Quote:
Here's a link to the article i assume you speak of.
http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyar...la-a-concern-with-backyard-chickens-H19.aspx?
Very interesting. I hope all their facts are correct. I had read somewhere else that a chicken with salmonella will not exhibit obvious symptoms, but according to this article, they exhibit very obvious symptoms.
I would definitely like to know which is true.
That is poor information. The author is talking about salmonella in general, but is mixing info about different strains of salmonella bacteria.
Salmonella in general is a type of intestinal bacteria that can cause disease in animals and people. There are thousands of different strains, a few hundred of which commonly infect people. Many are host specific, they only infect certain species.
The two of common concern in poultry are Salmonella Pullorum and Salmonella Eteritiditis.
S. Pullorum affects chickens and cannot be passed to people. It can be devastating to a flock with high mortality rates among young chicks and pullets. S. Pullorum testing is the basis of the National Poultry Improvement Program to prevent the unchecked spread of this disease. This test is usually required to move birds across state lines or to show them at the local fair. For My Pet Chicken to say that their birds are free of "salmonella" because they are S. Pullorum tested is misleading.
The other strain of concern is S. Enteritiditis. This is the the concern of the latest egg recall. Otherwise healthy chickens can carry it, but it can cause serious problems in people. Testing for SE is also available under the NPIP program, but is not one of the base tests required for participation in the program. SE can be contracted at any time so birds that tested good last week would not necessarily be free of it next week. It would take continual monitoring. The FDA passed regulations last year that requires all farms with more than 3,000 hens to monitor the environment for SE. For the largest of farms (over 50,000 hens) the new regulations just went into effect in July. As a last note, and as many here have noted, properly cooking eggs kills SE. There is a consumer warning label that is required to be on every carton of eggs sold.
My Pet Chicken's take on this is that overcrowding on factory farms is the chief cause of "salmonella" infections in chickens and their recommendations for prevention are to give your birds plenty of room and feed them good feed. That is completely off base. Salmonella exists in the environment and can be contracted numerous ways. When done properly, the biggest advantage to a caged layer system is that the birds are segregated from each other, from rodents and wild birds, and from the manure which should prevent the transmission of disease. The downfall to this is that it is hardly humane, and due to the large stocking rates, improper management can lead to rapid propagation of disease throughout large numbers of hens and subsequently through very large numbers of people.
Your flock is not immune just because you have few birds and give them plenty of space. The largest carriers of salmonella are rodents, wild birds, flies, and other chickens. These can be just as prevalent in your backyard as they are on large farms. A small flock owner doesn't run the risk of sickening thousands of people though...
Here is what should have been said about prevention:
Practice bio-security. Don't visit other coops and poultry exhibitions and traipse disease back to your own birds. If you must go, wash your clothes, sterilize your shoes (especially clean out any manure in the treads), and shower before visiting your own flock. Wash your hands before handling birds or eggs and wash your hands afterwards also.
Rodent control. Trap and bait rats and mice. Traps help to monitor the population and bait will kill the hard to trap ones. Clean up any junk piles or overgrown areas in your yard that can harbor rodents. Keep feed in rodent proof containers. Clean up any spilled feed promptly. Put feeders up at night. Exclude rodents from the coop by patching up any holes and keeping the structure tight.
Don't attract wild birds to your yard. They can be hard to exclude, but obviously things like having a wild bird feeder in the same yard as your chickens isn't a good idea.
Control flies. Dry manure doesn't attract many flies. Wet manure attracts them and provides breeding habitat. Keep the inside of the coop dry. Fix any leaky waterers and clean up spills promptly. If you compost manure, cover the pile with a heavy layer of lawn clippings or leaves to discourage the flies. Hydrated lime can be used to treat problem areas and kill fly larvae.
