like one)
-Lice AND mites (took home 2 pairs of diff. breeds from diff. flocks two diff. times this summer. Pair A had mites. Pair B had mites/lice. Couldn't see any pests before buying. Since then, yes, I have gotten my eyes checked.
)
-Same mites (not the lice, as far as I know) traveled to my own flock. Still in the process of getting rid of them.
-Bumblefoot. Birds are still being treated and are isolated right now.
-1 count of Respiratory infection. (Bird was taken away and no one else ended up getting it. Bird died shortly after.)
And probably more that I'm missing. Never had very good luck for very long. I envy those who don't deal with this often, if at all. When birds come back from shows, they are quanatined for at least a week. The thing I worry about most is mites/lice. And I can usually spot them during that timeframe. As for wild birds, they're out there. There's nothing I can do about them. I have enough issues with my domestic poultry to start fretting about the wild ones. Really puts things in perspective when this sort of thing happens.
So...had to separate my birds or quarantine for a number of reasons during these years. Let's see if I can listen them.
-Feather-picking (not an illness, but it sure as heck spread like one)
-Lice AND mites (took home 2 pairs of diff. breeds from diff. flocks two diff. times this summer. Pair A had mites. Pair B had mites/lice. Couldn't see any pests before buying. Since then, yes, I have gotten my eyes checked.
-Same mites (not the lice, as far as I know) traveled to my own flock. Still in the process of getting rid of them.
-Bumblefoot. Birds are still being treated and are isolated right now.
-1 count of Respiratory infection. (Bird was taken away and no one else ended up getting it. Bird died shortly after.)
And probably more that I'm missing. Never had very good luck for very long. I envy those who don't deal with this often, if at all. When birds come back from shows, they are quanatined for at least a week. The thing I worry about most is mites/lice. And I can usually spot them during that timeframe. As for wild birds, they're out there. There's nothing I can do about them. I have enough issues with my domestic poultry to start fretting about the wild ones. Really puts things in perspective when this sort of thing happens.
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