California-Southern

[VyeFye]

OMG! I've got 1/2" hardware cloth dug in 18" and cement pavers in a 12" perimeter around my coop and run. But HOW do you protect for spiders?!?

Now I go around with a long skinny stick and jam it into every crevice. I was always good at clearing webs before, but I never thought to check up underneath the table because I couldn’t see any webs from my vantage point. But extra vigilance goes a long way. Lessing learned.

 

[VyeFye]

Black Widows are nasty insects! I am so sorry if that was the cause of death of such little birds! Poultry have so many predators and insects going after them, it boggles the imagination how any birds survive at all in this world!
I just returned from the vet who's been treating one of my hens for Bumblefoot. He did surgery on one foot but doesn't like the looks of swelling on the other foot even though there's no crust showing. She had a Metacam injection (anti-inflammatory) last week and every day we've been administering Clindomycin (Bumblefoot is a staph infection and needs antibiotics) especially after last week's foot surgery. We have about 3 days more to go with the antibiotic and then he wants to see her again in 2 weeks to watch the other foot. He doesn't want to surgery/dig in the other foot if the antibiotic works to get the swelling down first.

I’m sorry. Staph is no joke. It’s very cool you have found a bet that will work on chickens. A lot of people seem to have issues with that.

 

[Sylvester017]

I’m sorry. Staph is no joke. It’s very cool you have found a bet that will work on chickens. A lot of people seem to have issues with that.

It was serendipity that our vet is just 10 minutes from our house -- when he started his practice he advertised as a dog/cat/birds/exotics vet but because most vets only see dog/cats I never thought much about his practice title. It wasn't until years later with chicken owners telling me how hard it is to find a vet that sees poultry that I realized I was blessed to find my vet. The Rangers bring him injured wildlife like deer, rabbits, foxes, owls, etc, to treat. He is advantageously located at the bottom of the Angeles Crest Forest behind us so he gets to treat lots of different types of animals -- including my chickens -- he used to work in the poultry industry and his wife happens to love chickens! He occasionally takes pics of the chickens I bring in for treatment so he can show her!

I've recommended my vet to BYCers and have had people from distant Santa Monica area bring their chickens all the way to him here in our East San Gabriel Valley location and they LOVED him! He doesn't waste my $$$ scheduling lab/blood tests or taking X-rays, etc like avian vets or other regular vets do -- he has the gift of knowing exactly what my hens need without stressing them with unnecessary tests or $$$ unless the owner requests it. He does very thorough physical exams with a new hen, checking every orifice, body part, feathers, etc and has saved my little problem Silkie from health issues more than once in her short little 6-year life which she wouldn't have made it that long without his treatments on her. I finally lost the little darling to a bleeding ovarian tumor where I insisted at that time to euthanize her -- there was so much blood and I knew the vet didn't want to breathe the word "euthanize" but I could see the stress in his face when he showed me how very sick she was in spite of her spritely personality! My vet used to work in the poultry industry so I trust him with my birds. Unfortunately new vets nowadays don't include exotics or birds in their training -- probably because there's not as much $$$ to make on those types of animals. My vet still sees mostly cats and dogs so owners in the waiting room enjoy seeing a rabbit, a guinea pig, a tortoise, or a chicken patient coming in!

 

[Fluffy&Cutie]

hi all.
did you see this crazy info???

Week of November 16 - November 22, 2018
Message from State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones for Residents on VND-affected areas in Compton, Muscoy, and Mira Loma

Due to progression and duration of a virulent Newcastle Disease (VND) outbreak in parts of Southern California, the State Veterinarian has ordered mandatory euthanasia of birds in neighborhoods in Compton (Los Angeles County), Muscoy (San Bernardino County), and Mira Loma/Jurupa Valley (Riverside County). Unfortunately, even if birds and flocks have previously tested negative but now happen to fall within a designated mandatory euthanasia area, the birds must be euthanized. USDA/CDFA staff will contact affected bird owners.

While this action is difficult for all involved, it MUST be done to erradicate VND. Otherwise, the disease will continue to spread and kill additional flocks.

For more information please refer to: Virulent Newcastle Disease FAQs or call the Sick Bird Hotline at 866-922-2473

 

[VyeFye]

Woah! So scary! Thanks for the update!

 

[Sylvester017]

hi all.
did you see this crazy info???

Week of November 16 - November 22, 2018
Message from State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones for Residents on VND-affected areas in Compton, Muscoy, and Mira Loma

Due to progression and duration of a virulent Newcastle Disease (VND) outbreak in parts of Southern California, the State Veterinarian has ordered mandatory euthanasia of birds in neighborhoods in Compton (Los Angeles County), Muscoy (San Bernardino County), and Mira Loma/Jurupa Valley (Riverside County). Unfortunately, even if birds and flocks have previously tested negative but now happen to fall within a designated mandatory euthanasia area, the birds must be euthanized. USDA/CDFA staff will contact affected bird owners.

While this action is difficult for all involved, it MUST be done to erradicate VND. Otherwise, the disease will continue to spread and kill additional flocks.

For more information please refer to: Virulent Newcastle Disease FAQs or call the Sick Bird Hotline at 866-922-2473

It is what it is. Every year something endangers our precious flocks. How about killing off the wild birdlife that carry viruses around from neighborhood to neighborhood -- nobody seems to be addressing THAT issue!

 

[Fluffy&Cutie]

It is what it is. Every year something endangers our precious flocks. How about killing off the wild birdlife that carry viruses around from neighborhood to neighborhood -- nobody seems to be addressing THAT issue!

gosh, i was wondering about that...
killing them off is harsh but most likely they are the cause of the spreading.

 

[Sylvester017]

gosh, i was wondering about that...
killing them off is harsh but most likely they are the cause of the spreading.

Yep, nobody's addressing the issue of wildlife virus carriers. When you think about it most of us backyarders aren't taking our chickens out of the yard and most of us aren't bringing new ones into the yard, so the only way Newcastles can spread to our flocks is by wildlife birds? So it doesn't make sense having our birds killed in our yard when they aren't even leaving our yard to spread Newcastles. Unless it's an airborne virus? My understanding is that it's a contact virus -- again, our chickens aren't leaving our yard and we're not bringing new chickens into the yard, so why kill them? If there's killing of birds going on in certain Counties, it must be the commercial industry poultry being targeted?

 

[VyeFye]

Compton is a very urban area with very tiny houses very close together. I don't know about the other areas but it makes sense that it would spread in an area like that. Its likely that chicken owners were also not taught about biosecurity for their flocks. When your neighbors are only 20 feet from you tough, its pretty easy to get a contact virus.

 

[Sylvester017]

Compton is a very urban area with very tiny houses very close together. I don't know about the other areas but it makes sense that it would spread in an area like that. Its likely that chicken owners were also not taught about biosecurity for their flocks. When your neighbors are only 20 feet from you tough, its pretty easy to get a contact virus.

And again, it depends on whether the close-together-neighborhood houses have chickens/poultry in their yards as to whether there's any danger of viruses spreading. In my neighborhood we're close-together homes too except that my nearest chicken neighbor might be three to four streets away. So again I have to wonder how much wildlife birds have to contribute to being disease/parasite carriers even though they themselves might never display symptoms as they carry viruses around?