Buying a house

[igorsMistress]

Guessing and knowing are two different things. I would wait a while, six months to a year, and in the interim clean, sanitize and repaint everything in preparation for your own animals. I’d rather not have vaccinated chickens than those that have been. Good luck!

 

[Jabebee13]

Good @igors

 

[AllenK RGV]

I like igors advice clean and time would be my choice too. Thankfully you aren't getting the gunniea I wanted some once and youtube curbed that desire. I have a neighbor who is burdened with them and when the wind blows the right way I hear them. I am sure their next door neighbors are just thrilled about it.

 

[aart]

Guessing and knowing are two different things.

Ditto Dat!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not worried about inside the house. I'm worried about possible coccidiosis on the land and giving that to new chicks.

If the bug that causes Coccidiosis is in your land you are not going to get rid of it quickly. It can easily survive for a year or more. I don't know of any realistic way to treat the soil to get rid of it. Once it is there it is prevalent in the area.

That doesn't mean you cannot keep chickens. Many of us have flocks with the Coccidiosis bug and don't even know it. If exposed to that bug for two to three weeks chickens develop an immunity to it. If the numbers of that bug are kept to a reasonably low level the chickens will never develop symptoms, they will develop immunity. If you see symptoms you can treat it. If you understand the disease and how it works it can easily be managed. The scariest thing is the unknown. Once you know about something it's not nearly as scary.

I'll copy something I wrote several years ago about it. It's kind of long but maybe it will help you manage it. It was written about medicated feed but should help you.


First you need to know what the "medicated" is in the medicated feed. It should be on the label. Usually it is Amprolium, Amprol, some such product, but until you read the label, you really don't know. Most "medicated' feed from major brands for chicks that will be layers uses Amprolium, but there are a few out there mostly for broilers that use other medicines. I'll assume yours is an Amprolium product, but if it is not, then realize everything I say about it may not apply. And it is possible that the "medicated" is Amprolium AND something else.

Amprol is not an antibiotic. It does not kill anything. It inhibits the protozoa that cause coccidiosis (often called Cocci on this forum) from multiplying in the chicken's system. It does not prevent the protozoa from multiplying; it just slows that multiplication down. There are several different strains of protozoa that can cause Cocci, some more severe than others. Chickens can develop immunity to a specific strain of the protozoa, but that does not give them immunity to all protozoa that cause Cocci. Little bitty tiny baby chicks can develop that immunity easier than older chickens.

It is not a big deal for the chicken’s intestines to contain some of the protozoa that cause Cocci. The problem comes in when the number of those protozoa gets huge. The protozoa can multiply in the chicken’s intestines but also in wet manure. Different protozoa strains have different strengths, but for almost all cases, if you keep the brooder dry, you will not have a problem.

To develop immunity to a specific strain, that protozoa needs to be in the chicks intestines for two or three weeks. The normal sequence is that a chick has the protozoa. It poops and some of the cysts that develop the protozoa come out in the poop. If the poop is slightly damp, those cysts develop and will then develop in the chick's intestines when the chicks eat that poop. This cycle needs go on for a few weeks so all chicks are exposed and they are exposed long enough to develop immunity. A couple of important points here. You do need to watch them to see if they are getting sick. And the key is to keep the brooder dry yet allow some of the poop to stay damp. Not soaking wet, just barely damp. Wet poop can lead to serious problems.

What sometimes happens is that people keep chicks in a brooder and feed them medicated feed while they are in the brooder. Those chicks are never exposed to the Cocci protozoa that lives in the dirt in their run, so they never develop the immunity to it. Then, they are switched to non-medicated feed and put on the ground where they are for the first time exposed to the protozoa. They do not have immunity, they do not have the protection of the medicated feed, so they get sick. Feeding medicated feed while in the brooder was a complete waste.

I do not feed medicated feed. I keep the brooder dry to not allow the protozoa to breed uncontrollably. The third day that they are in the brooder, I take a scoop of dirt from the run and feed it to them so I can introduce the protozoa and they can develop the immunity they need to the strain they need to develop an immunity to. To provide a place for that slightly damp poop, I keep a square of plywood in the dry brooder and let the poop build up on that. I don't lose chicks to Cocci when they hit the ground.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed to chicks, whether the protozoa are present or not. It will not hurt them. They can still develop the immunity they need. But unless the protozoa are present, it also does no good.

If you get your chicks vaccinated for Cocci, do not feed medicated feed. It can negate the vaccinations.

 

[texasmomma]

We won't use any existing coops, etc, because they aren't there. I don't know where the guineas live. There should be a way to "detox" the land, though. Hm. It's possible that I could add some sort of organic material and let it compost for a period of time. It's a lot of dirt to do that with. This has been a good conversation.

 

[Folly's place]

My concern would be about Marek's disease. If their chickens had it, the virus lives for a year, at least, in dander and feathers on the property. Do ask about any issues they might have had with their birds; any information will be helpful.
For new chicks next year, having them vaccinated against Marek's disease, and isolated from your soil and coop area for two weeks, will give good protection against the tumors that kill Marek's infected birds. And feeding amprolium medicated chick starter until after they have been on your ground for a couple of weeks will likely protect them from getting sick if there is a lot of coccidia out there.
Your birds might be fine without doing either, but it would be safer to be proactive protecting them.
If it's been more than a couple of years since chickens were there, you will be less likely to have Marek's disease present. Coccidia might be anywhere, and time will tell you if there's a problem with your soil, or not.
Mary

 

[texasmomma]

Oh yes! Marek's. That was what I worried about. It's been several years since I have had chickens.

I do not believe that they have had chickens at this location. Ducks yes. Guinea fowl yes. There is plenty of work to do in the house, that I may not have time for animals outside for a while anyway. Still waiting to hear if we officially get the house, but I'm looking forward to having a bit more dirt for my family to play on.