Poop and bio security?? things that make you go hmmmmmm?

[Dar]

While i understand very well about the need for bio security I have to question it too.

I free range my chickens, I also have a run for them when I cant watch them.

BUT...............

birds fly.... they poop when they fly....
mice are in the fields...... mice poop everywhere
raccoons are every where... and poop
squirrels are every where... and poop

i think you can see where I am going with this.... how is it really possible to maintain tight bio security and allow chickens to do what chickens like to do?

 

[hikerchick]

I know I am supposed to worry about these things but I just don't, for the reasons you cited.

 

[Goose and Fig]

I think the reasoning is- your birds are safe in their area- be it a yard, run, coop, whatever. They build up resistance to bacteria they are exposed to on a regular basis. When you introduce new birds they don't have the same resistance and can become ill. Remember the indians and the blankets?
So- if you go visit someone that has birds you should sterlize your shoes, vehicle, whatnot- so you aren't bringing anything their birds don't have immunity to.

 

[speckledhen]

The chickens are more likely to contract something from a new bird you bring in than wild birds, IMO. Yes, poop is everywhere, yes, it's possible for chickens to contract something from wild birds, but not all that likely, I think. I live in the woods and there are wild birds and field mice galore, but not in my coops. Never had any respiratory illness here, so far, not in the years I've owned chickens, but then, I dont buy chickens from folks, go to lots of shows/auctions, etc
Everyone who comes here must at least spray their shoes. You just do what you can do to prevent it and if they get something, you know you've done your best.

 

[babyblue]

horses in the wild get sick less and carry less worms because of less exposure to poop. they go poop over hundreds of miles instead of over a stall or small pasture. when one does get sick, nature takes it down much quicker then it would die in a farm setting.

I would assume the same for wild birds, they have less exposure and less chance of carrying and passing things on.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree with SpeckeldHen. Also, many diseases are species specific. Your chickens will not get them from wild birds but they could from other chickens.

The way I look at it, take reasonable precautions and you've done what's reasonable. Why gamble with your chicken's health when you don't have to? And please have the courtesy to protect other people's chickens from yours. You really don't know what diseases your chickens might have an immunity to that would wipe out another's flock.

I'll leave it to the individual to decide what is reasonable for them.

 

[hikerchick]

Quote:
Indians and blankets??

 

[FrizzleFreak]

Quote:
Indians and blankets??

One of the first tactics in biowarfare, and one of the things that makes me feel...not so proud of our past.
In order to subdue the Indians, blankets from small pox victims(a disease that is from the old world and the Indians had no immunity to) were given out in needy Indian communities. You can predict what happened next.
I read a journal by a traveler who came across one of the villages that had received blankets. It was horrific.

 

[hikerchick]

Oh my.

 

[GardenGranny]

Speckled Hen--
What do you spray visitors' shoes with?

Thanks