CHICKEN SWAPS OF NH SWAP LISTINGS

[nhnanna]

Amen!!!
I feel that if even one person has this it is probably safe to say that everyone who sells at the swaps probably has it from what I was told and have read. Throwing names out there is not accomplish anything.
I am still trying to figure out why it is safe to eat the eggs from these birds and also to eat the birds if you should decide to cull them. If it is safe for human consumption, why is it so bad to sell them?
I also was unfortunate enough for some of my birds test positive for ms or mg and some had both. My birds all look and act very healthy. Npip testing came back as good on all my birds. I wouldn't have even known if they hadn't tested for it.
I buy my birds from very good breeders and my birds were npip tested every year.
I don't believe that only some of the venders should be tested for this because someone complained. I think it should be part of the npip testing if it is that bad so everyone will feel safe buying them at the swaps.
I have chosen not to cull my birds. They mean more to me than the almighty dollar. I have named most of them and feel like they are part of my family. I will miss the swaps and all the nice people I have met through them but I am not culling all my birds and starting over. Like I said, if its so bad to have ms/mg then everyone should be tested for it in order to sell not just a chosen few.
Blaming anyone for passing this into our flocks is not going to stop it. This testing needs to be part of the npip testing.

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

It cannot be passed to humans, which is why it is safe to eat the eggs. The eggs are full of mycoplasma, but it's not a type that can infect humans so it won't hurt us.

That doesn't mean the birds aren't infected and it doesn't mean it's safe to sell them or spread them around. One flock may have no symptoms and think MG is no big deal. Another flock can lose half their birds and be stuck pulse medicating those who survive. Just because it's not a horrible disaster in one barn doesn't mean that selling a single infected bird to another barn won't destroy that barn's entire flock.

They are coming to test our birds next Monday, and based on the level of sickness we have had (I'm one of the ones whose birds have gotten extremely ill - it's a very, very big deal in this flock, for reasons unknown) I expect most will be positive. If so, I will be culling completely. I will cry like a baby, but I will do it. My birds are beloved pets, but I cannot deal with another season of constant illness and losing a major proportion of my chicks and adolescents. We're cleaning out completely and starting over, and we will have a much smaller closed flock. No selling, nobody on the property.

I have quarantined myself since the first time I heard a sneeze; nothing has been in or out. I don't know whether my cases came from a swap, from a private purchase (this is what I suspect, and no it was not a regular swapper that I bought from, but of course I can't prove it and don't want to blame anyone), from a neighbor bird, from a sparrow, or from going to a fair. What I do know is that it's been absolutely horrible here and from my point of view it's a major disease.

 

[blackbirds13]

http://www.guineafowl.com/GeneralStore/regulations.htm

The above site gives information on the importation of poultry for the various US states.


nhnanna - NPIP is a national program not a state controlled program so any changes to it go beyond the state of New Hampshire's control. The tests they do are for diseases that affect people as opposed to just chickens. New Hampshire could institute additional requirements if folks approached their representatives but I think that should be done when heads are calmer.

If you know your flock has MS and MG and not displaying any signs you are lucky in not having to deal with what appears to be some really nasty afflictions, but this is a cause for concern as it means there are probably many more such flocks that appear perfectly healthy that won't ever be tested as I'm also sure there are flocks that owners suspect are infected that they will simply medicate and turn over. The idea that hatcheries are so much safer, and that 'good' breeders are guarantees of health or hatching eggs is a safer as opposed to chicks is not 100% accurate there will always be a chance for exposure unless specific precautions are taken with the breeding flocks. For example, some hatcheries do not test for MS at all per our state vet.

MG can stay on your hair for up to 2 days so as you walk around your own property, the property of others and lets say TSC so you have the ability to pick up and also shed the disease around.

My thoughts on keeping birds that test positive is what to do with any extra or unwanted chicks, juveniles or adults as I go forward. It's not allowed to give them away or sell when in quarantine so in the end the extras or culls would still need to be dispatched as they came along and then doom any new birds brought in.

As much as I care and have spent on and for my birds they are in the end (and my husband's mind) just chickens and I cannot go throwing good money after bad and feeding, housing, and spending more funds on birds that are doomed by disease. I would have to cut my losses and start over if need be. I also intend to have a revamped smaller and closed flock like BlackSheepCardigans after this regardless of whether I start over or manage to get out of this unscathed.... my lucks has never been all that good.

There is a lot to think about and each to their own, but like I've been told by another I'd rather not have my head in the sand on this one. I'd rather face the facts and act responsibly for the sake of my own future flock and those of others. Some folks complain about losing hundreds while some may lose and have lost thousands and years of work thru no fault of their own and others are simply going to put others at risk regardless. This is all very sad and with this and the NH threads so quiet at this time it just makes me all the more positive I'll be closing my yard up very tightly after this as I'm sure there are "skeletons" in many closets right now. As much as I enjoy BYC and rarebreeds, etc. my frequency and days with both are numbered. I wish you all, and myself, the best of luck.

