Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Amberjem]

Yes...which is precisely where the virus/bacteria are found. That was my entire point.

yes thats my understanding as well and why they also have a 30 day quarantine after they destroy a flock...

I am no expert all I can do is try to secure my girls as best I can and prevent mixing of wild life

 

[jbkirk]

Yes...which is precisely where the virus/bacteria are found. That was my entire point.

So basically they want you to have solid cover for All your chicken pens so that no fecal matter could ever drop in?

 

[BGMatt]

So basically they want you to have solid cover for All your chicken pens so that no fecal matter could ever drop in?

That's what I've been saying. That's just safe, normal, good poultry management practice. I think sometimes people forget that and get lazy about it (including myself). Something like this is a good reminder to go back to basics and get back in the habit of proper management.

 

[ochochicas]

Quote: My coop and run are completely covered with roofing so it stays dry inside. It isn't cheap to do. I think half of my coop budget was for roofing and structure to support it. No wild bird poop getting in, but they certainly could be exposed to dander, feathers, or other airborne material. Mareks is spread by dander from what I understand.

 

[Carolei]

That's what I've been saying. That's just safe, normal, good poultry management practice. I think sometimes people forget that and get lazy about it (including myself). Something like this is a good reminder to go back to basics and get back in the habit of proper management.

I think we have to keep in mind that this forum is called Backyard Chickens. Some of us may be doing "poultry management," while others have pet chickens. I have 5 chickens in my urban backyard. I am not doing poultry management any more than I do dog management or cat management. I give them the best care I am able to give and keep them safe, just as I do with my dog and cats. I think we need to be a little careful with the word "normal."

 

[BGMatt]

I think we have to keep in mind that this forum is called Backyard Chickens. Some of us may be doing "poultry management," while others have pet chickens. I have 5 chickens in my urban backyard.  I am not doing poultry management any more than I do dog management or cat management. I give them the best care I am able to give and keep them safe, just as I do with my dog and cats. I think we need to be a little careful with the word "normal."

Word choice doesn't matter. Even if
You view them as pets (which for the record is not the case, chickens are livestock, and are properly defined and regulated as such by the State of Washington), it's still needlessly risking health to not properly house them and practice good biosecurity procedures.

You're right, this isn't the website for advanced poultry people, accomplished breeders and the like. Which is why when one tries to educate and give good advice it's a good idea to listen, they have more knowledge, experience and are better at raising poultry successfully than your average urban chicken keeper.

Biosecurity affects all of us. If someone's backyard flock infects the commercial farm, or they have sick birds and track feces to the feed store, or the livestock auction, or those disease pits they call poultry swaps, where the poultry breeder goes and then transfers that onto their clothes and takes it back to their flock it's a problem. We're all in this together and it's a good reminder of that. What you do in your little backyard flock could be a risk and endanger the entire breeding program of someone like me.

 

[elizmartin]

My coop and run are completely covered with roofing so it stays dry inside. It isn't cheap to do. I think half of my coop budget was for roofing and structure to support it. No wild bird poop getting in, but they certainly could be exposed to dander, feathers, or other airborne material. Mareks is spread by dander from what I understand.

Maybe its about general perspective…..Life is all about change. There was a time most folks had chickens because you raised your food more, maybe your poultry didn't have a long life because it was sustenance…..Then when urbanism grew that became less,….Now there is a surge of folks enjoying backyard poultry again….maybe more for the eggs than meat,or pets, or the income from new found and exciting breeds and / or maybe for the birds lifetime rather than the window of tenderness. Maybe the AI of the past was more of a sniffle or general flu, and as things mutate we have a few newer strains that have become devastating when found in our birds. Its not our fault that there are so many wild birds that we enjoy and belong there around us…..we cannot control their habits or that neighbors place lil ducky decoys in their wet areas and ponds to attract the live ones bringing danger closer ***when an outbreak such as the one we are facing**** happens.

Its hard to not free range….In my mossy front yard a sprinkling of cracked corn allows the birds to scratch the moss up, to keep the carpenter ants at bay of which we have not seen in over 5 years around our house, the grass clipped under our juniper hedge, eating the dropped fruit missed under the fruit trees and the manure flies from being overbearing around our livestock. Some of the best pictures one can take is when they are enjoying picking through the grass. I find them generally healthier.

