Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

[Hdagostino]

Chickens may be livestock or they may be pets, but they deserve and desire attention and care. If you are going to maintain a healthy backyard flock, there are certain rules that should be followed. For those of you who frequently PM me for advice, or for those of you who are new to chicken-keeping, here is the "Speckledhen Method" in a nutshell.

Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

1) Keep a clean, dry environment...change bedding as needed, watch out for leaky waterers/windows/roofs, etc.

2) Fresh air/ventilation is essential..poop and respiration add moisture in the air. Ventilation overhead, not at roost or floor level.

3) Provide fresh water, daily. Would you take a sip out of the waterer? If not, clean it.

4) Give fresh, nutritious food, formulated for the age/function of the birds

5) Provide a safe, predator-proofed, uncrowded coop and run...they depend on you for protection

6) Periodically, check over each bird in the flock for lice, mites, wounds, etc.

7) Practice good biosecurity..disinfect shoes before and after visting the feedstore and shows, quarantine new birds, etc Under no circumstances, sell, trade, or give away a bird that shows sign of infection or has contacted another bird who shows signs of infection, or comes from a flock that has shown signs of infection, now or in the past.

8) At the first sign of contagious respiratory illness, i.e., discharges from nose or eyes or bad smell, cull, cull, cull...birds don't get colds, per se; they contract diseases, many of which make them carriers for their lifetime. That means they are able to infect others even if they seem to recover themselves. See Rule #7.

9) Do not medicate unnecessarily, including wormers and antibiotics

10) DO YOUR RESEARCH! There are numerous books and articles profiling poultry management and poultry disease. Read, study and then formulate a plan of action, should the worst happen, before it happens.


Happy Chicken-Keeping!

On #6 checking for lice and mites... where would they typically be found?
If found do you quarantine that chicken or expect it has spread to flu Ci?

 

[Siotha]

On #6 checking for lice and mites... where would they typically be found?
If found do you quarantine that chicken or expect it has spread to flu Ci?

I'm new and have a maintenance plan. My game birds have to be wormed 2xs a year, and do lice prevention with ivermectin for chickens. Topical (injection type) applied to skin under wings or wherever I can make skin contact. If they are too free ranged to catch and treat, I add a drop to treats and let them take orally. Leg mites cause the feet and legs to appear less smooth but can be so bad as to mishape the scales and toes.. I check the chickens bums and watch for scratching similar to dogs having fleas.

 

[speckledhen]

On #6 checking for lice and mites... where would they typically be found?
If found do you quarantine that chicken or expect it has spread to flu Ci?

Generally, I look around their backsides, near the vent, under those feathers. You can look under the neck feathers and under the wings, but I have only seen lice and mites twice in 15 years. First was a rooster I bought for my original flock, came with a raging case of lice all over his bum. Then, about 3 years ago, there was an outbreak of teensy mites after we moved to a new barn that was not just completely impregnated with diatomaceous earth and they had been inside for too long of a period and I had a group of very old hens who did not dustbathe-I think they actually were the culprits who started that infestation. I did not quarantine them. I completely cleaned out their bedding in all pens, sprayed all cracks and crevices with citrus oil based Orange Guard and dusted them with Poultry Dust. Nothing has shown up since that time.

 

[Kissie618]

Very nice Cyn! Rule #8 was especially important to me. I haven't had any birds that have been sick like that, but now I know what to do if they are.

Rule #3 made me laugh out loud.

Thanks for taking the time to post that.

Rule #3 would be a big NO for me, but that is just because we use rain barrel water and while It is clean, clear and usually fresh, I don't know that I completely trust it. Plus my girls will drink random dog poop puddle water from the yard when are allowed to free range so I am not sure my standards apply to them LOL!

 

[speckledhen]

Of course they drink whatever they find, but inside their pens, they all have clean water, always. I can't control what they find out on range, naturally, but I can control their waterers inside.

 

[Reiki Rooster]

Thank you!

I have printed 4 copies- so far. From now on, anyone getting a chicken from me or anyone else gets a copy on parchment paper!

Ohhhh that’s a great idea!!! Thanks I’m so doing that also

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, you quoted ranchhand! Sally's been gone from us for about 10 years now. I can't even believe we lost her that long ago. She was awesome, so supportive and smart.

 

[docteurshepherd]

I agree with all of this except rule 8 honestly. I have a closed flock that I'm pretty sure have a chronic respiratory disease. None of them show symptoms regularly I've just had a baby chick have it real bad and so far one get symptoms again when weather changed and die.

I mean, I kind of get it. But they're fine right now you'd never know. I just can't imagine going okay, one of my chickens died of some respiratory disease and more than likely all of you have it. Better cull my whole flock.

 

[speckledhen]

@docteurshepherd , you can make that decision, certainly, however, with that comes a situation that is completely different from mine. You CANNOT EVER let one of your birds leave your property. You cannot ethically sell chicks or even hatching eggs because some respiratory diseases can be passed through the egg to the chick. You have boxed yourself into a corner and the only moral thing to do is 100% close your flock until they are all dead and gone and your property has been without any poultry on it for a period of time for the virus/bacteria/whatever it is to dissipate.
If you do sell chicks, eggs or any other birds from your infected flock or don't change shoes before going to other places where there are chickens, you risk infecting someone else's flock. So, one choice leaves you without other choices. The other choice frees you up in the future. As a breeder, which I pretty much became after I created these rules, I purposefully am very strict because I don't want to be stuck with extra birds. I can sell eggs and chicks or even adult birds with peace of mind because there has never been any contagious respiratory illness here. So, yes, you can choose to allow them all to live, even the symptomatic ones. Just know that your birds are not fine, they are carriers and all your future actions must reflect that. As my own birds age and die off through attrition, if anything happened here (unlikely since I never buy started birds from anyone, though this season, I bought a new bunch of hatchery chicks from the local feed store owned by a veterinarian), I might choose not to cull because these are all staying for the long haul and I rarely sell birds anymore.

 

[docteurshepherd]

@docteurshepherd , you can make that decision, certainly, however, with that comes a situation that is completely different from mine. You CANNOT EVER let one of your birds leave your property. You cannot ethically sell chicks or even hatching eggs because some respiratory diseases can be passed through the egg to the chick. You have boxed yourself into a corner and the only moral thing to do is 100% close your flock until they are all dead and gone and your property has been without any poultry on it for a period of time for the virus/bacteria/whatever it is to dissipate.
If you do sell chicks, eggs or any other birds from your infected flock or don't change shoes before going to other places where there are chickens, you risk infecting someone else's flock. So, one choice leaves you without other choices. The other choice frees you up in the future. As a breeder, which I pretty much became after I created these rules, I purposefully am very strict because I don't want to be stuck with extra birds. I can sell eggs and chicks or even adult birds with peace of mind because there has never been any contagious respiratory illness here. So, yes, you can choose to allow them all to live, even the symptomatic ones. Just know that your birds are not fine, they are carriers and all your future actions must reflect that. As my own birds age and die off through attrition, if anything happened here (unlikely since I never buy started birds from anyone, though this season, I bought a new bunch of hatchery chicks from the local feed store owned by a veterinarian), I might choose not to cull because these are all staying for the long haul and I rarely sell birds anymore.

That makes sense. I guess the commandment could be it depends. I didn't mean they were fine as in completely okay, like I said I keep a closed flock as I'm aware I can't bring any others in.