I Just Got Some New Birds. Now What? Quarantine?

Bringing home a parasite or illness is terrifying to a breeder, quarantine is super important. If you are not a believer, listen in and see why you should.

• Transcript

  Hi, and welcome to the Poultry Nerds Podcast. I'm Carey Blackmon and I'm here with my co host for the show, Jennifer Bryant, and we're here to help you figure out how to raise the healthiest, happiest, and highest quality birds possible. Carey, we're back again, but this time we're going to talk about quarantining. Yeah, it's I titled this one. I just got some new birds. What now? And quarantine should be part of your plan for sure. And it seemed like a good topic. You were just here over the weekend, took some turkeys home with you. You brought me some new goodies that I haven't told anybody about yet. So while this stuff is fresh on our minds, it seemed like a good time to talk about it. So when you brought me birds, I did put them in my condo, which is just the side of my barn. I have some pens. They're nowhere near any other birds, even though I trust your birds. I trust your animal husbandry. I don't have any issues with how you keep your birds. But the bacteria on your property, the environment in your property, your feed is all very different than the environment on my property. What I have and what I do and my dirt's different than your dirt. And with the ones that I brought from you. I have a condo that is downwind and away from my flock and that's where they went. I had some others that had been residing in there and I gave them their eviction notice and put them back to where I wanted them to be. I put those turkeys in there and, I've checked on them every day and they seem to be doing pretty well adjusting. And so that makes me happy that it was a good transition for them. Anytime you move birds around, they're going to get stressed. Even if I'm out of one pen and put them in another pen they have to reorder their pecking order. I'm going to argue with people a little bit. They're going to be stressed a little bit. Riding in the back of your trailer in the dark around the curves, that's going to stress them out after a few hours. Now, I will say that the couple of times that we did stop and I look, I opened the door and looked back there to check on them. They were just laying there, pop their head up and be like, what are you doing? Them some turkeys are some nosy folks. I'm telling you, I thought some, like some of my chickens I thought were bad turkeys and turkeys are worse than messy teenagers. Just on a side note, if you just want some cheap redneck entertainment, just put something new in their pen and then just sit back because they just have stranger danger to no end. They go crazy. So my dad gave me as a gag gift this past year while we were down at the beach he was in a store and he found this rubber chicken that makes an obnoxious noise. And I have actually put that in my chicken pens on a couple of occasions. And then the bigger birds, when they peck it, it makes it's enough movement to make the air noise. And the look on some of them's face is hilarious. So I'm really curious. I'm going to let these turkeys settle into their new home, get adjusted to everything. And then one day I'm going to go out there with my bucket and toss that in there and just sit on the bucket and see what happens. They act a fool. All right. So anytime. You bring a new bird onto the property. You should quarantine them. Definitely chicks, gun birds, even if hatching eggs, you should quarantine them. Even if they're your birds, you took to a show and you brought them back. You should quarantine them. If you took them to the vet and brought them back, you should quarantine them. Anything that changes their environment, you should quarantine them. And the reason could be disease. Different bacteria, the stress something could be carried on the bird, on the person in the packaging. If you brought home birds from the farm store, the birds might be okay, but maybe something is on the box that was laying on the floor where some farmer walked by. You just don't know what could be coming in with. With you. So what you do is you just simply put the birds off by themselves. In my case, I put'em on the side of the barn. No other birds are near'em. I ideally, they're 30 feet away from other birds. You're going to care for them last. So that just means that when you're doing your chores, you're not gonna go near those birds until you're done with everybody else. Because if you go take them first or in the middle, then everybody you go talk to feed, sit down and observe is going to be you could have an issue. Post exposed is the word I was looking for. So you defeated the whole purpose and you're going to want to do this for at least 30 days. So 30 feet for 30 days. And you're going to just give them clean food, clean bedding clean water and you could give them some nice supplements to boost their immune system because especially if they're new birds, they're going to be stressed a little bit. They're unsure of their surroundings, but you don't want to keep them in the dark. You don't want to keep them in a small confined space inside your house. You want them fresh air, sunlight a more natural location. Yeah, so I have the, this, the coop that I was talking about that is where my chicken yard is. The air flows one way. Hardly ever does the wind blow a different way, which I like that idea. It works pretty good. And with that, I've got this about 50 feet on the far end down, secluded by itself, and I use it to, when I hatch out chicks and I'm brutal. Four or five weeks, they're out outside. I don't care if it's winter time. I don't care what it is. They go out and they go here because