First Aid Kits

[Mrs. K]

I have kept chickens for 7 years and I have NEVER used any of the above list.

To keep chickens healthy, you need enough space, good quality feed, and clean water.

Do not add chickens that have been to swap meets, shows or other places where they could be exposed to other chickens that might possibly be sick.

IF you get a sick chicken, I have had one in 7 years, immediately separate it from the flock. Provide feed and water, if it does not get well dispatch it, so that the rest of your flock is protected from exposure.

Mrs K

 

[chooks4life]

I have kept chickens for 7 years and I have NEVER used any of the above list.

To keep chickens healthy, you need enough space, good quality feed, and clean water.

Do not add chickens that have been to swap meets, shows or other places where they could be exposed to other chickens that might possibly be sick.

IF you get a sick chicken, I have had one in 7 years, immediately separate it from the flock. Provide feed and water, if it does not get well dispatch it, so that the rest of your flock is protected from exposure.

Mrs K

I've kept chickens for longer than that, and I don't believe in keeping closed flocks or culling disease out as a rule, and on top of that I like to tackle damaged cases rather than 'cull and replace', so of course I've learned a thing or two about dealing with that, and it's useful information for those who don't believe in trying to avoid disease indefinitely, which of course is ultimately futile.

I value the disease resistance of my stock; yours will be banking on disease resistance someone else bred into them but over time, sooner or later, disease will get in, and then it's curtains because they're not being exposed to the rapidly and continually mutating diseases out there. Their 'immune data' will be hopelessly out of date, so to speak. That's exactly why I don't avoid disease. If they're kept away from all disease their immune systems are weak and then a simple, usually non-issue disease can wipe out a whole flock, and quite often does.

Still, each to their own, but everyone should know their reasons for doing what they're doing and the limitations thereof. I've never had any mortality rate in chicks due to disease, and a very, very low one in adults, almost entirely due to genetic disease I got from people who practiced biosecurity (lol).

I've raised many hundreds of birds by now, over more years than you, constantly exposed to new diseases or new strains of older ones, so for what that's worth, I can say my methods definitely work for those who want a similar setup. Yours are the basics of any normal and decent setup (good feed, water etc are the basics of any decent setup really) but your methods won't work for someone aggressively breeding for disease resistance. Doesn't mean your methods are wrong but certainly doesn't mean your methods are somehow superior either, going from one unclear statistical statement. Different strokes for different folks, different methods for different flocks with different objectives.

Best wishes.

 

[Mrs. K]

There are very different viewpoints on this forum and to each his/her own.

I have raised animals all my life, we are in the livestock business, it has been my experience that healthy animals are much happier animals, they convert feed better, and live more comfortable lives. Animals that are not 'thrifty' are culled out, rather than extensively treated. Over the years, this has produced a high quality healthy herd. It is the same practice I apply to my small flock. Frankly only having one sick bird in 7 years, I think it is a pretty healthy flock.

However, all the different ways of doing things make coming to this forum interesting.

Mrs K

 

[chooks4life]

There are very different viewpoints on this forum and to each his/her own.

I have raised animals all my life, we are in the livestock business, it has been my experience that healthy animals are much happier animals, they convert feed better, and live more comfortable lives. Animals that are not 'thrifty' are culled out, rather than extensively treated.

Couldn't agree more, but I think you're misunderstanding my setup perhaps. Just because I work to save damaged or ill animals doesn't mean I go on to breed them; I'm very choosy about which animals go on to breed. Predisposition to scaly leg mite is enough for me to cull a bird, for example. Most people don't even know there is a predisposition to it, but I've identified certain family lines who are reliably susceptible to it and others effectively immune to it. Doesn't mean I will let them languish with just food, water, and isolation for treatment until they either make some kind of recovery or are culled for it, but also doesn't mean I breed them once I've treated them, if they've shown extreme susceptibility.

I value the learning process and information gained, as I'm very interested in the medical aspects of keeping animals, not just commercial. Not right for everyone but invaluable for people like me. If my values were different I might be doing the same as you, but it's really not an option for me.

Over the years, this has produced a high quality healthy herd. It is the same practice I apply to my small flock. Frankly only having one sick bird in 7 years, I think it is a pretty healthy flock.

It probably is a pretty healthy flock, but different strokes for different folks and all that... Some people would buy specifically from people like you, and not me, whereas I wouldn't buy from people like you, due to their immune systems lacking exposure to common diseases. I value them having that proven resistance rather than only being able to guess as to whether I'm breeding highly susceptible animals which are remaining healthy only because they're in an over-sanitized/isolated environment, or otherwise.

However your setup, going from historical precedent, can work for the rest of your lifetime, so if it works for you that's great. Possibly not so great for the genetic legacies of those birds though, as they're 'out of circulation' and being reintroduced to the world in general, or having outsiders introduced in order to bring in new blood, is potentially fatal to the entire lot of them.

That's my personal reasons against doing the same, in a nutshell, but some people have successfully kept linebred/ inbred lines for decades, if you're a good breeder or spend the time learning it is apparently workable, not that it appears able to be perpetually sustained. All depends on what you want your flock for I guess; some people with very rare genetics don't have almost any other options.

However, all the different ways of doing things make coming to this forum interesting.

Mrs K

Yes, there's many husbandry methods on this forum for sure. One thing I have noted is that one person's cull-worthy fault is another persons' non-issue, and one persons' evidence of success is another persons' evidence of failure. I guess our conversation here illustrates that to some extent. What's perfectly right for some situations is hopelessly wrong for others.

Best wishes.