Biosecurity? REALLY?

[drumstick diva]

Beekissed, I don't know if tapeworms are species specific but I used to raise dogs and our vet said that the tapeworms(eggs) had to pass thru a host (for instance fleas) before they could infect a dog(cat).The dog is infected by swallowing the fleas when he bites himself to ease the itch. In other words if you had a dog that passed tapeworm segments it couldn't spread to another dog until it passed thru an intermediate host.

I understood it when he said it but, now it's making my head spin. We could always google tapeworms and see what comes up.

 

[Beekissed]

You both obviously don't seem to to take this very seriously and I can relate with that. I never took it seriously either until I lost an entire flock due to lack of biosecurity. I hope neither of you suffer the same thing.

PC, I don't take it seriously either. I don't add birds from other flocks anymore but I don't worry needlessly about free ranging and the wild bird population. Worrying about that seems to be...well...for the birds!

Personal experience is purely anecdotal and I can tell you about the health of all my flocks and my ancestors flocks and it would mean nothing to you, as your experiences have been different.

I see commercial chicken houses all around this county abiding by their company biosecurity standards issued and set forth by the USDA....and I also see them carrying double handsful of birds out to the litter heap each day.

I'm not impressed with this level of so-called biosecurity and I think all the articles touting wild birds as the cause of disease in private and commercial flocks is a bunch of hooey...its another way for the government to create hysteria and get laws passed to ban backyard flocks.


I don't buy into such nonsense.​

 

[ivan3]

Just wanted to put in a good word for Benjamin Franklyn Kaupp (above is from his Poultry Diseases, c1917). http://www.archive.org/details/poultrydiseasesw00kauprich
For those who prefer more quaint methods of treatment, for whatever reason, one of the treatments suggested includes grain followed by lye. His description of symptoms is very good.

There are about 1400 species of cestodes that prefer aves.

Forewarned is forearmed. Daily observation of flock, and simple precautions like a segregated pair of boots for the feed store/no standing water/no tossing some `swap' bird into an established flock goes a long way to limiting exposure to a wider range of vectors/vermin than exists as a matter of course everywhere (might never know what's lurking out back until/unless the flock is stressed and, therefore, vulnerable).

 

[kathyinmo]

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.

 

[elmo]

If you believe your chickens can catch diseases and parasites from other chickens (and they can), why on earth would you believe that your chickens can't catch diseases and parasites from wild birds, too? Sorry, but that simply doesn't make sense to me.

I let my chickens free range for a few hours every day, and one of my runs isn't roofed, so I know that my chickens have some contact with wild birds. But to minimize the contact, I only throw scratch down on the ground for them in our roofed runs, and I put our wild bird feeders outside our fenced yard where the chickens can't get to them.

The chicken feeders are inside the run where wild critters can't get to them, too.

 

[churchx3]

Quote:
THANK YOU!!!

In the old days birds were local and not exposed to flocks from all over the country. If a flock in one town came down with a deadly disease it would die off or be culled, even if it infected the other flocks in town. Today with the exchange of birds we have and the exposure during shows and swaps things are very different from the old days. It's globalization of our chicken population along with all the diseases too.

You both obviously don't seem to to take this very seriously and I can relate with that. I never took it seriously either until I lost an entire flock due to lack of biosecurity. I hope neither of you suffer the same thing.

I take my chickens seriously, I just do not stress myself about things I cannot control. I always guarantine any new additions to my flock, I clean my coop and run religiously, I quit hanging wild bird feeders on my property when I got chickens. I cannot control what birds may happen to fly on my 2 acre lot. I enjoy my chickens very much but I do not allow worry over them to control me. I read and research all the time on this site and I do what I feel is in the best interest of my chickens. I guess I could always build a bubble for them? How enjoyable that would be for me and my chickens.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
PC, I don't take it seriously either. I don't add birds from other flocks anymore but I don't worry needlessly about free ranging and the wild bird population. Worrying about that seems to be...well...for the birds!

Personal experience is purely anecdotal and I can tell you about the health of all my flocks and my ancestors flocks and it would mean nothing to you, as your experiences have been different.

I see commercial chicken houses all around this county abiding by their company biosecurity standards issued and set forth by the USDA....and I also see them carrying double handsful of birds out to the litter heap each day.

I'm not impressed with this level of so-called biosecurity and I think all the articles touting wild birds as the cause of disease in private and commercial flocks is a bunch of hooey...its another way for the government to create hysteria and get laws passed to ban backyard flocks.


I don't buy into such nonsense.

Biosecurity means different things to different people and it's all a personal choice. I'm not advocating locking up birds in a sterile coop 24/7. To me it's a numbers game. I keep my flock closed from other flocks thereby eliminating a potential threat. I do however free range my birds a few hours a day knowing there is a possibility of them picking up a pathogen from wild animals in my area.

Like others have said I try not to overthink it, just practice some prevention.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
In the old days birds were local and not exposed to flocks from all over the country. If a flock in one town came down with a deadly disease it would die off or be culled, even if it infected the other flocks in town. Today with the exchange of birds we have and the exposure during shows and swaps things are very different from the old days. It's globalization of our chicken population along with all the diseases too.

You both obviously don't seem to to take this very seriously and I can relate with that. I never took it seriously either until I lost an entire flock due to lack of biosecurity. I hope neither of you suffer the same thing.

I take my chickens seriously, I just do not stress myself about things I cannot control. I always guarantine any new additions to my flock, I clean my coop and run religiously, I quit hanging wild bird feeders on my property when I got chickens. I cannot control what birds may happen to fly on my 2 acre lot. I enjoy my chickens very much but I do not allow worry over them to control me. I read and research all the time on this site and I do what I feel is in the best interest of my chickens. I guess I could always build a bubble for them? How enjoyable that would be for me and my chickens.

Well said. I feel the exact way. Stressing over things we cannot control is a waste of energy.

 

[NYREDS]

I really don't take biosecurity too seriously, at least not in the sense often proposed here.
I have shown poultry since 1962. That means for 48 years my birds have been exposed several times a year to other's birds. As yet I have never had ANY problem as a result of this contact.
When returning from a show I dust the birds that are returning with louse powder & then they go right back where they were before the show. No quarantine.
I rarely add any new stock but when I do it always comes from a known source & again, no quarantine.
Judging from the never ending "my chickens are sick" posts on this site I'm either the luckiest chicken owner alive [hasn't helped me win the Lottery] or I may be doing something right.
I believe I'm doing something right & that is I breed for disease resistance. There's a long, recent thread on that subject if you care to review it.

PS- I know a lot of other people who show regularly who do pretty much the same thing I do with similar results.

PPS- I do think people overthink poultry keeping too much-it's not rocket surgery.

 

[Hillsvale]

Quote:
Your chickens leave scraps?... god help any one or any thing get in the way of my layers and their treats!