this, my, I don't know what, I guess my seclusion or whatever you want to call it is chain link fence, six foot tall panels, 10 foot by 10 foot. It has a metal roof on it made with the same metal. That you could put this like on your house or whatever. And the chain link fence, I have, I dug a ditch around it, set the fence actually in the ditch. So the bottom's underground and I have quarter inch hardware cloth, no half inch by half inch hardware cloth that's four foot tall all the way around it. So it's virtually predator proof, but I did that because that's where my baby chicks go when I first throw them outside and all of that stuff. With it being chain link, they could walk right through that, but that's why I have that. Like with these they rode in the back of a trailer for a couple hours. They're in a new environment, so they're stressed. The last thing I want happening is one of the, a lot less now than what used to be, but one of the raccoons that's in the woods to come try to get them. So that, that's, I got it fortified, if you will, just for that. And I want to look at them. I will stand over by the others, especially if I see that Tom with his feathers out. Cause rip made a comment on a Facebook status that I shared with a pitcher that, I was pretty, seemed like there might be a theme going on with red birds. And I do, I love it, especially these that I got from you, these bourbon reds. They've got that deep red color, the perfect white tail, and just that nice little dark strip across the top. Like they're supposed to have you've done a really good job working with the line that you have and cleaning them up and making them just really fantastic. And so yesterday I walked out. And I was, I thought I saw him starting to swell up. And so I just froze and I looked. I wanted to go over there. I really did, but I stopped myself because I was like, I can't do that. So it's very important that those are the last ones that you take care of. Cause again, I know you have MPIP, which is important cause they get tested every year. I have that as well. So I know my birds have been tested for the same things that your birds have been tested. But like you said, your dirt's different. The bacteria you have in Tennessee is different than the crap that I have here in Alabama. And it's just smart. Yeah. You also want to check them for external parasites because you don't want anything else causing stress on their immune system when you bring them in. I personally don't have any issues with the parasites up there in those particular pens where these turkeys came from. I've got sulfur water up there and me and you have extensively talked about this sulfur water. And so I think right now we've concluded that the sulfur is making it inhospitable for parasites on those birds. So yeah, sulfur to an extent is actually a good thing for a bird. There are people that put it in supplements for them to consume. Usually, anything around 2 to 3,000 parts per million is healthy. It's not bad. It doesn't become toxic until closer to 8,500 or 9,000 parts per million for chickens. or poultry in general. But for a little bitty parasite, if that sulfur is inside that bird's body and a parasite bites it, it's going to kill it. So it helps out a lot with that. And you having the well water could very well be the reason why you do not have any issues. It's because you got that natural sulfur intake into the birds and it is what it is. Are you putting sulfur in the Show Pro supplement now? Yes. Sulfur is in the Show Pro. Coincidentally around 2,250 parts per million is about what it is. When you mix it with your feed. That's, that's scientific studies show that. And I do know people that are in Guam that use show pro and have had problems with mites specifically, and. They don't anymore. So while you have these birds quarantined to give them some good quality feed We will preach that probably every podcast to give them good quality feed Supplements are always great. I also have a Mixture that I use I'm not gonna call it a tincture It's an old gallon jug that has water in it. And I threw about, I don't know, 20 cloves of garlic, fresh garlic in there, just the whole cloves, just pulled the paper and broke them a little bit. I don't know, huge handfuls of fresh oregano right out of the garden in there. and a splash of apple cider vinegar. I don't measure anything, but it stays in my barn refrigerator and that just sits and it steeps in it. When I use it, I just top it back off and add some fresh in there and never remake it. You don't want to use that as their sole water supply, but When they're stressed, I just carry it out and I just, if I had to guess, I'd say a half to a cup of it to a gallon of water, maybe freshly water. I don't measure anything. So just a blonk. Five second for maybe I don't know. But it's those oils in that oregano and that garlic and the vinegar that's really supporting their immune system. So I've got some stuff that I use. It's very similar to that. When it is originally made, the concentrate, there is some measurements that go into it. However, it's got the just for legal purposes, I have to put a recommended dosage on the label, but yeah, I take the lid off and. Okay, there we go. Put the lid back on. I do it based off color. I know when I turn the color of the water to a certain, when it gives a certain shade of darkness, then I know that I'm about where I need to be, and just for giggles, I did actually measure at one time and it was extremely close. And it's birds, it's not science. So I just get it close and do it. It is better than nothing and it does help with the stress and all that kind of stuff. So it works pretty well. If you want more information on mine other than just throw some of