Opinions of closed or open flocks.

[bluey]

I started out with 5 chicks and since then the only additions have been hatched eggs...so my flock is closed. I don't have any other friends/family that visit who raise chickens, so I haven't had to worry about disease transmission from the outside.

After reading gumpsgirl's sad story last year, I decided to only add hatching eggs to the flock going forward.

I don't do any testing nor do I plan to, since I have no intentions of selling eggs or birds.

I haven't lost a bird yet to disease or predators in two years even though I do free range. (knocking on wood)

 

[moduckman]

I have an open flock, but I am also NPIP, which means only NPIP birds can be introduced to my flock, per the agreement. New birds are quarentined for a period of time.

Thank goodness for those with open flocks because without us, closed flocks will have no one to sell to.

 

[GardenerGal]

Open vs. closed flocks is something I've thought about for a while. If I had just "barn chickens" of whatever breed, I wouldn't worry about losing birds now and then. But because I have a rare breed, and not that many birds for breeding stock, losing even one or two to a disease can mean the difference in carrying on the line.

On the other hand, I've often compared closed flocks to keeping our own children at home and away from other children to protect them from "catching germs." The downside is that the kids never are exposed to pathogens and so do not develop resilience through their immune systems.

One of the greatest strengths of open backyard flocks (and herds/livestock) is that they are not sterile monocultures like factory farm animals. If allowed to live "naturally," they will develop strong immune systems like we do with our exposure to the germs of daily living in society.

Using good hygiene, vaccinations, balanced nutrition and common sense (for example, not taking in birds from an unknown source; using quarantines for new birds...), we can give our birds a healthy headstart, and let their bodies do the rest. Those that are compromised by bad genetics or congenital weaknesses may succumb to introduced pathogens, but barring the worst of the plagues (AI for example), most of the more common of the ailments are taken in stride by strong and resilient birds, and maybe the future of our flocks lies in the cultivation of disease-resistant poultry through both careful breeding and a careful - but not paranoid - management of some open flocks.

 

[CARS]

Quote:

This has been a great discussion!!!

I am open. I raise (I guess the proper word is grow?) Cornish X's for meat to fill my, and my extended families freezer. Since they are the product of lord knows what kind of breeding and cross breeding I have no choice but to be an open flock.

 

[spook]

Quote:

This has been a great discussion!!!

I am open. I raise (I guess the proper word is grow?) Cornish X's for meat to fill my, and my extended families freezer. Since they are the product of lord knows what kind of breeding and cross breeding I have no choice but to be an open flock.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Cornish X's - the parents are tested and they are a clean bird (at time of hatch) now after they get to us, mail or off the box that we carry them home in, I'd have to say they are probably "not" clean when we get home.
I read above where exposing them to out side conditions, that they will be healthier reminds me of a doctor- almost kidding and don't do it- but if you lick the side walk, you probably wont get ill, but you would become immune to junk for the rest of your life. The doctor went on to say "don't do it! YUCK"
Not only that, but if we did not have those to do the hatching, showing and selling, a lot of us would never have gotten started in poultry, nor would we have all this knowledge, we all need to learn about bio-security so then we can make educated examples on how we choose to grow with our flocks.
There is no right and no wrong, only choices and chances we would do for our own individual flock.
Thanks guys for your responses, this is interesting reading everyone's opinions! Thank you!!!

 

[nivtup]

In the process of closing it down.

We will continue to bring stock in in the form of eggs from NPIP breeders only.

Working on tightening up biosecurity measures, it seems there is always room to improve. I do feel the biggest risks in the future will come from the wild bird population.

We will most likely start showing some this year, I am working on a plan for a quarantine coop that can house small qty of three or four breeds for a month at a time. This will take a bit of effort to get perfected.

 

[Chickenmaven]

I only bring in hatchery day olds. So, I guess I am sorta closed.

My friend (who never steps foot in my coop) is more of a "collector", very open flock. She had a few chickens that got sick last summer & recovered. She said they had a "cold". I sent her several links about poultry illness. Months after the illness, despite my warnings, she brought in several new young birds. Because these new ones never got sick, she maintains that the summer illness wasn't anything to worry about. Do any of you agree with her?
I find it hard to go with the flow on bio-security...

 

[Clay In Iowa]

Quote:
NPIP doesn't test for many diseases. It is a test for Salmonella Pullorum/Typhoid. Some also test for Mycoplasma Synoviae and Avian Influenza.

They do not test for coryza, ILT or other diseases that can wipe out your flock. Don't fall into a false sense of security just because a flock is NPIP certified. Many people have health certifictions on their flocks that choose not to participate in the NPIP program.

Thanks for the info MP. Did I mention I'm new at this ..

I was aware that the testing wasn't all inclusive but I did think they tested more vigorously than that. I guess NPIP tested facilities are a good place to start but I won't get too comfy.

One of my friends projects was a long term screening of poultry and swine workers here in Iowa. The data might keep some people up at night.

 

[spook]

Interestingly there is no way to avoid the Mycoplasma bacteria, its everywhere in hatcheries, auctions, wild birds. With showing your birds, I was told by a Poultry Club member, "don't be a fatalist"

I could have dropped my teeth. But its true, if you like showing your birds, you could bring something to your bird that was at the last snow, now at this fair, your bird is ill, and you just passed it onto the others.

that is most showers do not talk about any of these conditions. "you cannot take your bird to a show with the fear of getting something, you go to show your hard work in genetics. So what if you come home with something!"

That conversation is what concerned me, that attitude is scary. He may have been right, 1 out of 15 shows your bird may get ill, those odds are pretty good.......

I had to shush up before I got kicked out of the club. This is one reason I enjoy hearing from other show persons and those that are closed. It is an interesting topic, I hope some of those quiet member feel ok with sharing open or closed topic.
Have a good day!

 

[#1California Chick]

Great topic!! Thanks to everyone for (civilly) discussing this topic!! I find myself agreeing with both sides!!