Quote History Originally Posted By TexCorriente:
Just noticed this thread!
Our efforts are mostly limited to chickens so far. We are learning a lot, some through trial and erro.
Bird flu: Have any of y'all had issues?
We have not. I am considering moving both of our flock's waterers in to the coop to prevent wild birds from drinking from their larger, outdoor waterer. But much of their run is covered in large oak trees, and they free range all over the place outside of the run. Wild bird exposure just can't be avoided.
I haven't heard of any folks local to us with chickens catching it.
One tough error we had was introducing 10 new birds to our 27 bird (3 roosters) flock. I bought 6 sexed Welsummer chicks from Tractor Supply, and one ended up being a rooster (Orson). The 2nd night after introducing them to the flock the other roosters killed the new guy in the coop. We think it was our two smaller Silver Leghorns (Zip and Zap) that did it, because the big head honcho guy (Silver Laced Wyandotte my wife named Julian) is actually pretty chill towards the other roosters and he insists on roosting up in a big oak tree at night after ushering his hens in to the coop. The pullets seem to have been accepted just fine.
The one time the Wyandotte got after another was when a blue Andalusian (Kevin) attacked my wife; Julian attacked the larger Kevin and beat him up pretty good (then I smoked Kevin with my suppressed .22, not messing around)
I'm not real big on naming farm animals, but these are my wife's responsibility and she gets a kick out of it. All of her White Leghorns are Betty,...
Eggs: At the moment the 24 hens are averaging 23 eggs a day. My wife has them all pre-sold at $5/dozen to repeat customers.
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That's really cool that Julian defended your wife!
I think I would take measures to make him roost in the coop though, as he will eventually be toast if he doesn't. Big as he is, there are (at least here there are) sky predators, coons, bobcats and maybe some others who can take him out at night, even in the trees.
To your question, we have not had bird flu, and unless chickens are confined to an enclosure completely surrounded by hardware cloth, I don't think there's a way to keep wild birds out of them (in a back yard chickens setup, anyhow).
We did have some coccidiosis for the first time last fall, and I've had to treat two chickens for a respiratory issue.
First time in my life I've had to treat chickens for anything. I think I have them a little too crowded, and my setup is not ideal, as our main coop is under repair. Gonna have to address that this season.
Edited cuz my mouse is dead and I'm using a freaking touch pad and it keeps doing stupid crap cuz I touch it accidentally.