this stuff in the gallon jug. I do have a post pinned to my Facebook page, the top of my Facebook page, and it's an old post and people still use it, so it's up there. All right, so we've got them in a clean place, 30 feet away from other birds supplements, good feed and I'm gonna say that, I'm gonna say this there's a lot of people that have their own opinions about NPIP. But I'm going to say this, unless you've known the person all your life and you have absolutely no birds at your house, you need to buy from somebody that has NPIP because that means that at least one point during the year when their flock was tested, they were disease free. And people that go to the trouble of getting the NPIP, they're not, I don't know any people that have been scammed by someone with an NPIP. People with NPIP typically take pride in caring for their birds and feeding them correctly. Now, I will say, just like everything else there's some people that have NPIP that I would not eat a dozen eggs that came off their farm. after washing them. But typically speaking, it's a good thing to have. It is a start, yes. And also, if people want to show you pictures of where the birds live, that would be another red flag. I don't care if this person is the best marketing person in the world, And you think they're amazing at what they do. If they won't show you where the parent stock or the birds that you're getting or the hatching eggs that you're getting come from, that should be a red flag. That's another thing about getting new birds, quarantining, that's big for me. Yes, let's go back a step here and where you're getting the birds from, which is what you're talking about quality. The biggest thing I think that you can look for when you go shopping is just physically check the bird. See if it has parasites on it. See if it has bubbles in its eyes. Listen to its breathing. Does it feel bony? Or does it feel nice and heavy and full? What's the feather quality look like? And I know as humans, I have literally thousands of animals on this property. We want to take care of all of the animals. But there is a point to, and I know this isn't going to be a popular opinion, but there's a point where you have to gauge the health of the thousands. over the one. Know what you're bringing home. Because it is possible. It is done where somebody brings a sick bird home and loses everything. It, it does happen. It's not a myth. So just be careful. Don't bring home sick animals sick birds. Now, a dog or something, a mammal is completely different. Their system's different. But there's still risks there, but a bird is a completely different ball game. So make sure there's no bubbles in those eyes. That's very big for me. I'm a huge checker for bubbles in their eyes. Now, I don't go bird shopping. That's not something I do. But when I sell a bird, and the person comes here, then I show them. I show them, we check for mites together, we look at feet, we check for skin color and bumblefoot and feather quality, and we look at combs, and we look at ears to make sure they're clean, and eyes to make sure they're clear, and the pupils are correct. Some people don't realize it, but you can see marrocks in a pupil of an eye. Look for bubbles in the eyes. Look for nostrils that are clean and beaks that aren't overgrown. You just, you gotta do the best you can, but then you need to also make a decision. If that bird is sickly, do you really want to risk bringing it home? And that's only a decision that you can make. It's your property, it's your animals, it's your farm. My farm is a going business at this point, and I just simply can't afford to bring a sick bird here. It's just not going to happen. So I, all right, that was my soapbox for the moment. So now we've got these birds on clean bedding. We've given them a low roost dust baths. So what we're trying to create here is a stress free environment. Yeah. They can acclimate to life their new life pretty well. All right. So I've made a list here of some things don't. Don't do this. Don't bring a bird home and just throw it out with your birds. Just don't do that. They're going to fight. For one, they're going to get stressed out. You're going to stress out that bird even more that just traveled. And the ones you just threw it in with. They got to redo the whole pecking order. And yeah, I hate to say it, but if you if you had a bird that was asymptomatic, didn't look sick, didn't feel sick, but it was sick. Then you just infected your whole flock. You did. Make sure, and this is a new topic, just I think in the last couple of years that I don't think people realize, you don't want to mix vaccinated and unvaccinated birds. Especially the Marix vaccine is the one I'm specifically talking about. So there's different kinds of Marix and vaccinated birds can still be carriers and shed it in their dander. Yeah. Yeah. And that will infect your unvaccinated birds. And another thing that I'm a huge, I'm majorly against is you got people that every time they get new birds, they bring it home and they want to treat it for coccidiosis and throw in some ivermectin and all that. I don't do that crap. If the bird's not sick, which I'm not medicating a bird, period, but don't bring a bird home, medicate it because if you're hiding something, it's that may hide whatever for the 30 days that you're going to quarantine it, then you're going to put it with your flock and everybody's going to get sick. So don't do that. So what we're saying here is you check the bird over, you made a decision that it's at least healthy enough to come home with you. The reason why you have it sequestered is to see if it develops anything in its new environment And that's why we're saying don't medicate. I totally agree with him on