Chicken diseases

[ecogirl]

I want to get chickens, but I am scared that bird flu and all the nasty diseases will come. How will I avoid this? (this is a risk if I buy chickens as it needs to be shipped to the UK...I think :o)

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

So you want to purchase chicks but are concerned about avian influenza?

This is no different than purchasing any other live stock. Always..... a l w a y s go to responsible breeding operations with a long standing good health record.

Avian influenza has many strains... H5N1 is the highly pathogenic version and birds which contract it don't last long. You have a poultry fowl trust there in the UK and they will have all the alerts and probably a list of reputable breeders.

I would not ship chicks internationally... by air, they don't do well at all... and you have an option of purchasing hatching eggs, which can be air lifted... I've shipped from Pennsylvania to St. Thomas, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and parts of Alaska, which all required air travel. Health paperwork should accompany any egg or chick shipment which travels from one country to another. Live birds are quarantined in some situations and are often not properly cared for by those in charge of the holding areas. International shipments are not worth the trouble and often result in delivery of dead birds.

For those of you in the UK, here is where I would start off: http://www.domesticfowltrust.co.uk/index.html

You can also request testing history on the flock you are considering buying from. Hatching eggs can also carry disease, so reputation and health status is very important.

Hope this helps...

Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com

[ecogirl]

Thanks for all this information! I've been wondering what you do with all the eggs that chickens lay. Some are babies but some are edible. Is this true? I don't know how to sort either they are to eat or they are chicks hatching. How would you find out? (Thanks Fred anyway!)

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

So, you want to know if the eggs you are buying are for eating or hatching?

That's decided by the flock owner. Eggs for eating are generally not fertile, so you can't just go to the grocery and pick up a dozen eggs and pop them into the incubator expecting them to hatch.

Battery birds don't have access to roosters... and you may well imagine, that if they can't flap their wings due to space constraints, there isn't going to be anything else going on in those cages even if there were a rooster present.

On the other hand... many of your free range and organic egg suppliers may tell a different story all together. Some of the free range hens are in the company of roosters and you may find that out by discussing it with the sales person. Those indeed may still be viable assuming they have not been chemically washed or are older than a week.

Some sellers won't want to tell you if they are dealing with fertile eggs over infertile... do you wonder why?

Because egg buyers are often weird people... that's why!.... I shall tell you a story now...

Ok, so here's Fred (yours truly) delivering six dozen eggs to folks who buy my eggs for eating. A woman with three little ones in tow, became very interested as someone pointed me out to her as a guy who could help her out. How much are hatching eggs from your farm? I paused, they are $1.50 each. She explained that she was in a pinch to help her son with his science project and wanted fertile eggs so he could incubate them. What breed were you interested in? She looked at her son... "Rhode Island Reds Mom!" as if she should have already known that. So, she said she'd like to order them as soon as possible. I reached into my box and pulled out a carton of eggs and handed them to her. $15.00 for large standard single comb Rhode Island Reds... The little boy almost leaped out of his sneakers for joy! Off they went, eggs in hand. One of my regular customers was there and she asked if those were all fertile eggs? Yep... we don't eat fertile eggs, they taste different.. and I lost a customer. Interesting to me that she had been eating my eggs for over a year? Suddenly, with this new knowledge, they taste different? My friend and neighbor is the head of the farm bureau for Erie County... he wants only white eggs. He often stops and shouts out to me when he's working a nearby field... "got any white eggs?" Nope... all brown, unless you want blue/green? "don't like the taste of em"... I shout back, have any of those brown cows?.. nope, just holsteins.... oh, I don't like the taste of the milk from those black and white cows. He thinks that's a nutty comparison.

There is no difference between fertile and in-fertile eggs, unless you plan to incubate them.

[ecogirl]

Thanks for letting me know. I didn't even know what fertile and infertile eggs were! :confused: But now I know:D

[gardengirl72]

Thanks for the question and answers. Many people are concerned about diseases. Fred, correct me if I'm wrong, but many times avian flu is transmitted to humans when the sick bird dies and is consumed by people.

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Avian influenza comes in many H5 strains...

Humans who have contracted the disease, originating from the H5N1 strain only, lived in close context with their birds, often in the same room. Sick birds and people were breathing the same air and so on. This has not happened here in the United States.

Highly Pathogenic influenza strains, H5N1 or any other H5 Avian strain, do not survive cooking of the meat. Chicken, like any other animal meat, should be properly cooked.

Let's say you had a sick bird and didn't know it? And, it's a bird you plan to eat? The risks are in handling raw material, including feces or any fluids which may come out of the mouth of a sick bird.

I advise wearing rubber gloves and a respirator when handling dead birds which have died of an unknown cause... this is general good protection.

Of the millions of birds that have become infected and died from avian influenza strains, there have been only a handful of people who became ill and yes, some died from exposure. Not from eating a cooked dead bird.

I'm glad that question was asked, as this is an area of wide misunderstanding regarding how exactly avian influenza is contracted.

So, in closing, if you're handling a dead animal, limit your exposure and wash afterwords with antibacterial soap. If you're going to eat something, proper cooking and storage practices are safe enough for people.

Thanks!

Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com