Wild bird disease transmission and vaccinations.

[fluffybumfarm]

I am in the process of trying to decide where to put some new coop and runs for chickens I will raise from eggs and immunise. In a lot of posts I see reference to wild birds being the possible cause of disease transmission. I have two questions:

1. I have a large stand of trees at the back of my property that provides a lot of shade and would be ideal to put the runs near but they harbour a LARGE NUMBER and range of wild birds. Is it unwise to put runs near/under these trees?

2. I have read so much about vaccinating my head hurts! If I am dealing with a large population of wild birds is it wise to vaccinate for just about everything I can or are there a few essentials that I should do and not really worry about the others?

Many thanks in advance for any help!

 

[The Phantom]

Mine free range. And wild birds are everywhere

 

[lazy gardener]

Unless you put your birds in a hen house without ever letting them out to enjoy life, you can't keep them away from wild birds. IMO, it's senseless to even worry about what may or may not enter your yard on the wing of the passing birds. As for immunization, specifically what would you want to immunize against?

Everyone has their own management style. I choose a more natural approach: I will not immunize my birds against any disease. I have not ever had disease issues in my flock. I encourage wild turkeys to visit my yard. They carry a less virulent strain of Marek's disease, therefore, my birds may receive some immunity from their presence. I keep a closed flock. I will sell chicks, eggs, and the occasional adult bird. But once a bird leaves my flock, it does not come back. I will never bring any chickens into my flock other than day old chicks or hatching eggs.

 

[fluffybumfarm]

Unless you put your birds in a hen house without ever letting them out to enjoy life, you can't keep them away from wild birds. IMO, it's senseless to even worry about what may or may not enter your yard on the wing of the passing birds. As for immunization, specifically what would you want to immunize against?

Everyone has their own management style. I choose a more natural approach: I will not immunize my birds against any disease. I have not ever had disease issues in my flock. I encourage wild turkeys to visit my yard. They carry a less virulent strain of Marek's disease, therefore, my birds may receive some immunity from their presence. I keep a closed flock. I will sell chicks, eggs, and the occasional adult bird. But once a bird leaves my flock, it does not come back. I will never bring any chickens into my flock other than day old chicks or hatching eggs.

I was looking at Mareks, Coryza, Fowl Cholera, Fowl Pox, ILT, IB ND. I want to do whatever it takes to keep them healthy but am uneasy about pumping their systems full of vaccines. I limit vaccines to my dogs because I don't feel they are as necessary as the vets would have us believe and yet I am researching all these for the chickens! Hence the reason I posted. It's not sitting right with me.

So you are saying that keeping a closed flock that is kept in good hygiene complemented with natural health practices you would not expect too many issues?

 

[Folly's place]

I have chicks that come from hatcheries vaccinated against Marek's disease, and hatchlings here aren't vaccinated. I feel that it helps keep me informed, and so far I don't have Marek's disease in my flock.
I don't vaccinate them against anything else. I too keep a closed flock; no birds, except day-olds from good hatcheries, ever come here, and no bird who leaves ever returns.
I have no near neighbors with chickens, another very good thing. And I'm VERY careful about biosecurity issues in general!
I don't take birds to poultry shows, ever.
My birds free range, and so interact with the wild songbirds to some degree. Enough to get mites or lice from them, a constant threat.
I have a couple of bird feeders for songbirds, in locations inaccessible to my chickens.
Twice over many years I've seen a wren with respiratory disease; they die in a short time. I remove and bleach my bird feeders, keep the chickens in for a week or so, and ask the neighbors to also remove their bird feeders. It's likely Mycoplasma gallisepticum (sp?) and VERY bad for the chickens! That's about all that's ever turned up here, and my flock tests clear for that one too.
Being careful pays off!!! Getting 'random source' birds is a huge risk, just don't do it. Many of us have done fine for decades, because we are careful, and lucky.
Mary

 

[lazy gardener]

I was looking at Mareks, Coryza, Fowl Cholera, Fowl Pox, ILT, IB ND. I want to do whatever it takes to keep them healthy but am uneasy about pumping their systems full of vaccines. I limit vaccines to my dogs because I don't feel they are as necessary as the vets would have us believe and yet I am researching all these for the chickens! Hence the reason I posted. It's not sitting right with me. So you are saying that keeping a closed flock that is kept in good hygiene complemented with natural health practices you would not expect too many issues?