this point. Of course I don't medicate anybody, but so don't medicate them because you could just be masking an illness and then you won't, it will defeat the purpose of the quarantine. And then eggs. Now this is something that people just don't really want to talk about, but there are some diseases that are vertically transferred and eggs and with the hatching egg business. As big as it is at this point, when you take in eggs, it is possible. It's not waterly, readily available. It's possible, but not like every box of eggs is going to have it, but you could bring a disease in with the eggs, and you have to decide on that too, if that's a risk you want to take. So know your breeders and know if they medicate, if they're covering up stuff, if if they're NPIP, if they're, if they cull hard. Personally, I mean, Carey was here and I think even he was a little shocked at just how what did we call it? Ruthless. You were kidding. I was ruthless, but. I wasn't shocked. I've known you for a while and that's in the breeding things that I have learned from you, if I was to make a list and I think I saw someone posted a comment about the secrets. And I told him the secret and it's call hard. Don't be afraid in a breeding program. If you're trying to improve anything or maintain anything, don't be afraid to call if you think it's sick, I have a 24 hour rule. If you come out of the, if you come out of the hatcher and you're not a hundred percent, if you're Then it depends on what kind of mood I'm in. If I'm tired, you got 24 hours. Cause I'm probably not going to be tired and exhausted the next time I come in there. But if I'm not exhausted, you're not making it. Because I don't want you to suffer. And that's, that is not a trait that I want to breed forward. Think over the weekend you were calling me ruthless because I had birds in the hatcher and I don't keep early hatches. I don't keep late hatches. I don't keep sickly hatches. I want you to hatch on the day you were supposed to hatch. And those are the ones that are actually going to get the chance to move forward. But I think being ruthless like that, yes, It is. Some people may. It is. I was joking, but it is ruthless. But that's how your birds are the way they are. That's how they grow the way they do. That's how they live the lives that they live. That's how they survive anything. Mhm. So I'm a firm believer in it. And that's why I can ship birds all over the country. And I'm 100 percent confident they will survive the trip. And I sleep well at night because they come from good stock. So quarantine it that fits into quarantining. Because if the bird is sick or the bird is hiding something, you want to cull it. You don't want that in your breeding program. Even if you are a backyard breeder, you don't want that in there. That's right. All right. And then the last thing we didn't talk about is, maybe we talked about it and I just forgot already make sure you take care of those birds last. Don't take care of them first because you're gonna get the dander can get in your hair It can get on your hair and the hair on your arms. It can get on your shirt. It can get on your shoes You want to make sure you are taking care of those birds last. Otherwise, you just defeated the purpose So just go over there and take a hold of them and throw them out in the main coop. Might as well. And while we're talking about quarantine I'm even going to say you need to quarantine your shoes. If you go to a friend's house that has a farm and y'all, you walked at chicken yard or you walk in their coil barn or whatever, you need to quarantine those shoes. The shoes, like I did not mind walking into your place because I knew that those shoes that I had on had never even been in my chicken yard. They had never been in my coil barn and before they will go in there. I will wash the bottoms of them with bleach and actually put the shoe itself in the washing machine just because, it is what it is. It's a comfortable pair of shoes and I might wear them next time I come up there, but I don't want to, and I don't want to bring anything. So we actually have a mutual friend. I'm not going to call him by name here because he's not here to talk for himself. But he, if a bird falls out of the brooder onto the floor, the bird is cold because it touched the floor and he doesn't know what's on the floor and he should have flied. He won't pick it back up and put it back up in the pen for fear of contaminating the other birds. Now that is correct. It is what it is. It is. I've got one running around my barn right now because I don't know where she came from and so she's just living on the floor right at the moment. It's like when you find a chicken that don't look right and you throw it out of the pen. Just sank or swam. That's right. I hope we didn't come off as ruthless, too much ruthless anyway, but this is really an important topic and it would give you a lot of heartache if you're new to birds to not bring your birds home and throw them right in, into your main flock because you put a lot of work into your main flock and they're worth more than the trouble for 30 days of quarantining the new people. Most definitely. Yeah. All right. Thank you guys for joining us today and don't forget to hit subscribe and leave a review if you would like.

  Carey:28:27

  Thank you for joining us this week. Before you go, be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you can receive new episodes right when they are released. And they're released every week. Feel free to email us at poultrynerds at gmail. com to share your thoughts about the show. Until next time, poultry pals, keep clucking, keep learning, and keep it egg citing. This is Carey signing off from Poultry Nerds. Feathers up, everyone.