The following was posted in the Maine thread and I thought it would be an interesting conversation starter on this thread, too. (I DID get permission from ashandvine to copy and paste it here.) She just doesn't want to get "yelled at" and I have told her the people on this thread are generous and kind! Swaps in NH have been suspended, I think voluntarily, because of threat of disease spread. That's the context for the following post by ashandvine:
"I have a tough question to ask. I have been thinking a lot about the drama in NH and feel like it really is in our back yard. Wild birds can and do carry MG. There's folks trading and swapping and it would be foolish of us to think that there wasn't disease here. I think that I would like to learn from NH AND maybe be proactive about supporting each other as we go through testing steps and educating ourselves so that we are all safer-- birds too. SOMEONE is going to find out they have sick birds. They shouldn't be branded with a big red C (for cull) but supported. No one wants to go through this. I have been privy to some of the personal stories and while those people who sell while knowing their birds might be ill is wrong those who just don't know can't be blamed. I would rather build a community of people through BYC that supported each other through the whole process of test, cull if you have to, and rebuild if we can. So here is the question: Would anyone else be proactive about testing their birds for MG and Coryza? Do you think 'you' the Maine BYC folks could be compassionate to anyone who does and finds out the work ahead of them starts with killing all their favorite birds? I got thinking about this and realized I am a bit more attached to a few of my birds than others. The idea of culling them is tragic to me. But it would be the right thing to do if I found out they were carriers of something as serious as these diseases. I think we all want poultry keeping to be as simple as feed, water, scrape, collect but... it isn't. Even your closed flock, NPIP or not, could have these germs. The point that it could happen to any of us has really hung heavy with me since a friend of mine in NH who is educated and careful found out she has to cull some of her birds. Not all thankfully for her but some. Its more than an expense of money but of trust and work and time and love sometimes. I have found BYC to be really helpful and supportive as a resource. I would hope that in a time when there is a lot of death and struggle we could be the same. Just food for thought. I think I am going to have my birds tested. I also think I am going to start immunizing my birds against certain things starting now as chicks, this year. Thoughts?"
"I have a tough question to ask. I have been thinking a lot about the drama in NH and feel like it really is in our back yard. Wild birds can and do carry MG. There's folks trading and swapping and it would be foolish of us to think that there wasn't disease here. I think that I would like to learn from NH AND maybe be proactive about supporting each other as we go through testing steps and educating ourselves so that we are all safer-- birds too. SOMEONE is going to find out they have sick birds. They shouldn't be branded with a big red C (for cull) but supported. No one wants to go through this. I have been privy to some of the personal stories and while those people who sell while knowing their birds might be ill is wrong those who just don't know can't be blamed. I would rather build a community of people through BYC that supported each other through the whole process of test, cull if you have to, and rebuild if we can. So here is the question: Would anyone else be proactive about testing their birds for MG and Coryza? Do you think 'you' the Maine BYC folks could be compassionate to anyone who does and finds out the work ahead of them starts with killing all their favorite birds? I got thinking about this and realized I am a bit more attached to a few of my birds than others. The idea of culling them is tragic to me. But it would be the right thing to do if I found out they were carriers of something as serious as these diseases. I think we all want poultry keeping to be as simple as feed, water, scrape, collect but... it isn't. Even your closed flock, NPIP or not, could have these germs. The point that it could happen to any of us has really hung heavy with me since a friend of mine in NH who is educated and careful found out she has to cull some of her birds. Not all thankfully for her but some. Its more than an expense of money but of trust and work and time and love sometimes. I have found BYC to be really helpful and supportive as a resource. I would hope that in a time when there is a lot of death and struggle we could be the same. Just food for thought. I think I am going to have my birds tested. I also think I am going to start immunizing my birds against certain things starting now as chicks, this year. Thoughts?"
