is it truely safe to take your bird to a fair?

[TK Poultry]

ur never going to b 100% sure that your birds wont catch anything but most 4H fairs are very careful and have bills of health required and NPIP test on site we have a very good fair and no reported illnesses from our club I being the president i havent heard anything but you cant be sure i did have a hen have an allegic reaction to the show bedding in the pens and had to treat her but nothing major!

 

[ShaggysGirl]

Thanks for all the informative posts

 

[Krys109uk]

It must be possible for birds to pick up infections at shows as they can when coming into contact with birds anywhere.

Logically very few people would show sick birds. That would be silly, the stewards would disqualify a sick bird. Even if the stewards didn't spot it, it would have little hope of get a prize & the stress of being in a less than "normal" situation would undoubtedly make the bird worse.

What I have heard often happens after returning from a show is the stress causes the bird to display an ailment, such as Mycoplasma gallesepticum, which the bird may have had without necessarily showing symptoms.

 

[moduckman]

Every year 1,000's of birds are taken to shows and some get sick when they return home. Most blame this on the other birds from the show without any real knowledge. Many times the "illness" is not from the other birds at the show, but from the trip to and from and the stress of being in a different enviroment with strange birds. Also, consider how the birds were transported. Were they protected from the wind, were they coop in a small compartment for an extended period. Too many times people blames their own sick birds on others when it is more likely someone else. I give my birds antibiotics when they get home. Mainly to deal with any stress I may have caused.