Seeking Up-to-date Bird Flu Info

[luckitri]

Hi. I have been reading alot of threads on here but it is very time consuming. I need up-to-date bird flu info. For example, I figured out that chicken wire is no longer acceptable for building coops so mine is built with different wire. I thought that bird flu was spread with the poop so my coop is basically a wooden box with the floor out and screened windows (doors) put in it. So now my chicks will have no direct exposure to wild birds by sharing feed, water or having them sit on top and pooping in the coop. But my girls really want out of that box and I don't blame them. I have been planning on building modules that can attach to the various windows so that I can move it all around in our yard but I want to know more about bird flu and other possible contagions so hoping someone can send me in the right direction where I don't have to read for hours just to get a little information - pleeasse?

 

[rooster-red]

There is a ton of info out there, just use google and type in "bird flu"

 

[luckitri]

"where I don't have to read for hours" was the key here. I realize there is alot of "news" out there about it but I was hoping to just get concise information for my purpose only as I don't have hours to spend looking. I thought I would find it on this forum but I am having extreme difficulty navigating obviously because I do not even understand how my request got posted in this section. I also cannot find the "home" button like there is on every other forum I am on. Anyway - I spent an hour reading all the threads that first came up here when I searched "bird flu" and it is a hell of alot of reading for very little concrete guidance as to how to build bird flu (and other contagion free environments for my chicks) I also have spent hours reviewing the coop pages and those are not options for me in my situation since I am not even supposed to have chickens where I live.

I need to build lightweight portable modules so I can attempt to keep the landlords grass growing. However I don't even know if the bird flu lives in wild bird poop how long will it stay active so when I move the module I might infect my birds anyway? and then possibly us?

Also what makes chickens happy? Some of the designs would not make my chickens happy so perhaps breeds like different things? Our last bunch of chickens never would lay in the coop my husband built for them. We found their eggs all over - literally. The breed I have now is totally different in eating preferences too.

But since I am a renter now I cannot let them out of the coop and my neighbors are not friendly to this sort of thing. I feel bad for them stuck in the coop but my other chicks would come when called - these are wild. They have tamed up some but we know if they get out they will be gone. They did not imprint on us when they were babies - they just stayed wild whereas in the past our babies would follow us like we were momma. And when they were grown they would come when we called them by name. Not these.

 

[hinkjc]

www.cdc.gov

Jody

 

[luckitri]

OoooooHhhhh! Thanks Jody! I found what I am looking for. Now that my girls have a coop and I don't move it every day the wild traffic for their leavings is much much less.

Interesting that my cat could catch it and transmit it to us. He is not a bird catcher so no worries. Now my alpha dog is a bird catcher and it does not say if she can catch it being a dog. Or I have not read that far yet . . .

 

[tx_dane_mom]

Quote:
It intrigues me how you say your 'alpha dog' is a bird catcher. I have 6 dogs, the eldest grump, who just so happens to be the alpha dog, was initially the only bird killer. Now the others have caught on. My 2nd in command if you will, the eldest dog is in particular a duck hater (why does that sound funny), and my eldest dane who used to play with the birds killed his first the other day and I am pretty sure he wasn't playing. Now, my younger 2 will pack up and help, but don't have a drive to kill, 1 in particular is my 'fetch 'em' up dog. And my puppy is being raised to love chickens, but STILL has that want. Do you associate the whole 'alpha' thing w/bird catching/killing? Sorry to hi-jack your thread, but it never occurred to me like that.
Kristi

 

[luckitri]

I really don't know. This dog will catch and kill anything she can - even a lizard or a fly. She was making friends with the chickens but she had a couple of weeks of steady wild bird killing when the wild ones would feed on the leftovers because I moved the pen daily. The chicks are more afraid of her now having witnessed that. She has always understood the boundary between pet and wild and has not crossed it. She is 10 years old now but still very active and able. I am feeding her raw meat to try to keep her young. (Just started this last year so really it is the breed in her and she is a mutt so not sure.) (She is so cute when she catches the chickens for me - when they were younger - because she never injures them but it is so difficult for her to hold them in her mouth and not harm them - she gets a really crazy look in her eye with those feathers tickling her mouth.) Anyway, like I said, these chicks are wild and I really needed her help catching them.

Years ago I had a dog that would catch and eat anything as well. I don't recall birds - he caught rabbits and snakes more often.

I imagine that with a group of dogs once the lust hits it would be difficult stopping them. Always heard that if the dog goes after the chicken you have to get rid of the dog because once that barrier is broken it won't stop.

I had a chicken that got into a neighbors yard where they had a vicious dog. That chicken was free range and she was quick enough to hide (for hours) until the owner put the dog in the house and she came when I called her. It was so sweet. Although I had clipped their wings - she just got so excited when she laid her first egg that off she went bragging about it.

Then again, I knew someone who figured if the chicken was stupid enough to get too close to their dog - she was not bothered when her dog killed and ate her chickens.

I think that killing birds is extra fun for dogs because they are not earthbound it is more of a challenge and an accomplishment if they get one. My dog has to be not only quick and smart but she has to employ some trickery as well.

When I started finding the wild birds in the yard I became concerned about the bird flu but then I saw her catching one. I had thought she was too old to do that anymore. With our other chickens that were truly free range she just chased the wild birds off when they were babies because she knew they were a threat. We had a huge tree with lots of bird families in it and it was very interesting to hear them talking about the baby chicks and sweet to watch the chicks hiding in the tall grass and gaining their confidence with the wild things as they grew.

Anyway my alpha female needs alot of animals around her to protect and boss around and I have always wished she could live on a farm. She gets so excited about the chickens and gets all puppyish and playful and barks at them with her puppy bark. When I was bringing them in every night she always helped because like I said, these ones are wild and even though they know the routine they have only come to me willingly once in five months.

I think if you spend time with each chicken in your lap, petting it in front of the dogs and telling them that this is one of your babies they should get the message loud and clear and know they are off limits. My husband and I do this at night once in awhile. He almost lost an eye to our last flock because we let them sit on our shoulders and one day one of them just could not resist poking that shiny object - his eye. So now we only socialize physically with them at night when they don't have the interest to climb us.

 

[tx_dane_mom]

Thanks so much for your input. Your doing an awesome thing for your girl by feeding her raw by the way.