Rain / poop resistant roofs are sensible over runs if able….i have some fisherman netting generously supplied from a dear friend that i was going to put over runs (doesn't work well with snow load) but am repurposing it as side walls over chain link panels giving good airflow but the holes are small enough to prevent even the smallest birds from coming in. coops and runs should never be air tight.

Because of this outbreak, i am looking how to do things differently,restructuring my coops, separating, securing breeder groups especially from the egg laying pets…. Will i still have a few free range chickens…yes, for the reasons stated previously……but more carefully kept now.

*normal* is how life is now…..Matt makes some good points…and i had similar comments when there was another outbreak of a different sort last year when a spring poultry show was cancelled due to worried exhibitors. Even shows, often open to the public or newer less conscientious folks, we touch cages, maybe forget to change shoes, washing hands, watch how free the children are….It would be sad to lose the spontaneity of our enjoyment….but *normal* now means being more aware no matter how much poultry we have.

 

[BGMatt]

Thanks Elizabeth. Very well said. Yes it is hard to not let birds range. No matter how much space given in their pens, and it's not advice given lightly, or a practice I enjoy. There is nothing in this world more beautiful to my eyes than a flock of Langshans striding across the field. Its not in their best interest though. It's not safe. It's not responsible.

As far as shows go, that's not really a concern with these strains of AI, symptoms show almost immediately and the birds die within 3 days. The birds in the show won't be spreading it. But as you mention, spectators can bring it in, you can pick it up on shoes or clothes from others at feed stores. I've asked my friends whom hunt to not visit my property in the same vehicles, clothes or shoes that they hunt in (since they're out there wading through ponds and marshland where wild waterfowl congregate.)

Keep your birds safe, for yourself and others.

 

[tiffrosef]

I was wondering if anyone knows where I could possibly find Red laced blue wyandottes? Somewhere in kitsap or jefferson county is preferred but I can travel if I have to!

 

[Amberjem]

Word choice doesn't matter. Even if
You view them as pets (which for the record is not the case, chickens are livestock, and are properly defined and regulated as such by the State of Washington), it's still needlessly risking health to not properly house them and practice good biosecurity procedures.

You're right, this isn't the website for advanced poultry people, accomplished breeders and the like. Which is why when one tries to educate and give good advice it's a good idea to listen, they have more knowledge, experience and are better at raising poultry successfully than your average urban chicken keeper.

Biosecurity affects all of us. If someone's backyard flock infects the commercial farm, or they have sick birds and track feces to the feed store, or the livestock auction, or those disease pits they call poultry swaps, where the poultry breeder goes and then transfers that onto their clothes and takes it back to their flock it's a problem. We're all in this together and it's a good reminder of that. What you do in your little backyard flock could be a risk and endanger the entire breeding program of someone like me.

sorry but that reads a lil harsh to me... Although I do understand what you are saying and I DO try to be as secure as I possibly can with my chickens and "manage/care/tend/raise/cohabitate/or whatever word you might use..as best I can...and no matter what ppl might say or the state might DEFINE as livestock or not ppl will have pets one kind or another... be it someones pet cricket or chicken...


Ppl have been breeding raising managing poultry for decades/centuries in a variety of different ways good bad or great, no one person knows it all or has all the answers, sharing idea's management practices and learning is a two way street, because something works for you doesnt mean it is good for another person....once we close our minds to learning new things we are loosing out on what we can expand and possibly even better our circumstances...


It's a shame about the chicken shows and such I would absolutely love to go to one and see the different poultry and even get a chance to speak with breeders and ppl in the chicken world face to face..........on the other hand doing so scares the bejeebers out of me cuz I dont want to bring home some infection to my flock or heaven forbid my flock got something I wasnt aware of and bring it to the show and spread it..........it's a nasty catch 22


that said even ppl who have been breeding tending and managing livestock chickens for years and years doesnt mean they are doing it right or even wrong for that matter... How many times have I seen so called big breeders who had poor management or their management got to much for them and one thing slips then the next then the next and problems ensue .. I am more then willing to listen, more then willing to discuss, even willing to debate idea's I dont follow to just learn more.. but I am not willing to accept just because someone has years and years of experience they have all the answers......or even know it all....

pls dont take offense I am just communicating my thoughts I dont think they are right or even wrong they are just mine at the moment.. I am always willing to keep an open mind and maybe learn more..