Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

[Chicken03]

What a great list of rules.

 

[OutdoorFun4]

When the Queen of the Flock provides a lesson...I listen. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. Think about the countless birds you are effecting. Nice Work!

 

[JoJo 95]

I say this:everyone has there own methods. I agree with Miss Prissy and Speckledhen. Also with proper management, most flocks will never develop sicknesses at all. Also if like one of you said, if you just raise pets you should just wait until there is no hope if you make sure your bird doesnt infect others. Most people would disagree with me because I am new to BYC and because I am young(only 13). But I am used to raising pets and livestock and know that properly managed animals can live their entire life without needing treatment or developing any disease.

 

[shannonb]

Wow, there is so much I DON"T know. For one, and I should have known better, I did NOT quarantine the four new hens I got last fall. I just threw them in - their coop was big enough for them to get away if the old ones gave them trouble....there was even a divider for them to get to another side with food and water. BUT I did NOT quarantine, what was I thinking. Thank goodness I got lucky and noone was sick. They are now moved into a smaller but much nicer coop - more like a chicken penthouse...ha ha. It's got a door that they can go out to a huge run anytime during the day....I lock it at night. It has a concrete floor with no chance of predators getting in.

I must ask this.....even though I do not want to.......how do you cull your sick ones? Do you ring them or what? I would have to have my husband do it if the time ever came. If you have healthy chickens and they don't go around new ones can they still get diseases? Sorry for the stupid questions, but I'm new to the chicken "business".

Thanks much,
Shannon

 

[Promiselandfarm]

And we do need to know that some diseases can have spore and such that can live in the ground up to ten years or more. Learned this the hard way with my daughter shadowing the vet. It can come in on your tires or what have you. It was not our chickens but our new puppy that caught something bad...new strain of parvo...very expensive to treat and now my soil where ever the dog may have gone could be contaminated up to 10 years.

and the puppy had her shots up to date just a new strain going around..... thing mutate and change so being bio-safe is important but we can not forsee everything.

 

[Mourningdove]

Thank you Speckledhen! Wisdom & rules to live by!

All my birds thank you

 

[bigzio]

While I don't know if the dust bath was mentioned at all, it is very important for your flocks health...add a little 5% sevin dust to the area and the flock is treated for vermin.

Just a added thought....

~ bigzio

 

[bethgranberg]

This is great, thank you from someone who is learning and listening!

 

[mfsakc]

Thank you speckledhen. When I find your advice threads I save them in my favorites for future reference and study.

 

[speckledhen]

must ask this.....even though I do not want to.......how do you cull your sick ones? Do you ring them or what? I would have to have my husband do it if the time ever came. If you have healthy chickens and they don't go around new ones can they still get diseases? Sorry for the stupid questions, but I'm new to the chicken "business".

The easiest way on you is to hold the bird by the legs with the head hanging down, place a broomstick across the head, just below the jawline/head and stand on it, with a foot on either side of the head and pull upward firmly. It dislocates the neck and the bird passes on quickly. The axe is okay, too. Seems the easiest on the birds is hardest on the human who has to perform it.

The last question is too hard to answer for sure. Depends on too many factors. If you transport germs from the new sick ones to the healthy ones, then the sick birds don't have to go anywhere near the healthy ones to contaminate them.

As far as dustbathing, I may sometimes add food grade DE to their usual spots, but not that often. We don't use insecticides around the birds at all, even Sevin, though some do.

Promiselandfarm is right, that we can't always foresee everything. We just have to do our best and try to cover all the bases.​