That's what I'm saying. Every year, I get multiple reminder cards from my vet about all the shots my dog must have. I only keep up with Rabies b/C it's required for licensing, and there's a fine for an unlicensed dog. Rabies titer stays strong for 7 years, yet they demand a shot every 1 - 3 years. After researching heart worm, I've decided that I'll not even do the preventive tx. for that. It's simply not warranted in my climate, yet the vet office is loaded with scare posters about the ravages of heart worm. To set your mind at ease, talk to the folks on your state thread, and talk to your county ag. extension agent responsible for poultry. I won't even do medicated feed. good practice includes keeping the brooder from getting wet, exposing chicks to YOUR soil within the first 2 weeks, and continuing that exposure. And, I use fermented feed which further loads the birds guts with healthy flora.

Deep litter management also helps to keep a good immune system in the flock.

 

[igorsMistress]

I have unvaccinated birds, and wild birds are all over my yard. They drink from the waterers, eat from the food dish, etc. You really can't keep your chickens away from wild birds. Even in a covered run the wild birds will still be in your yard and can spread disease. Educate yourself so you'll know when something is wrong, handle your chickens regularly so you can handle them if they get sick, and feed them well so they are strong and healthy. Some people give their birds antibiotics for just in case, but this can be counterproductive. Natural immunity comes from being out there with the wild birds so the immue system can build itself up.

 

[fluffybumfarm]

Thanks so much for your help. It has given me clarity and peace of mind!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Yeah, I actually hate people who push poultry vaccines in particular because most of them are not even 90% effective and they are non sterile. Which means your birds catch the disease, never develop symptoms, then they have and shed the disease to surrounding wildlife and other domestics at a higher rate then a sick bird, it gets on your clothes, your body, your shoes, spreads everywhere too easily. Then 10% of your birds die despite the vaccine and you have the illness on your land forever. It's not good or effective disease control.

As for sterile vaccines it depends on how you value your birds. If you value them as beloved pets you want to see happy and healthy for a decade, get the sterile vaccines. It's genuinely no worse than any other method to boost immunity to a particular disease or pathogen. If you value them as livestock, to live healthfully, be hardy, and produce; don't get them but be prepared to cull sick birds as needed.

Always quarantine new birds as far away as possible, preferably behind solid walls. Wear different clothes around them VS your main flock. Always care for quarantined birds last. Never share equipment. Have special "chicken yard" shoes for interacting with your chickens that you don't wear to the feed store, quarantine areas, or other livestock areas. Always wash your hands after handling birds or being around livestock or livestock handlers. Or just keep a closed flock.

Not vaccinating poultry is a very viable option, but you have to be willing to take other, stronger control measures that we're normally willing to do with our pets. A dog that goes to a dog park every week and drools on/gets drooled on by other dogs would benefit from a kennel cough vaccine because exposure risk is higher. Exposing your chickens to other chickens and their diseases is inherently more difficult and easier to control because they never leave their home/pen/yard. The more you want to add to your flock, rescue strange hens, go to poultry meets, etc. the more your flock benefits from the vaccines.

I would only take wildlife into account if you live near a lot of other chicken keepers who are pet chicken keepers or MAJOR commercial chicken keepers in the surrounding 3 miles. Some pet chicken keepers will keep actively sick chickens around out of "love" which can really negatively effect your flock if they're nearby, and commercial chicken houses have so many chickens crammed together that if they catch something it will explode to all the local wildlife. If you don't have those problems, wildlife is probably not a concern for you.

Consider becoming NPIP certified to track any major diseases in your chickens and participate in and get notifications on disease prevention programs in your area.