Is there a high chance my flock will get a disease?!

[Offshoreorca]

You guys make it seem like chickens running loose are gonna automatically get sick. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s more natural form chickens to be scratching through the grass and leaf litter looking for bugs and seeds. While wild birds carry a lot of diseases, lice and mites unless they’re totally locked up they can still come into contact with them.

Of course it’s natural for them to run around. I was just suggesting feeding the scratch inside the run as not too attract lots of crows if that is the concern of the OP.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Of course it’s natural for them to run around. I was just suggesting feeding the scratch inside the run as not too attract lots of crows if that is the concern of the OP.

Nah I know that’s a good idea but I wouldn’t chase off the crows. They’ll keep the hawks away if the op is allowing birds to run loose which I’m guessing they do. Crows are worth having around.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Scratch isn’t bad just don’t buy the junk that’s mostly cracked corn.

 

[Offshoreorca]

Nah I know that’s a good idea but I wouldn’t chase off the crows. They’ll keep the hawks away if the op is allowing birds to run loose which I’m guessing they do. Crows are worth having around.

I’m not suggesting she chase the crows off and yes, crows can be good to have around. It just sounds like she’s loosing a lot her scratch to the crows and she’s worried they’re eating the scratch in amongst the chickens. We have resident crows who unfortunately don’t earn their keep with keeping the hawks away so we are just more careful with when we free range (and all the crows and the hawks are still around as they always are enjoying the local bounty). Feeding chickens the scratch in the run is just a way to help mitigate parasites a bit while not being at odds with the crows.

 

[GreedySeedFeedy]

It's true that they won't drop dead instantly by being exposed to nature, but not every place containing birds is a natural, healthy ecosystem. Not everyone owns a private farm way out in the green expanse.

I wish it were easier for the general population to see how fast and easily birds living in crowded environments all infect each other through feeding areas, and crowded populations of city birds have a very different disease saturation than uncrowded birds living out in the country. I have spent a good chunk of years studying exactly this.

If you happen to live in a place where there are big flocks of crows, or pigeons, or house finches especially, your chances of your chickens getting transmission through sharing food and water is pretty high compared to chickens that don't eat food shared with wild birds that come into contact with 1000 other wild birds daily.

 

[casportpony]

My birds live indoors, but in summer months when they feed outdoors they get a drop of beaphar/cutaneous ivermectin on their necks every month. We live in a city area, and the birds here have visible mites.

Be careful not to underdose. The correct amount of topical ivermectin is absolutely no less than 0.05 ml per pound of bodyweight, which is about 2 drops from a 1 ml syringe. A five-pound chicken should get no less than 0.25 ml (1/4 cc).

 

[roosterhavoc]

It's true that they won't drop dead instantly by being exposed to nature, but not every place containing birds is a natural, healthy ecosystem. Not everyone owns a private farm way out in the green expanse.

I wish it were easier for the general population to see how fast and easily birds living in crowded environments all infect each other through feeding areas, and crowded populations of city birds have a very different disease saturation than uncrowded birds living out in the country. I have spent a good chunk of years studying exactly this.

If you happen to live in a place where there are big flocks of crows, or pigeons, or house finches especially, your chances of your chickens getting transmission through sharing food and water is pretty high compared to chickens that don't eat food shared with wild birds that come into contact with 1000 other wild birds daily.

Would you call a bunch of chickens in a coop/run a crowded environment with a high probability of disease transmission? I sure would.
The opposite is also true. Some people do have plenty of room to let chickens roam and spread out instead of standing in their own feces all day long.

 

[GreedySeedFeedy]

Be careful not to underdose. The correct amount of topical ivermectin is absolutely no less than 0.05 ml per pound of bodyweight, which is about 2 drops from a 1 ml syringe. A five-pound chicken should get no less than 0.25 ml (1/4 cc).

Thanks for this advice! It's a good rule to pay attention to. Luckily, I have a measured reccommended dose for my pigeon sized quail! ❤

 

[Dalylah]

Do you treat your birds with Ivermectin monthly?

No I do not. Is that something I can get at a local feed store?

 

[GreedySeedFeedy]

Would you call a bunch of chickens in a coop/run a crowded environment with a high probability of disease transmission? I sure would.
The opposite is also true. Some people do have plenty of room to let chickens roam and spread out instead of standing in their own feces all day long.

You're absolutely right! But where is that disease going to enter your nice healthy run from? I prefer to err on the side of caution, but after hearing your point I think a better answer I could have given would've been that the amount of caution/disease prevention needed would depend on how healthy OP's local bird population is.