pet chickens

ginger, I wish I had better news for you.

Once the bird flu becomes endemic in your area (talking in migratory birds/poultry) you either need to keep your chickens in a protected, enclosed area, or you need to consider puting them down.  Hopefully your local authorities will issue some guidence on this before it becomes a problem.

I would be particularly concerned about having children in close contact with them.  That, to date, has been the primary vector of avian flu to humans.

Vaccination of the chickens doesn't seem to be a sure fire way to prevent them from carrying the virus. The birds may survive the virus, or even remain asymptomatic, but they can still contract it and shed the virus.

This will become an even greater problem if, and when, the virus begins to show up in domesticated animals like dogs and cats.   There will be no easy answers here.




Edited by Fla_Medic

           I WILL NEED A LOT MORE INFO. ON HOW TO KEEP MY GIRLS, HENS SAFE ROM THE BF...I HAD FIFTY LAYERS AND NOW 20....I WANT TO KEEP THEM SAFE AND US TOO, THEY LIVE INSIDE AND DONT GO OUT.........WE ARE GOING TO CUT BACK ON THEM, UNTIL WE HAVE FIVE OR SIX AND KEEP THEM IN A SAFE PLACE AND DO EVERY THING WE CAN TO KEEP THEM FROM GETTING SICK UNTIL WE HEAR OTHER WISE.......NO OUTSIDE FOR THEM AND TO CHANGE OUR SHOES BEFOR GOING IN AND OUT OF WERE WE WILL KEEP THEM..........IF WE CAN KEEP FROM GETTING BF BY NO CONTACT WITH OTHER PEOPLE, WOULD IT NOT BE THE SAME FOR THE GIRLS, HENS?   ANY ANSWERS TO THIS QUESTION?   ONE BASED IN FACT?  SUNSET

What 's more important.....chickens or your children? If you have chickens then you know how fast they get sick... well one hour, ruffled feathers, then dead the next hour. JUST IMHO....why chance it ?