How to stop contamination from other chicken owners...

[Minky]

ok thanks everyone. I will buy a shoe bath for summer! and maybe get some disposable booties.....that are biodegradable???...

 

[Akrnaf2]

I have been to a breeders' farm and had to meet him at the gate, and wasn't allowed to set foot inside (he said due to contamination etc-?) I'm wondering if that is a load of bull... or if I should be worried about my kids having playdates at friends houses who are chicken owners and the kids hanging out in the chicken coop, and then coming home and going to our coop, or having her friends come over and play with the birds in the coop/barn and then head home to their birds.

How do you handle this sort of thing if you live in a rural place where a lot of people have animals?
Getting kids to change or wash footwear isn't really realistic IMO.
Thanks

He was 100% right! Only meticulous bio security rules implementation will cut down the risk of contamination almost to 0.

 

[PirateGirl]

If your kids are regularly back and forth to the same places and breeding/selling isn't really an issue, I'd think you and your friends' flocks have now all been exposed to the same stuff. Take extra care if there are sick birds anywhere as well as if any of your friends are in the process of integrating new birds. Any precaution is better than none. A bottle of hand sanitizer mounted on your coop/fence that the kids must use before and after touching the birds, maybe let them buy a special shirt that they get to wear when they handle your chickens only (like a large mens button up shirt from the thrift store that they can throw on over their regular clothes).

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

I am very strict about people going into my chicken yard. Each property has its own bio/pathogen footprint. Your chickens build their immunity against the pathogens found on your property because they were exposed to it at an early age. You may have dangerous pathogens in the soil of their coop and home but they are not affected because they have built up immunity.

However, if you go to another chicken keepers house and walk in their chicken quarters, you are bringing in pathogens from your property and picking up new pathogens on your shoes. If you wear those shoes into your chickens living quarters they can become sick, not because the dirt from your friends chicken yard is bad but because you have brought new pathogens into their living quarters.

For this reason, if I have guests who want to see my chickens I will have them put on a pair of shoes that I have reserved for guests to ware in my chicken yard. I also keep those surgical booties to have guests put over their shoes before they enter my chickens living space to protect my girls. Most guests don't mind because they don't want to get chicken poop all over their shoes anyway. They underestimate just how sticky and nasty chicken poop can be.

Now during peak bird flu season (fall and spring migration) I will allow NO one into my chicken yard accept my family who wear only their chicken coop cloths and shoes to avoid bring the flu into my girls living quarters.

When I visit Tractor Supply or any other feed store I will completely change my cloths and put on my chicken coop shoes before going out to see my girls. It is very easy to underestimate the possibility that you can bring illness to your flock by not taking processions.

In the Chicken world we call this Bio Security. It is doing your best to limit your flock from the exposure of other bio contaminants the could make them sick. It is something to take very seriously.

So yes, the breeder you visited was doing the right thing. He was practicing biosecurity to protect his flock from illness and disease. I would be very careful of having your friends kids play in your girls quarters if they have chickens as well. The exchange of pathogens can be quite costly if your girls get sick, and visa versa for your friend.

It may seem like over kill, but when bird flu has been reported near your area it is time to take some serious step to keep your girls safe. If it is bad enough I will go into what I call "Lockdown". This is where I will keep all my girls in the coop and pen. No one is allowed in the chicken yard accept for my family, no exceptions.

 

[theoldchick]

Sounds like a knowledgeable breeder.

 

[Joeschooks]

As a couple of others have said, he likely just has very good biosecurity measures. I'm quite strict on it myself but I'm happy for visitors to go in with my chickens. All I ask is that they use the disinfectant foot bath. Here in the UK we have had some outbreaks of bird flu and the government have imposed strict biosecurity measures - so all poultry keepers here should be particularly cautious at the moment.

 

[Deb T]

Im following this post. Do you recommend any particular foot wash. Or is it a bleach mix?

 

[Joeschooks]

Im following this post. Do you recommend any particular foot wash. Or is it a bleach mix?

I use Virkon S which is approved for livestock use.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Im following this post. Do you recommend any particular foot wash. Or is it a bleach mix?

I use bleach. Fill a small rubbermade tub with water and bleach. Dip your shoes before you enter the chickens living quarters. You can also use lysol if you don't have bleach on hand.

 

[Deb T]

I use Virkon S which is approved for livestock use.

Thanks