Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Thanks Cynthia.

So now when someone gets birds from me, in addition to giving them teh URL for BYC, give them this list. Great idea..

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Cynthia - that's it in a nutshell. And even us BYC maniacs who have the attention span of a gnat can read and understand it! Can it be made a sticky, or put in the Learning Center?

 

[Msbear]

Quote:
I agree that it is our responsibility to our flock and to others to maintain health in our birds and cull that which cannot be cured but I feel very strongly that too many are suggesting we all kill our entire flock at the fist sign of illness. I know chickens do not get colds but they do have reactions to poor sanitary conditions that, if fixed, cures your entire flock. There are a lot of people on this forum that many respect and wouldn't second guess thier opinion. I think it is your responsibility to let us all know of other options. Not all sickness are a terrible virus that will wipe out chicken kind as we know it.

 

[MissPrissy]

Quote:
For me there is no other option. I do not raise pets. I raise livestock.

My chickens are food, both eggs and meat. I do not and would not ever feed my family, my friends or a stranger a bird that had been infected with visual disease or had been treated with medications.

It is not reckless nor is it my responsibility to coddle and pamper anyone with a sick chicken.

To treat any chicken for illness without having a lab result to back up a diagnosis is irresponsible no matter which way you want to look at the issue. A virus cannot be treated with an antibiotic. Administering an antibiotic to a chicken that doesn't have a bacterial infection not only weakens the birds defenses in fighting off infection it has proven to create superbugs which are not irradicated with our known antibiotic drugs.

Many chicken diseases are regulated and are required to be reported to the state. How many backyard flock owners know this? How many would report a disease if they knew they had it?

The sad part is that most often the best answer is to cull and too many people have hearts and flowers growing in their eyes and can't act with responsibility and do what needs to be done to stop the reinfestation of the virus or bacteria.

Most often there is no other option.

I have no intention of letting someone eat an egg or a chicken that has had disease or been dosed with medications of any kind.

 

[jbowyer01]

I love it!
I keep a pair of crocs (shoes) at my back door and they are used only for the coop, I dont even walk around the yard in them, they go from the back of the house to the coop and then back again.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Msbear]

I usually agree with everything that you say, MP. You know Im your biggest fan

but I don't raise mine for meat and don't sell my eggs for consumption. Not everyone on here does... and our situations are all different. We cannot diagnose someones flock over the internet and I don't think it is our right to suggest they do in the bird without attempting treatment first. We can all agree that, more often than not, we are not dealing with a dangerous virus. I wish more people were responsible with thier housing conditions and thier flock management but that cannot be solved by culling all their birds. Teaching proper sanitary conditions will help, I think.

As for antibiotics creating superbugs and not allowing our flock to fight off infections on their own, I can say the same thing about humans taking antibiotics. I realize later I shouldn't have jumped the gun and treated my hen with antibiotic and cider vinegar would have been good enough to treat her sniffle. I think my birdy was having a rough transition in the dead of winter and got stressed. It irritates me to know that if I would have posted this situation, someone would have told me to kill her. She is absolutely fine now and none of my other birds ever showed signs of illness. We all have the power to deal with our flocks as we see fit but I just think you guys are being way too hasty to jump the gun and cull at every opportunity without considering individual situations.

For you guys, who raise and sell meat birds and eggs, there may be only one option... but for those of us that raise birds just to look pretty in our yards, we have the leisure to cull at our own discretion... after we feel there is no hope.

 

[MissPrissy]

That's the problem. You say you have it at your leisure to cull.

Depending on the disease in question that kind of thinking is what will cause outbreaks that cause other people to loose their flocks.

Raising chickens for any reason - even just to look pretty - is a major responsibility that most people are not prepared to shoulder.

 

[speckledhen]

Ms. Bear, note that this is the way I manage my flock. Do I think it's the best way to have a strong, healthy flock? Yes, I do. I didn't say you have to do exactly what I do, but there's no way you can go wrong using this yardstick. Many, like MissPrissy and myself and others I can name on this board, cull for disease. So far, I have not had to do it. Trust me, I raise pets. Anyone who has seen me with my birds knows I love them. They are not just livestock to me. Will it be hard if I have to cull my pets? Yes, yes, yes. I'll cry more than a few tears. Will I do it anyway? Absolutely. If I see snotty noses and matted eyes or hear coughing, the bird willl go. No matter if she's my absolute favorite. Do I cull for one sneeze? No. Too many environmental issues cause that. But I will watch for other symptoms. Observation is critical to head off disease. I never said you have to do what I do or that I know everything. It's not my responsibility to give anyone options...if you read #10, you'll see that I urge everyone to read, study, buy books, consult vets, whatever. I am not personally responsible for anyone else, only my own flock. If I told someone to treat something like ILT or Coryza, it would be against my better judgement. If someone does decide to treat, it's up to them to understand what keeping carrier birds will do to their overall flock health. I'm all about informed decisions here.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Excellent information Cyn, and very straight forward!

 

[spook]

Good job!

I do have to comment on #8, no chickens do not catch colds, of course coryza with stinky yuck is a definite cull, but its come to my knowledge that the big hatcheries do not test for Mycoplamas (MG,MS, and others). NPIP is a good idea to test, yet the mycoplasmas in wild birds in the 1980 tested positive to these conditions. The only way you can prevent the MG, MS is to have them swab tested, keep them in a window screened house with no outdoor access along with no feed bags, and the other spreadable ways that you have mentioned in the Bio security.
If you are getting birds in from a hatchery, its almost a 99% chance it has been passed down trans-ovum creating a healthy immune chick that is now a carrier.
Often birds do not show signs of these conditions, which says that your birds have maintained a stress free life.

Like I have said over and over (as we have discussed too Speck) is to contact your State Veterinarian! Ask questions and comment on what can be done to make changes. The next gathering is in 2010 to bring about awareness, get your states Veterinarians and Diagnostic lab doctors up to speed as Maine's Vet is going into this full force.

I didn't mean to Bogart your section here, great items to live by, don't beware as much as BE AWARE.
Kel