I learned that someone who bought chicks from me has Marek's in her flock so I am going to have to be more cautious who I sell my birds to in the future. I have a healthy flock and I don't bring in anything from anywhere else but because Marek's is transferred through feather dander, a person can carry it with them. According to what I read on BYC, even eggs can carry the feather dander so although Marek's is not transferred from the hens to the chicks directly, it can be transferred through feather dander on the eggs. I will only be hatching my own eggs and not getting eggs from anyone else. Fortunately the only eggs I have brought in for hatching were from reputable people.
I have been doing some landscaping in my yard so I have had more mud than usual this winter but my birds spend most of the time on grass. They may walk through muddy areas but that is just because they are not fenced off. I think anyone who buys birds should check out the conditions where the birds are kept and talk to the seller directly. I have a temporary pen where I move birds for sale but I am not sure it is a good idea to let people in my yard if they are carrying diseases with them so I might have to set up the temporary pen in the front yard when I am expecting people to come over for birds after what I learned the past few days.
If people have concerns about a seller they should definitely report their concerns to the proper authorities rather than use social media to misrepresent their case. Anything can happen to a bird after it leaves a person's property so if things don't look right to you, walk away and make a report. If you buy a sick bird out of pity for the bird and think you are going to "rescue" it, be sure you know what you are dealing with before you invest in that bird. I would never want to bring a sick bird home because the risk is not worth it to me. I have brought home birds I bought last year that had mites and lice but those are treatable as long as you don't overdose the bird or stress it out too much. My mistake has been in treating new birds on arrival and not following it with a second dose of Ivermectin soon enough because the eggs hatch and the bird is reinfested. I am learning how often to use Ivermectin for birds that have mites and not just as a preventative from them getting them.
I am aware of the manure burn issue but I did not realize it could lead to bumblefoot. Because I have some birds that sleep on the floor of the coop instead of roosting, they are more prone to foot problems. When I raised sheep and goats, they were prone to foot rot but it just takes trimming their hooves to prevent muck from sticking to them and lime in the shavings to kill the fungus. I would like to know more about how to keep chickens from getting manure burns when the weather is wet. I try to keep dry shavings on the floor of the coop but they get dirty fast so I have been thinking of trying stall dry in my coops. I know someone who uses it in her nest boxes to keep eggs clean but I don't know if it would work in high traffic areas or if it would be too dusty and possibly cause respiratory problems. I know people use sand in their coops and I am thinking of switching to something that creates less waste than the shavings I am using now because the shavings are not composting well enough for me with the bins I am using (I need some that you can turn to rotate but they are expensive so we may try to make one ourselves). Has anyone tried stall dry in their coop and does it work like sand or would it need to be composted like shavings?
It is so nice to have a break from the rain and enjoy the sunshine! Although my ducks love the rain, the chickens prefer this dry weather we are having.
I have been doing some landscaping in my yard so I have had more mud than usual this winter but my birds spend most of the time on grass. They may walk through muddy areas but that is just because they are not fenced off. I think anyone who buys birds should check out the conditions where the birds are kept and talk to the seller directly. I have a temporary pen where I move birds for sale but I am not sure it is a good idea to let people in my yard if they are carrying diseases with them so I might have to set up the temporary pen in the front yard when I am expecting people to come over for birds after what I learned the past few days.
If people have concerns about a seller they should definitely report their concerns to the proper authorities rather than use social media to misrepresent their case. Anything can happen to a bird after it leaves a person's property so if things don't look right to you, walk away and make a report. If you buy a sick bird out of pity for the bird and think you are going to "rescue" it, be sure you know what you are dealing with before you invest in that bird. I would never want to bring a sick bird home because the risk is not worth it to me. I have brought home birds I bought last year that had mites and lice but those are treatable as long as you don't overdose the bird or stress it out too much. My mistake has been in treating new birds on arrival and not following it with a second dose of Ivermectin soon enough because the eggs hatch and the bird is reinfested. I am learning how often to use Ivermectin for birds that have mites and not just as a preventative from them getting them.
I am aware of the manure burn issue but I did not realize it could lead to bumblefoot. Because I have some birds that sleep on the floor of the coop instead of roosting, they are more prone to foot problems. When I raised sheep and goats, they were prone to foot rot but it just takes trimming their hooves to prevent muck from sticking to them and lime in the shavings to kill the fungus. I would like to know more about how to keep chickens from getting manure burns when the weather is wet. I try to keep dry shavings on the floor of the coop but they get dirty fast so I have been thinking of trying stall dry in my coops. I know someone who uses it in her nest boxes to keep eggs clean but I don't know if it would work in high traffic areas or if it would be too dusty and possibly cause respiratory problems. I know people use sand in their coops and I am thinking of switching to something that creates less waste than the shavings I am using now because the shavings are not composting well enough for me with the bins I am using (I need some that you can turn to rotate but they are expensive so we may try to make one ourselves). Has anyone tried stall dry in their coop and does it work like sand or would it need to be composted like shavings?
It is so nice to have a break from the rain and enjoy the sunshine! Although my ducks love the rain, the chickens prefer this dry weather we are having.
aka: vampire scrubs) and another box I opened had a brand new still-in-the-box food processor/juicer........I didn't know I had..