 

[serenityNH]

I figure I will add my two cents to this. Last year my flock came down with IB after having a person with a sick flock visit my yard . After lots of contemplating we decided to cull everyone and it was very traumatic! I wanted to do the responsible thing and not infect any other flocks by carrying it on my shoes etc. We started over, decided to keep a small closed flock and only bought chickens from a hatchery and 1 local breeder that I know and trust. I practice biosecurity religiously after last year. I never wear the same clothes, shoes etc away from the coop, I don't let anyone with poultry in my yard. If I am around people or places with poultry I change, bleach my shoes and wash before I visit my birds. I don't even let feed bags out of my garage. So here I am less than a year later and my flock is sick with MG.

I did everything in my power to keep disease out and here it is. Am I going to cull another flock? Hell no! Lesson learned and am not going to stress about it. I will keep these birds, not bring any more in and keep practicing strict biosecurity. That's all I can do. I have always regreted culling my flock, how ironic that after all that I still end up with a diseased flock. This is my re-do and I am looking at the situation without the panick I had last year which caused me to cull everyone and for what?

Good Luck with your decisions.

Angie

 

[1Chick Magnet]

hi all,
The link below is to an article in the Nashua telegraph. It contains the first public statement I have seen from the department of agriculture. The person who made the statements is one of the people who comes to your house to test your birds. If I am understanding her statements correctly it sounds like they are figuring out who was responsible for distributing the diseases. Hopefully the large farm in under quarantine or has culled the flock. I don't believe it would ever be possible to figure out where these diseases started. They have been around for decades. The most upsetting part of all this to me is that birds can be infected and show no signs. It shows up in a blood test but testing is not mandatory.
I was recently out to dinner. While we were waiting to be served I started thinking that if someone who had an infected flock also came here to eat in the last couple days I could bring home disease. I was also thinking of how you can pick up flu virus from a shopping cart. You can really drive yourself nuts thinking about how diseases can be transmitted. I have no answers only more questions.









http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news...69/fear-of-disease-puts-chicken-swaps-on.html

 

[DraigAthar]

I figure I will add my two cents to this. Last year my flock came down with IB after having a person with a sick flock visit my yard . After lots of contemplating we decided to cull everyone and it was very traumatic! I wanted to do the responsible thing and not infect any other flocks by carrying it on my shoes etc. We started over, decided to keep a small closed flock and only bought chickens from a hatchery and 1 local breeder that I know and trust. I practice biosecurity religiously after last year. I never wear the same clothes, shoes etc away from the coop, I don't let anyone with poultry in my yard. If I am around people or places with poultry I change, bleach my shoes and wash before I visit my birds. I don't even let feed bags out of my garage. So here I am less than a year later and my flock is sick with MG.

I did everything in my power to keep disease out and here it is. Am I going to cull another flock? Hell no! Lesson learned and am not going to stress about it. I will keep these birds, not bring any more in and keep practicing strict biosecurity. That's all I can do. I have always regreted culling my flock, how ironic that after all that I still end up with a diseased flock. This is my re-do and I am looking at the situation without the panick I had last year which caused me to cull everyone and for what?

Good Luck with your decisions.

Angie

Thanks for your perspective, Angie!

 

[1Chick Magnet]

I do have a comment about the commercial farm that was interviewed. How is it possible to have a commercial farm and a closed flock at the same time? Wouldn't you have to close the commercial business and not go to poultry fancier shows to close your flock properly?

 

[1Chick Magnet]

Thanks for your perspective, Angie!

Ditto. I also want to thank everyone who is posting to share opinions and talk about difficult situations.

 

[vnsseed]

I do have a comment about the commercial farm that was interviewed. How is it possible to have a commercial farm and a closed flock at the same time? Wouldn't you have to close the commercial business and not go to poultry fancier shows to close your flock properly?

I believe Joe doesn't bring in any new stock and birds that go out (shows or other wise), do not come back. So it is possible. We have a closed flock in that we don't bring in any new birds, and only occasionally hatching eggs from breeders we have been working with for years. Our one weak link is that we do bring birds to educational programs, and they do come back with us, but they are quarantined for 2 weeks, completely away from the rest of the flock. Anyone who comes to visit, walks through a bleach tray (both coming and going). But the fact is, these diseases are everywhere... there is only so much you can do. Best advice I can give is relax, enjoy your flock, watch them vigilantly and treat or cull at the first sign of disease.

 

[DraigAthar]

I do have a comment about the commercial farm that was interviewed. How is it possible to have a commercial farm and a closed flock at the same time? Wouldn't you have to close the commercial business and not go to poultry fancier shows to close your flock properly?

I haven't read the article yet, but I imagine a closed commercial flock is one that sells eggs/chicks/etc. but does not bring in any birds from outside. I know that a few commercial poultry farms get tested every year and manage to maintain MG-free stock by using some pretty strict biosecurity and total confinement practices. But it's a difficult thing to do.