The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

This is what the the Chicken Health for Dummies says

(By Julie Gauthier, DVM, MPH, Dipl. ACVPM & Rob Ludlow)


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It sounds to me that we're back to the premise of "Natural Chicken Keeping" - PREVENTION THROUGH GOOD HUSBANDRY that helps the animals build strong immune systems. Since it's saying many - if not all - are exposed to the virus, the idea would be that they can also have the ability to NOT contract the full-blown disease if this information is correct.

So -
Providing for our flocks in such a way that we emulate what they'd get "in nature" as best as we can within the circumstances we have...
Fresh air
Clean water
Access to outside
Feed that's as close to natural as possible (this is a hard one)
Deep litter in confined runs (vs. impacted ground that gets muddy and nasty in the weather)
Reducing stress by not housing too many birds in the space we have...

And a bunch of other things we've described and discussed here on this thread help to build immune system strength.

Sometimes there will be birds that don't do well and weaker in constitution. In nature, these birds wouldn't survive to bring down the whole flock..... Unfortunately lalaland has some birds that aren't doing well.

After examining husbandry methods to see if there is anything that can or should be changed, it would make sense to me to remove the weak birds, do whatever can be done to strengthen those that remain, and go on from there. It sounds like there are some that haven't contracted the disease in the flock.

 

[Leahs Mom]

That makes me think that it's probably time again to revisit some of the "Natural Chicken Keeping" principles/ideas that we can do to help provide the best opportunity to create strong immune systems and general health.


So.... Could we all list the things we do husbandry-wise along those lines? There are plenty of folks that are newer to the thread that haven't read all of what has been shared in the past....

 

[ronott1]

This is what the the Chicken Health for Dummies says

(By Julie Gauthier, DVM, MPH, Dipl. ACVPM & Rob Ludlow)





It sounds to me that we're back to the premise of "Natural Chicken Keeping" - PREVENTION THROUGH GOOD HUSBANDRY that helps the animals build strong immune systems. Since it's saying many - if not all - are exposed to the virus, the idea would be that they can also have the ability to NOT contract the full-blown disease if this information is correct.

So -
Providing for our flocks in such a way that we emulate what they'd get "in nature" as best as we can within the circumstances we have...
Fresh air
Clean water
Access to outside
Feed that's as close to natural as possible (this is a hard one)
Deep litter in confined runs (vs. impacted ground that gets muddy and nasty in the weather)
Reducing stress by not housing too many birds in the space we have...

And a bunch of other things we've described and discussed here on this thread help to build immune system strength.

Sometimes there will be birds that don't do well and weaker in constitution. In nature, these birds wouldn't survive to bring down the whole flock..... Unfortunately lalaland has some birds that aren't doing well.

After examining husbandry methods to see if there is anything that can or should be changed, it would make sense to me to remove the weak birds, do whatever can be done to strengthen those that remain, and go on from there. It sounds like there are some that haven't contracted the disease in the flock.

This is very true!

I had one hen die of mareks cancer. The vet that did the necropsy said that I would have to vaccinate all birds that ever came to my place and etc.

That was two years ago and I have not had a single case of maeks since. I have only had the mareks cancer the one time and have never had active mareks.

Added: I do not vaccinate for mareks.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: Thank you! I think that's very encouraging

 

[lazy gardener]

This is very true!

I had one hen die of mareks cancer. The vet that did the necropsy said that I would have to vaccinate all birds that ever came to my place and etc.

That was two years ago and I have not had a single case of maeks since. I have only had the mareks cancer the one time and have never had active mareks.

Added: I do not vaccinate for mareks.

Thank you so much for painting the other side of the picture. Do you have wild turkeys in your area??? The hen who died, did she present with any weakness, failure to thrive, or any other signs that might indicate to you that she was not a "strong" member of your flock???

 

[ronott1]

Thank you so much for painting the other side of the picture. Do you have wild turkeys in your area??? The hen who died, did she present with any weakness, failure to thrive, or any other signs that might indicate to you that she was not a "strong" member of your flock???

She was a golden comet and had stopped laying a long time before. She was very thin from the cancer.

 

[lalaland]

I don't know how mareks came to my flock. It is true that I have had unvaccinated chicks for the past two springs. That just means that they supposedly have less protection against mareks if exposed. They would be more likely to get it, and then you would have active virus being shedded in your coop/land/barn etc. WHich represents a serious risk to incoming chicks.

I've concluded from massive reading in the past week, and from talking to the vet, that mareks is everywhere. It is also transmitted from wild birds? THat seems contradictory to me.
Some of the vaccines offered by hatcheries are ineffective. A few hatcheries offer a more sophisticated vaccine that has something to do with 3's. (Ok, I didn't retain everything).

McMurray hatchery is one of those hatcheries.

The virus is a herpes type, and it mutates like crazy. So vaccines need to keep changing.

I talked the vet into letting me bring the hen (who was vaccinated) with grey eyes and partial blindness in for necropsy and euthanasia without charging me again. Normally, you can bring in as many birds at one time for one fee. But each time you come in, there is a fee. I am also going to bring in the rooster - who needs culling because he is 5 mo old, harassing the crested pullets and hens, and I need to reduce stress levels in the coop. So he can be a kind of control to see if he is a carrier who is asymptomatic.

Now, I am not sure they will be able to determine that. There are blood tests, offered at Texas, but not at Univ of Mn path lab.

I spread turkey droppings in feathers in a couple of areas of the run. Keep your fingers crossed for me. The droppings came from a guy who is on the farm his great great great grandparents built around the civil war. THere have been chickens and turkeys there more or less continuously since then. He feels his flock has been healthy. He does not vaccinate. We met at a walmart parking lot in the next town so that I wouldn't bring anything to his farm. Again, I feel like a plague carrier!

 

[armorfirelady]

That makes me think that it's probably time again to revisit some of the "Natural Chicken Keeping" principles/ideas that we can do to help provide the best opportunity to create strong immune systems and general health. 


So.... Could we all list the things we do husbandry-wise along those lines?  There are plenty of folks that are newer to the thread that haven't read all of what has been shared in the past....

I use deep litter, fermented food and the hens are outside as much as they want year round, rain, snow, sleet, etc. when I remember they get plain yogurt, garlic and cayenne pepper. Wood ash mixed with peat moss for dust bathing and bug prevention. They have access to water (I don't change it every day or even weekly) and basically I let them decide what to eat and what not to in the yard and veggie garden. They do get herbs during the winter and I freeze veggies also to use during the winter. They get no heat (I live in the northeast freezing temps & snow are always present during the winter) and are out in the snow. They live in a hoop coop with just a billboard tarp covering it. Plenty of ventilation but winter drafts are blocked by hay bales but windows are open year round.

If they can't take extreme cold or heat they won't be in my flock. Survival of the fittest here. And I want hens that don't require a ton of work. As I get older I work smarter not harder.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I spread turkey droppings in feathers in a couple of areas of the run. Keep your fingers crossed for me. The droppings came from a guy who is on the farm his great great great grandparents built around the civil war. THere have been chickens and turkeys there more or less continuously since then. He feels his flock has been healthy. He does not vaccinate. We met at a walmart parking lot in the next town so that I wouldn't bring anything to his farm. Again, I feel like a plague carrier!

I understand that feeling extremely well! Believe me! Toss some grain or whatever you have in those areas to be sure they peck amongst all that stuff.

 

[lalaland]

ok, I'm sad because I took the hen down to be necropsied. She was a sweetie, and even purred on the way down. Rooster went too, but I would have culled him anyway as mentioned before.