Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ribh]

... how do you know?

Duh... because I've made some fundamentally stupid mistakes that a more practical mindset would have naturally avoided. And which is also why I have some of the flightiest but prettiest birds around. There are compensations...

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Here are some pics from today... full house in the nesting boxes.. some pics are not so good as the lighting was bad... and yes, a new chicken decor View attachment 2067392View attachment 2067378View attachment 2067379View attachment 2067380View attachment 2067381View attachment 2067383View attachment 2067384View attachment 2067385View attachment 2067386View attachment 2067387View attachment 2067388View attachment 2067389View attachment 2067390View attachment 2067391

Wow! How did you train them all to do synchronised laying?

I love your sign, perfect!

 

[LozzyR]

Duh... because I've made some fundamentally stupid mistakes that a more practical mindset would have naturally avoided. And which is also why I have some of the flightiest but prettiest birds around. There are compensations...

Not necessarily. What is obvious to someone with experience isn’t obvious to someone without experience and I believe common sense stems from experience. It didn’t occur to me to worm my girls for over a year when I first got them and I’ve got other pets that need worming occasionally. We’re probably all too hard on ourselves and that means we care.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Mr. Bunny

We're have a Mr. Bunny sighting, just now.
View attachment 2067088

Beats me how you can tell the sex of those critters from that distance

 

[RoyalChick]

What about something like the Spanish flu and bubonic plague? Those were devastating and killed an awful lot of people. Would that mean the the host is infectious before becoming symptomatic? Or were they not considered ‘very rapidly’ fatal?

Oh I am not setting myself up as an expert in any way but I think the theory is that if someone who is shedding virus is well enough to pass it on then it spreads pretty rapidly and if they immediately keel over then they can only infect the people caring for them.
So you might shed virus without any symptom or you might have symptoms and ignore it and go about your life infecting people as you go. I think bubonic plague was mainly transmitted by rats and fleas and less from person to person unlike flu which goes person to person.

 

[Shadrach]

We've all been doing a bit of gardening in between the showers here where I live. Much to the delight of the chickens this means newly turned soil and that means dust baths!
I was explaining to Hurry yesterday about putting seeds and plants in the soil to make them grow. I found her like this this morning. I think she's trying to put on a bit of weight.

 

[BY Bob]

What about something like the Spanish flu and bubonic plague? Those were devastating and killed an awful lot of people. Would that mean the the host is infectious before becoming symptomatic? Or were they not considered ‘very rapidly’ fatal?

I promise to answer alter tonight. I'm at work right now and this will take too long.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

One of the reasons I wanted to take some time before responding is that the answers are not simple.

I cannot find my last book on virology basics. I can't answer right now what the latest sample minimums are in order to set a rate. If I can locate it tomorrow I will respond with the latest. I may call someone as well as it is bugging me now.

Viral growth curves are generally unique to the virus and have not been compared to each other in any real way. There are no real method for there to be an "average" time frame.

Almost all studies around what you are asking, animal to human transmission, relate to HIV. HIV doesn't act like other viruses. It is a very bad virus to use as an example because of how long it takes to cause disease. Other latent viruses include herpes simplex virus (oral and genital herpes), varicella-zoster virus (chickenpox and shingles), and Epstein-Barr virus (mononucleosis) and Hepatitis C virus.

HIV viral loads vs time, while studied extensively, do not behave the same in any 2 individuals.

Interestingly, viral growth curves are also not really curves. They are exponential straight lines as the virus actively infects and replicates, they are not bell shaped curves. For example here is the the growth "curve" for the flu.
View attachment 2067421

Very few viruses move from animals to humans. The means of transmission are generally not as effective and there are enough differences in cell structure and immune system to limit the transfer of hosts. That is why it is an unusual virus that infects both. Most viruses are species specific.

However, host transfer is not unheard of. These transfers involve either increased exposure or the acquisition of variations that allow the virus to overcome barriers to infection of the new hosts. In these cases, devastating outbreaks can result. The most recent being the H1N1 flu. Luckily it was not nearly as effective at spreading itself in humans as it was in birds. If it had been the outbreak would have been devastating.

SARS is another host transfer virus that was quite deadly. Transmission was problematic for the SARS virus because it was not infective until after symptoms started. This enabled us to limit its spread by isolating the sick. Unlike COVID 19 which is infectious long before symptoms start. Making it exceeding good at finding new hosts for itself.

Fortunately for us, most viral host transfers to infect the new hosts cause only single infections or limited outbreaks, and it is rare for a virus to cause an epidemic in a new host.

Does this help or confuse? I feel like I've been rambling. Let me know if I need to clarify.

I think your explanation followed by an example format makes it interesting and easy to follow Bob.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

... that is meant to be a sign for “over my head” ... I don’t know how it happened but I seemed to gravitate toward the genius threads.. yours, Ribh’s, Kris’ .... etc... I am but a simpleton... I am not putting myself down in any way.. I have plenty of common sense but book knowledge is not my forte... so I do love learning from you all.. and I’ll admit.. some of what yall discuss I do get but some definitely goes over my head! I do love the fact that I can come on here and actually learn instead of just jibber jabbing.. thank you to ALL the geniuses here

I sometimes have to read things a couple of times to give it a chance to sink in! You are not alone WhoDat

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Good morning Fluffy Butt Acres folks! Just thought I'd check in to say Queen Bee has once again turned a corner and is us cooing and chattering this morning. No sign of fever or discomfort. She will remain in the hospital for a few days this time so I can closely watch her.

Who recommended Corid? I forget, but I want to thank you. My whole flock has already been treated for it, twice this year, the most recent being a couple weeks ago. And yes, I know you have to do it twice, 10 days on, 7 days off, 10 days on, with vitamins on the off days. But, I thought, why not try? So I did and it just might have been what made the difference. I can't be sure, but I stopped all other meds and started treating the whole flock again, just in case.

Thanks for all the support here!!! And the great advice!!! I'd go back and find out who said that, but you are all so chatty here that it might take me all day.

Fantastic! I’m so pleased for you both