# Visiting other flocks of hens



## chickenhen (Apr 22, 2015)

For thanks giving I'm visiting my cousins and they got new chickens (6 months old and are laying already) I've heard visiting other flocks of hens can track diseases back too my own flock.

I've asked my cousins about this and they said they are "healthy and hearty" and are laying lots of eggs. There birds I don't think have had water bird exposure neither have mine but my cousins hens live in the woods where wild turkeys are. I'm going to visit their hens as well as them and I'm worried about the "human traction" of diseases (if they have any) to my hens. Do you think they're hens are healthy and is there a high risk of exposure of any at all. Thanks for an answer! I know my question is kind of strange.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Not strange and actually a good question.

If your cousin says they're healthy then you probably have very little to worry about. You will be able to spot right away if there is a problem and can take precautions once you get home like changing clothes, shoes, washing hands.

Your birds are just as exposed as your cousin's since they are outdoors. Wild birds of any kind can carry diseases. Think of it this way, I went to a lot of bird shows, had some of my own there and never had an issue with carrying a disease back to my flock. I've had wild birds inside of my coop and never had an issue.

When to be cautious is if you know there has been a reportable avian disease within a short distance of a flock. We've had ILT outbreaks several times in the last few years that originated from commercial farms. The disease was able to escape those farms and infect backyard flocks. That's when anyone with flocks like ours should pay very close attention to our own behaviors to keep from bringing it back to our flocks.


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## chickenhen (Apr 22, 2015)

Thankyou,
I feel a lot less worried now. I have always done precautions since I heard that the bird flu was now in my state (low strains) thanks again for your answer! I'll look at how healthy their chickens look once I get there.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

What do you mean by low strains? There are many strains of flu out there, most are not reportable. It's really not that uncommon and not the worst kind.

Our own birds can catch the flu, just like we can. Many times the birds won't even show an effect or if they do it's usually not the deadly kind.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

If I go to someone's house that has chickens, I shower, put on clean clothes and don't wear MY chicken shoes . When I come home, the clothes go in the laundry, and I wash my hands good up to the elbow. I don't touch other people's chickens either. Why? My chickens carry Marek's virus. They look healthy and lay eggs. But I don't want to give it to others' chickens. So I am extra cautious , even moreso about bringing Marek's to others. 

Just take precautions and keep your birds safe.


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## chickenhen (Apr 22, 2015)

Robin416 I mean the low pathogenic strains like the ones that are the least deadly and are pretty much everywhere. I'm not to good with remembering all of the strains and how they all work. 

My cousins hens looked very healthy too me. They all had bright combs and wattles and new feathers. I looked at there eyes and they looked normal too from what I could tell. The black part of their eyes (sorry I forgot what they are) looked normal but there dark colored Orangey eyes seemed to have black in them to which went along with the black dott. I think it's nothing wrong just the color of her eye. Does this sound okay?
Thanks again both!


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

chickenhen said:


> Robin416 I mean the low pathogenic strains like the ones that are the least deadly and are pretty much everywhere. I'm not to good with remembering all of the strains and how they all work.
> 
> My cousins hens looked very healthy too me. They all had bright combs and wattles and new feathers. I looked at there eyes and they looked normal too from what I could tell. The black part of their eyes (sorry I forgot what they are) looked normal but there dark colored Orangey eyes seemed to have black in them to which went along with the black dott. I think it's nothing wrong just the color of her eye. Does this sound okay?
> Thanks again both!


