Why do breeders do this?

[BlindLemonChicken]

Well, these individuals I know personally and have for years

Is there some reason you are uncomfortable asking them about the marking? They might know better about what kind of risk it entails since they have been doing this so long. They might even be able to explain why they do it that way in particular. Then you could let us all know what they say cause I for one am very curious now.

 

[berlyannpotter]

Mosquitoes especially. My flock has got fowl pox 2 years in a row so this year we're taking serious prevention measures to prevent it.

What is fowl pox? What preventions?

 

[Sc_chickengirl]

What is fowl pox? What preventions?

Fowl pox is usually given to poultry by mosquitoes. There is a dry and wet form but as long as it stays to the dry form very few die. They get lesions all over their face and sometimes in the mouth if it is the wet form.
Preventions I do are mixing up a mosquito spray to spray all around my coops and pens, bug zappers, or traps for them and since most of my birds are in a large greenhouse type building we made for them I roll down sides at night so no mosquitoes can get in.
Supposedly once a chicken gets it they will then be immune. Its sort of like chicken pox.
There is also a vaccine for it which I was researching recently but I have decided not do it this year. So we shall see...

 

[Pigeony]

Well, these individuals I know personally and have for years. Their Roosters sale for $800 and females can sale up to $1,500. I bought two for $5 each because of the connection. Both turned out to be roosters. One of them was aggressive towards my chicks and the other rooster so I gave him back to the individual. So, I know they are legit. People travel from states away to buy from them. Pure Sweater Rooster.

They're selling roosters for $800? What makes their chickens so special? Is it an especially uncommon breed? Even with rare bird breeders who have a great reputation, that's not an easy thing to do. With not a whole lot of people wanting males in the first place and with half of all hatches ending up male, most are lucky to give them away. Best of the best roosters can sell for a hundred or two, but 800?

Edit: I see you called them Sweater Roosters and I looked up that they are gamefowl, I know a lot of people in that side of chicken keeping are willing to pay quite a bit for those birds, still seems overly pricey even considering that.

 

[berlyannpotter]

Is there some reason you are uncomfortable asking them about the marking? They might know better about what kind of risk it entails since they have been doing this so long. They might even be able to explain why they do it that way in particular. Then you could let us all know what they say cause I for one am very curious now.

I did ask when I got the chicks. The response was, "to mark them."

 

[berlyannpotter]

Fowl pox is usually given to poultry by mosquitoes. There is a dry and wet form but as long as it stays to the dry form very few die. They get lesions all over their face and sometimes in the mouth if it is the wet form.
Preventions I do are mixing up a mosquito spray to spray all around my coops and pens, bug zappers, or traps for them and since most of my birds are in a large greenhouse type building we made for them I roll down sides at night so no mosquitoes can get in.
Supposedly once a chicken gets it they will then be immune. Its sort of like chicken pox.
There is also a vaccine for it which I was researching recently but I have decided not do it this year. So we shall see...

Thank you for the information.

 

[berlyannpotter]

They're selling roosters for $800? What makes their chickens so special? Is it an especially uncommon breed? Even with rare bird breeders who have a great reputation, that's not an easy thing to do. With not a whole lot of people wanting males in the first place and with half of all hatches ending up male, most are lucky to give them away. Best of the best roosters can sell for a hundred or two, but 800?

Edit: I see you called them Sweater Roosters and I looked up that they are gamefowl, I know a lot of people in that side of chicken keeping are willing to pay quite a bit for those birds, still seems overly pricey even considering that.

I couldn't tell you. I didn't ask questions. It was Easter, and I just really wanted some hens.

 

[berlyannpotter]

I couldn't tell you. I didn't ask questions. It was Easter, and I just really wanted some hens.

I did see the roosters at maturity, and they are beautiful. I will keep posting on my other thread about Bekaham's and his flocks growth. His tail feathers are finally coming in.

 

[KF0002]

The toe doesn't bother me. My biggest concern was that something could happen to him like get sick. However, it looks like it will not.

He will be just fine. Nothing at all to worry about.

 

[SourRoses]

Humans come along thinking Gods design has no purpose

I would be worried about dust and particles causing issues down the road. If the nostrils were supposed to be open the natural coverings wouldn't exist.

Most likely, the people that do this are using it to mark culls for sale, so they don't care about the long-term impact. I wouldn't give them any further business, whether they've talked you into the idea you're getting a "deal" or not.

Preventions I do are mixing up a mosquito spray to spray all around my coops and pens, bug zappers, or traps for them and since most of my birds are in a large greenhouse type building we made for them I roll down sides at night so no mosquitoes can get in.
Supposedly once a chicken gets it they will then be immune. Its sort of like chicken pox.

Since we're in FL we get fowl pox in the juveniles most every summer. Never in the adults who already had it, no matter how much they're exposed to it again.
It sounds like you have a good system in place to try to reduce transmission, but just know that unless the flock is kept behind the netting all mosquito season, you're likely to keep getting it. It's not your fault.
One distinction I wanted to make, just in case you haven't seen it, is that dry fowl pox (external) is a lot easier for them to recover from than wet fowl pox. That's when the virus spreads to the inside of nostils, mouths, eyes, throat, etc. That's the dangerous form... and the most likely way that it occurs is from the water source.
The chicken(s) come to drink and shed viral particles from any dry pox on their face... that then enters the water and when they drink the water can infect the mucous membranes. Some chickens can even die from that if they don't have a sufficient immune response, but in any case they will carry the wet version a lot longer.

So what I do all summer long is dump, rinse, and refill water stations once a day. If someone has noticeable pox I step it up to twice a day. It does help. Although it might be better - and less work - to find an antiviral for the water, but I don't yet know of any that are both effective and safe in that context. Some put iodine in the water but it doesn't kill the virus. It just helps dry out the pox sores, and is supposed to reduced the infective time period a little. I'm also wary of adding anything to the water at this time of year that could reduce their consumption rate, dehydration in this heat would not help them recover and it would impact all the birds at once. So I just keep the water as fresh as possible.