Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[Arielle]

I'm glad I did bring up the subject of MG-- now I feel much releived. Everyone seems to have the same opinion. It makes for a stronger flock even if at the time of the acute phase, the disease causes some problems. And Mereks too.

Thank you to everyone willing to put your opinion out there-- I know it is not easy as new customers and noobies often don't understand these issues ( yet).



MG Mereks heritage fowl

 

[ocap]

Question:

When using Craig's List how do you manage the two types of "security", Bio-security for your flock and potential thieves?
I will need to use Craig's List to sell layers next fall, counting my chicks before they even lay

 

[Arielle]

Question:

When using Craig's List how do you manage the two types of "security", Bio-security for your flock and potential thieves?
I will need to use Craig's List to sell layers next fall, counting my chicks before they even lay

I do not post my address. ANd I meet the people elsewhere, like a grocery parking lot. ANd I have big dogs! lol

 

[Pathfinders]

I do not post my address. ANd I meet the people elsewhere, like a grocery parking lot. ANd I have big dogs! lol

I agree, all of the above.

I do not allow people (as a general rule) to come to my farm. I use a PO Box for written stuff and meet at several local hubs to deliver birds. I have had chickens stolen out of one of my coops, deliberately taken, the thieves used wire cutters to cut through the hardware cloth over the windows and climbed in that way, then walked out the locked door.

And I am a big fan of big dogs. We're known as "that house with the grumpy Great Dane" locally, which I love. I also love that most GPS systems cannot find our actual location (sends folks elsewhere.)

If I want folks to come here, I'll send them precise directions.

I did once have a pretty creepy thing happen. I was up in the coop by the road, feeding and puttering. A white truck pulled into the driveway and sat there. The two guys inside were not consulting maps or looking at phones. I watched them through the window as they watched my birds day range in the pen (they could not see me.) They sat there for about five minutes, watching my chickens. I watched them as they watched.

I finally, being a little creeped-out and irked by this behavior, walked out of the coop. As soon as they saw me they backed out of my driveway and zoomed off too fast for me to catch a license plate.

I have an idea of who it might have been, but no proof. I just found it terribly creepy and wrong.

Which is why I am glad the Great Dane is known to be grumpy (and having a Pit cross and several guns in the house isn't a bad thing either.)

 

[catdaddyfro]

I agree! My chickens are expected to live the lives of chickens, not lab rats. There will be no sterile isolation here. All birds are required to go outside. Germs are good for building the immune system. But show exhibitors might have a different perspective, especially if they're going to be in the same show as my birds, so I figured I would ask.

Sarah

More than likely theirs have had it or are eventually going to get it(wrens, sparrows, the like) It's no biggie and for the ones it would bother they(chickens and people) won't be in the game too long anyway. IMO & J/S

Jeff

 

[NYREDS]

I agree! My chickens are expected to live the lives of chickens, not lab rats. There will be no sterile isolation here. All birds are required to go outside. Germs are good for building the immune system. But show exhibitors might have a different perspective, especially if they're going to be in the same show as my birds, so I figured I would ask.

Sarah

Can't speak for all show exhibitors but for myself & everyone I can think of we take the same approach. Birds just do better if they can get out on the ground. I know I see a lot of talk here about "biosecurity" and much of it comes from people who also let their birds outside. On another thread I commented that I don't know how you get the Sparrows to put on the little paper booties. Biosecurity people won't let other poultry keepers near their flocks for fear of disease transmission but they don't think about the wild birds that are much more likely to be a vector for disease than any visiting human. I never hesitate to let people see my birds & the many other exhibitors I know seem to feel the same way. I've visited many very well known exhibitors & have never had anyone not want to show me their birds. Actually it would be kind of silly for people who show to practice so-called biosecurity at home & then take birds out to a show.
I've always said the imune system is like a muscle-it needs to be exercised.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: That is so scary. I have had hunters mistake my drive for a public road( yeah, right!!) and my 100# barking black lab told them otherwise. I had my hand on his collar as he's the kind that would back up his threat and has done so before. Guns-- not me.I would rather rely on my dogs. Informed the hunters where public parking lot was: 100 feet before my drive.

Haahaa- GPS for my house ? It is 1 mile off the mark. Last week Coach had a hard time getting my boy home, 1 mile short of destination-- fortunately it was appropriate for my son to tell his coach our location.

Have put up no tresspassing signs, too.

Quote: I have not shoed any birds, just for that reason. THough I am becoming more comfortable with the possiblity of bringing home mereks or MG or something else. I would also think that long time poultrymen would know if a bird is sick and not bring it during the active stage of the disease process; however a noobie might not recognise the signs.

For everyone willing to answer-- how do you handle your show birds? A quarentine process? Or not?

 

[Arielle]

THen why does the state require testing for such as pullorum and AI??

My guess is that these are very rare because they do test for it, and affected birds or flocks are destroyed-- I am guessing here.

 

[TheNuttyChick]

And what about vaccination? Is it worth it? Does it help?

Many show people have said to practice bio-security religiously but then show them and who knows what could be there, I don't get it :/

 

[Wisher1000]

I am venturing a guess here. I believe that the testing for Pullorum and AI are because of the potential harm to the commercial poultry industry. I think that in the years before NPIP that pullorum was wiping out entire flocks of commercial birds and the "reservoirs" for the disease were the backyard flocks. My NPIP tester said that he has been doing the testing for over 20 years and has never had one sample come back positive for pullorum or IA. He has seen some false positives, but when the flock was rechecked in a week, it was always negative.