Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts

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shetan

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #15 on: September 15, 2011, 16:22 »
i have brought a number of birds from auction and on the whole have been ok with them.

however, i had problems with a local breeder who used to post here and set up her own set up which then spread mycro to my flock and  had to cull them all. i quaranteened for 2 weeks and was still unlucky.

i think you need to be aware of things thats might crop up and try to be as vigilant as you can.

i've got a speck sussex cockerel from melton who is a proper gent. he must be around 3/4 years old minimum. but on the day  i put my hand flat against the cage wire of a number of roosters and a few of them went for it. so i knew not to go for them. 3 of my 5 gold brahmas were from there as well and they are thriving (bar one who was caught by mr fox).

and just last week i picked up 2 white brahmas (mean men were talking of cooking them when they got home and don't know what came over me - bid for them and got them for a tenner!). one was a little sniffle-y but is ok now and well settled.

i make sure  i keep the birds seperate for 3 weeks now and also check them for mites as soon as i win the bidding. you can alway go to the admin office and complain about the health of the animals before they leave the premises. i would argue the point that you are not allowed to handle or inspect the birds before hand and therefore the seller should be held accountable. however, if the birds are visably ill then its your own fault for bidding in the first place.

all in all - if you're going to be unlucky, it doesn't matter where the birds come from. just make sure you check everything you possibly can before buying/bidding...

eyes bright, lids opening and closing normally, healthy wattle and comb colour, no discharge from nose, clean and smooth legs, shiny feathers, clean vents and birds not huddled at back of cage. then after bidding check for lice and mites and if there are any concerns go to the office and complain straight away. its likely that the seller will still be around as they will need to remove any unsold birds.

it also helps to get there early and talk to the auctioneer -who might stand with you and let you check a bird if you're lucky.

hope that helps. sorry for the long post and best of luck with whichever option you choose :)
1 Husband, 3 German Shepherds, 3 Black Jersey Giants, 3 White Jersey Giants, 1 White Jersey Cross, 1Blue Buff Columbian Brahma, 2 Buff Columbian Brahma, 1 White Columbian Brahma,  3 Gold Brahmas, 2 Golden Quail, 2 Giant Continental Rabbits and a Sister!

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storme37

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #16 on: September 15, 2011, 20:52 »
we got 1 the other week at auction she gave a few of them a cold but everyone seems to be getting better, buyer beware at auctions. not sure i would buy that way again you don't really save much money and there's a lot of risk.
1 Salmon Faverolle cross, 1 dorking cockerel, 2 orpingtons, 1 speckle rock, 1 legbar, 1 croad langshan,2 brown lohmann

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hillfooter

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #17 on: September 16, 2011, 01:29 »
we got 1 the other week at auction she gave a few of them a cold but everyone seems to be getting better, buyer beware at auctions. not sure i would buy that way again you don't really save much money and there's a lot of risk.

Chickens don't get colds Storm37.  What your chickens were suffering from is 'Chronic Respiratory Disease'  or CRD for short.  It can also be referred to by the name of the bacterium which causes it 'Mycoplasma Gallisepticum'. 

I'm affraid it's not so benign as a cold, try googling for either of these terms and find out what the likely prognosis is.  Birds do not get better from this disease it just goes dormant once the birds immune system gets the upperhand.  Once infected they are carriers for life and also will pass the disease vertically so they should not be bred from.  Antibiotics can help eliminate secondary infections which usually accompany an outbreak.  It's these secondary infections which cause the cold like symptoms.  It is likely to recur at any time your birds immune system is challenged by stress such as at moult or heat stress or many other circumstances we might not even think are stressful but are to a bird.

HF
Truth through science.

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storme37

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #18 on: September 17, 2011, 20:04 »
we gave them amoxacillin seems to be sorting them out. from reading this forum it seems half the keepers here seem to have this problem every other post seems to be about a hen sneezing or having a runny beek. is it a wide spread disease?
« Last Edit: September 17, 2011, 20:07 by storme37 »

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wildwitchy

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #19 on: September 17, 2011, 21:04 »
After going to buy some birds myself early this year, i've introduced a respiratory infection  into the flock unfortunatly. Some of the girls that I rescued from a dreadful cruelty situation started to sneeze after I got them home & I lost 2 of the youngest chick leghorns within a week despite all efforts. I think they had cocci. The other two leghorns Sydney & Nancy pulled through (after giving them enrofloxacin antibiotic which I keep in) but still sneeze every now & then & one of them always lays a very soft shelled egg. The other hens from the same batch seem ok & so do the others.

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hillfooter

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #20 on: September 17, 2011, 21:42 »
we gave them amoxacillin seems to be sorting them out. from reading this forum it seems half the keepers here seem to have this problem every other post seems to be about a hen sneezing or having a runny beek. is it a wide spread disease?

It's common among backyard poultry, endemic I'd say and mainly because of ignorance and the dubious habit of rehabing battery hens without the necessary experience. 

