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

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hillfooter

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #30 on: September 19, 2011, 05:53 »
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?

I'm not sure though I do believe MG is not controlled in commercial flocks by vaccination as the vaccine for it is very expensive.  Where there have been programmes in some countries to eliminate MG from commercial flocks it's been done by antimicrobial treatment of hatching eggs to produce reduced MG infection in breeder flocks and selective means ie culling effected flocks and breeding MG free only. 

In the US MG has been all but eradicated.  Where there are programmes they have been driven by regulation.  In other countries without such programmes MG is on the increase.  MG elimination programmes have been implemented in UK breeder flocks and it has been reported that all major breeder flocks are MG free (not sure of the current staus) however MS (Mycoplasma synoviae) which can produce similar symptoms though is less economically significant has not been eliminated.

Whether breeder flocks are MG free is to some extent academic as rehomed birds come from production flocks and can still be infected with MG if a poultry producers biosecurity is not good.  If live vaccines are used the birds will automatically be carriers of a milder strain.

Dead vaccines have been developed but they are less effective than live ones using a milder strain and the cost of administration is much higher as individual birds need to be treated and I'm not sure that these are now available commercially.  Antibiotic treatments by regular administration of Tilmicosin have shown reduced effects of MG and improved economics but the use of regular treatments of antibiotics is now not encouraged or is regulated against because of the risk of producing resistant strains.

The bottom line is as far as I understand rehomed ex batts can well be carriers of MG and MS and certainly will be if vaccination has been used as a control in an all in all out production system.

HF

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storme37

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #31 on: September 20, 2011, 22:23 »
no wonder they say 95 % of hens have this seems virtually unavoidable if you mix and match hens so unless you buy vaccinated hen from one source its welcome to mg land
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hillfooter

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #32 on: September 20, 2011, 22:52 »
no wonder they say 95 % of hens have this seems virtually unavoidable if you mix and match hens so unless you buy vaccinated hen from one source its welcome to mg land

Certainly this disease is common in backyard poultry.  When I started keeping poultry around 12 years ago it was virually unheard of and I've never had personal contact with it up to 4 years ago when I bought some hybrids from a small breeder.  One of the birds was a carrier and I've had around 3 or four birds catch it since all of whom including the carrier I culled.  Think the strain I had was pretty mild and probably as a result of a live vaccine.  Thankfully I've not seen any in the last 2 years and I've been very careful in introducing new birds.  I'm now fairly paranoid and won't buy on ebay or from anyone whose stock I can't be confident about.

It's long been my opinion that rehoming ex bats and ebay hatching eggs as well as the explosion in backyard poultry keeping and the cowboy breeders who exploit this market are culpable in spreading this disease.  It seems that most new inexperienced keepers are unaware of it's seriousness and vets are happy to shell out antibiotics to control the symptoms.

Personally I'd recommend anyone with a chicken which has  permanent rales should cull this bird even if it seems otherwise healthy as it is a sure sign that lower respiratory infection has become established and it is certainly a carrier.  Such birds don't respond to a/bs.

HF
HF

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Twinkie002

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #33 on: October 09, 2011, 22:41 »
I agree that there should be some kind of regulation of the Backyard / domestic poultry supply industry, but never will be - as you say HF, due to the lack of commercial gain.   As well as buying from "disease ridden" auctions, there are many horror stories of inexperienced new keepers buying from "cowboy breeders".    I know of one who went along to such a chap and explained honestly that she knew nothing of poultry keeping - this was for her children to enjoy and would be led by his recommendations and knowledge.  She came away with (what turned out to be" the two oldest 5/6 year old "point of lay" hens I had seen - together with horrendous scaly leg, along with x2 supposed 12 week old Light Sussex  - which were actually around 4 week old silkie crosses and should not have even been off the heat.  He told her to feed them chicken pellets and sling them all in the house together - they would be fine!!   :ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:

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hillfooter

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Re: Buying poultry at auctions......your thoughts
« Reply #34 on: October 10, 2011, 00:08 »
I agree that there should be some kind of regulation of the Backyard / domestic poultry supply industry, but never will be - as you say HF, due to the lack of commercial gain.   As well as buying from "disease ridden" auctions, there are many horror stories of inexperienced new keepers buying from "cowboy breeders".    I know of one who went along to such a chap and explained honestly that she knew nothing of poultry keeping - this was for her children to enjoy and would be led by his recommendations and knowledge.  She came away with (what turned out to be" the two oldest 5/6 year old "point of lay" hens I had seen - together with horrendous scaly leg, along with x2 supposed 12 week old Light Sussex  - which were actually around 4 week old silkie crosses and should not have even been off the heat.  He told her to feed them chicken pellets and sling them all in the house together - they would be fine!!   :ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:

Yes unfortunately there are plenty of rogues who try to make a quick buck or two without any scruples and not just selling chickens which at least isn't going to rob someone of their life savings.

The best advice to give anyone who's a novice is to get advice from someone who is knowledgeable and whose integrity you can trust.  Never buy anything you have the least doubt about and particularly don't buy if you are being pressured into a quick decision.  someone who is genuine will want to make an effort to satisfy you that their stock is good quality.
HF



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