When it comes to birds, LOOKS can be deceiving. Birds instinctively know they will be eliminated from a flock if they become sick, because sick birds attract predators. It is survival of the fittest in the animal world. A good example of "looking normal" would be Infectious Bronchitis (IB.) It would be nothing to most people if they witnessed two or three birds in their flock sneezing on occasion. It would be easy to rationalize and dismiss that the sneezing would be caused by dust, pollen or sneezing just for the heck of it. Then the owner starts seeing soft shells, wrinkly eggs, and watery whites when the eggs are cracked open. This is an instance where the owner somehow introduced a strain of IB into their flock due to careless biosecurity practices. BTW: This is a MILD strain of IB, not a severe strain of IB.
There are many types of diseases, particularly respiratory diseases that can be easily spread into your flock. Symptoms vary from mild to severe to death. There's no way to tell what strains will infect your flock. Birds can be infected with one or more types of diseases at once, making treatment difficult. Antibiotics only treat symptoms, they do NOT cure the disease(s.)
Surviving birds remain carriers for life and WILL infect newly acquired birds you introduce into your flock. Antibiotics will not treat viral diseases such as IB. 
Once your birds become infected, you have two options; treat or cull.
Treating sick birds costs money and time, egg production slows or stops altogether. You also must KNOW what disease it is in order to treat it. Therefore blood work and/or necropsy will be needed. Pumping birds with different antibiotics can have adverse effects, not to mention organ damage and egg withdrawal periods. In some states, certain diseases are reportable. You will need to maintain a CLOSED flock FOREVER. That means no new birds in, no birds out, and no selling or giving away eggs to be hatched. There are diseases that can be passed through eggs such as Mycoplasma diseases (MG & MS.)
Your second option is to cull your flock. Bury them deep or incinerate them. Then disinfect everything with Oxine and wait at least 6 months before repopulating. Six months is usually the course time for most poultry diseases, also taking in consideration environmental contamination which in some cases can be longer.
Chickenhen, I cant tell you enough about practicing strict BIOSECURITY when it comes to owning chickens. One accidental slip-up could mean the difference between a healthy flock and a diseased flock. The choice is yours.


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## chickenhen (Apr 22, 2015)

The birds I visited where not sneezing at all and had no watery discharge from the eyes or nose. I saw one of they're eggs and it looked normal no wrinkles it had a hard shell.

I have had a high bio security for about a year now... No wild birds in the yard, and I don't where my out of the house shoes out with my hens. My hens have always laid hard eggs except when low on calcium and super rarely do they sneeze. 

I will always be willing to do what it takes to keep my birds healthy and care for them make sure they don't get sick.


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## chickenhen (Apr 22, 2015)

I am planning on getting 6 chicks this spring, every year I get them from a small farm store and every year they are all healthy, never had I had one get sick. I always get them around a few days old and once I got some hens at the age of 1 who where healthy and fitted right in with my flock.

I give my hens yogurt a few times a week 1-4 times because I have heard its good for intestinal bacteria and immune systems.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

With all the nasty ailments out there, my first flock was hatched at home or day old chicks mailed from a Hatchery. A year later, I go to a swap and break my biosecurity and buy a nice healthy.silky pullet from a well respected silky breeder. I quarantined her for 30 days then put her in with my silkies. 6 weeks later my silky rooster has paralysis. I didn't know why. I put him in a cage on my patio.

Over 2 more weeks, he developed a gray eye, then the paralysis moved up to his wings. Then his neck. He also could not manage to see food and aim to pick it up. The vet put him down. At that point we didn't know why any of this happened. That rooster, Mush mouse was very special and that was 7 years ago and it still chokes me up when I think about it.

In the weeks following that, a hen of mine loss the use of her legs and lost her depth perception. She was put down a week later. Then I hatch 10 sweet polish chick's and starting at 6 weeks, one by one they lost the use of their legs and had to be put down until all 10 were gone. 

There were others that died by starvation (so I thought).

From one pullet, I infected my whole flock with Marek's virus. If they don't die from it, they still carry it and can spread it. There is no cure. I've lost many. And its all my fault for bringing an exposed pullet home who looked to be the picture of health. 

One can bring home as many as one wants that appear to be healthy. But unless you have a closed flock , owners are divided into 2 categories. Those who have Marek's exposed birds and those who will get it.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

One question, why do you suspect that one bird?

The reason I ask is that my friend also had Mareks in her flock. She did not and had not been around other chickens. That means hers picked it up from the environment.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Because I had a closed flock up to that time and the rooster went down with paralysis 6 weeks after getting the pullet, which is the common time for Marek's to affect the nerves.

I have found with Marek's that anyone who has studied the research and poultry disease books talks in terms of "most likely" , "least likely" common or less common, etc. Of course wild birds can bring it as well as bugs and the wind. But a chicken carrying it is the most likely way. At the time there were no chickens in a mile or more of a radius around me. None of my chickens had ever had any contact with any chickens outside my flock until I bought this one pullet. 6 weeks after getting her my rooster gets symptomatic. And 6 weeks is the most common time for the symptoms to appear.

I've had people tell me they had a closed flock, and only swapped chickens with their good friend. That's not a closed flock. 

The most likely way to get Marek's is from any contact with any chicken outside the flock. It could be possible for a wild bird to carry it if someone in your close vicinity has a flock with chickens that were exposed. 

If not by animal disease lab necropsy, an owner needs a good flock history to make an educated guess on.


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