Most newbies just think it's a cold of a similar significance to the colds humans get.  It's not and is far more serious than that.  It's called Chronic Respiratory Disease because it's a lifelong infection that can't be cured.  The symptoms are usually caused by secondary infections as this disease often complexes with several other respiratory infections.  The a/bs will only help the secondary infections and thus the symptoms.  They will recur repeatedly over time whenever stress lowers the immune system at moult for example.  If it complexes with Infectious Bronchitas this causes reproductive system damage which results in mishapen and soft shells in later life as well as much reduced laying.

Don't think because your birds don't show the symptoms they are cured.  It's just that the a/bs have given the immune system some help to recover and get the secondary infections under control

HF

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wildwitchy

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #21 on: September 17, 2011, 23:34 »
Just a question HF. Why does a respiratry infection damage the egg laying process/reproductive system. Curious. If I do manage to save the egg from being broken in the nest, it is usually a right odd shape, has blobs of shell on it & usually very thin. I will post a photo of one when I have one.

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hillfooter

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #22 on: September 18, 2011, 05:21 »
Just a question HF. Why does a respiratry infection damage the egg laying process/reproductive system. Curious. If I do manage to save the egg from being broken in the nest, it is usually a right odd shape, has blobs of shell on it & usually very thin. I will post a photo of one when I have one.

Infections rarely occur singly they usually occur in complexes.  This is because a single infection may break down the bodies defences allowing other bacteria/ viruses to invade. 

Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) is the name of the bacterium (a very small bacteria) which causes Chronic Respiratory Disease.  MG damages the mucus lining of the trachea allowing other bacteria / viruses to invade the internal organs of the body.  An MG infection often complexes with Coryza and various E coli strains (not the ones which cause problems in humans. E coli is a large group of bacteria strains which occur commonly in the environment).  It also can occur concurrently with Infectious Bronchitis, (IBV).
 
See
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/203402.htm
http://www.infectious-bronchitis.com/signs-lesions-ib.asp

IBV is commonly the cause of mishaped eggs and thin shells.

HF

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Casey76

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #23 on: September 18, 2011, 11:52 »
we gave them amoxacillin seems to be sorting them out. from reading this forum it seems half the keepers here seem to have this problem every other post seems to be about a hen sneezing or having a runny beek. is it a wide spread disease?

Hi Storme, MG infections are on the rise because many backyard keepers are not willing to cull their entire flock and start again with healthy birds which is the only real way of controlling MG.  As MG is passed vertically from hen to egg, chicks can hatch as carriers without the owner even being aware of it.  So the greater sale of hatching eggs via ebay where you can't check the husbandry of the parent stock also plays a huge part.

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hillfooter

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #24 on: September 18, 2011, 12:56 »
Anyone who has read my posts about rehoming ex batts will have noted I always warn inexperienced keepers off keeping ex batts and also advise not to mix them with other stock.  Rehoming charities may you think be acting compassionately however in my book they are highly irresponsible in many cases and rehome stock without warning people of the dangers or providing proper vetinerary inspection of stock and they aren't choosy in who they supply.  They are litterally poisoning the backyard population of birds along with ebay too.  Defra don't care as commercial farmers operate an  all in all out systems with a disinfection cycle between and vaccination to keep the birds from getting an infection.  Unfortunately they are all too likely to be carriers though immune.

It's high time these practises were regulated but sadly only practises which erode commercial profit making get regulated in this country because it's only trade associations which push regulation to enshrine restrictive practise in law to secure their own income.  Rant over.
HF
« Last Edit: September 18, 2011, 15:27 by hillfooter »

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wildwitchy

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #25 on: September 18, 2011, 15:20 »
Thanks for the info HF.

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gingerplant

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #26 on: September 18, 2011, 21:36 »
hiya
never had experience of auction,but i'm near Reading and know of a v good breeder - not as cheap as auction but better value than others i've been to & most importantly really looks after her birds. PM me if you want details
:-)
just re-stocked from her & have 6 lovely birds

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storme37

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #27 on: September 18, 2011, 22:38 »
im led to understand mg is rare in commercial flock because of vaccination so surely ex batts maybe a better choice than an auction gamble?

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joyfull

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #28 on: September 18, 2011, 22:46 »
some vaccinations are live vaccines which pose more of a threat to other birds than dead vaccines I do believe. I am not sure if the vaccine for MG is a live vaccine or not.
Staffies are softer than you think.

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Lindeggs

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #29 on: September 18, 2011, 22:57 »
...It's high time these practises were regulated but sadly only practises which erode commercial profit making get regulated in this country because it's only trade associations which push regulation to enshrine restrictive practise in law to secure their own income.  Rant over.
HF

In the absence of regulation, that's where education becomes so important.  Just as online tools like ebay have allowed eggs and chickens to be sold more widely, so online tools like this forum have allowed people like you, Hillfooter, to share your knowledge with the rest of us.

In part it's about community responsibility rather than just top-down regulation.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2011, 23:15 by Lindeggs »



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