Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

speckledhen · May 26, 2021

Well, not really. For me, that was definitely not "it depends" at that time. It was non-negotiable. And it is still the best course of action for most anyone who is serious about flock health-I would never have purchased anything from someone who treated respiratory illness or even had it in the flock at any time. It was earlier in my chicken keeping career and I was not willing to have a 100% closed flock where I could never sell eggs or chicks. None were coming in from individual sellers, flea markets or auctions, and after the first or second year, not from hatcheries, either, until six weeks ago, but I wanted to sell extra chicks without any qualms. Understand that this last batch may be my last group, ever, so we are near the end of my chicken breeding/keeping career. That is the only reason we bought hatchery stock again and decided to just have a fun flock, not breeder flocks. We have personal issues that may make it difficult to impossible to keep them much longer-my husband is a disabled veteran.
Plus, you have to remember....these were MY Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management, what works and still works for me here, not "orders" for everyone else; I explained in the first post that these were my rules in a nutshell for those always contacting me for advice , as I recall. And seeing as how I have quite a few hens who are now 9-13+ years old and healthy and most all who die now, after the substandard hatchery layers died off, die from normal old age, I think they are still good rules to live by for most people.

My Very First 6 Chickens · Jul 30, 2021

speckledhen said:
Chickens may be livestock or they may be pets, but they deserve and desire attention and care. If you are going to maintain a healthy backyard flock, there are certain rules that should be followed. For those of you who frequently PM me for advice, or for those of you who are new to chicken-keeping, here is the "Speckledhen Method" in a nutshell.

Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

1) Keep a clean, dry environment...change bedding as needed, watch out for leaky waterers/windows/roofs, etc.

2) Fresh air/ventilation is essential..poop and respiration add moisture in the air. Ventilation overhead, not at roost or floor level.

3) Provide fresh water, daily. Would you take a sip out of the waterer? If not, clean it.

4) Give fresh, nutritious food, formulated for the age/function of the birds

5) Provide a safe, predator-proofed, uncrowded coop and run...they depend on you for protection

6) Periodically, check over each bird in the flock for lice, mites, wounds, etc.

7) Practice good biosecurity..disinfect shoes before and after visting the feedstore and shows, quarantine new birds, etc Under no circumstances, sell, trade, or give away a bird that shows sign of infection or has contacted another bird who shows signs of infection, or comes from a flock that has shown signs of infection, now or in the past.

8) At the first sign of contagious respiratory illness, i.e., discharges from nose or eyes or bad smell, cull, cull, cull...birds don't get colds, per se; they contract diseases, many of which make them carriers for their lifetime. That means they are able to infect others even if they seem to recover themselves. See Rule #7.

9) Do not medicate unnecessarily, including wormers and antibiotics

10) DO YOUR RESEARCH! There are numerous books and articles profiling poultry management and poultry disease. Read, study and then formulate a plan of action, should the worst happen, before it happens.

Happy Chicken-Keeping!

These rules are so important for anyone considering adding chickens into their life. These tidbits are gold.
I can remember the first time witnessing a chicken sunbathe & dust bathe. It was 3 months ago…. I immediately came to backyard chickens, right to the forum for emergencies!!!!

Rammy · Jul 31, 2021

My Very First 6 Chickens said:
These rules are so important for anyone considering adding chickens into their life. These tidbits are gold.
I can remember the first time witnessing a chicken sunbathe & dust bathe. It was 3 months ago…. I immediately came to backyard chickens, right to the forum for emergencies!!!!

First time I got chickens and saw one sunbathing, I thought it was dying.

My Very First 6 Chickens · Jul 31, 2021

Rammy said:
First time I got chickens and saw one sunbathing, I thought it was dying.

^^^ Same!!!

speckledhen · Aug 5, 2021

It can be weird if you don't know what's happening!

Dhkoenig · Jan 14, 2022

speckledhen said:
Chickens may be livestock or they may be pets, but they deserve and desire attention and care. If you are going to maintain a healthy backyard flock, there are certain rules that should be followed. For those of you who frequently PM me for advice, or for those of you who are new to chicken-keeping, here is the "Speckledhen Method" in a nutshell.

Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

1) Keep a clean, dry environment...change bedding as needed, watch out for leaky waterers/windows/roofs, etc.

2) Fresh air/ventilation is essential..poop and respiration add moisture in the air. Ventilation overhead, not at roost or floor level.

3) Provide fresh water, daily. Would you take a sip out of the waterer? If not, clean it.

4) Give fresh, nutritious food, formulated for the age/function of the birds

5) Provide a safe, predator-proofed, uncrowded coop and run...they depend on you for protection

6) Periodically, check over each bird in the flock for lice, mites, wounds, etc.

7) Practice good biosecurity..disinfect shoes before and after visting the feedstore and shows, quarantine new birds, etc Under no circumstances, sell, trade, or give away a bird that shows sign of infection or has contacted another bird who shows signs of infection, or comes from a flock that has shown signs of infection, now or in the past.

8) At the first sign of contagious respiratory illness, i.e., discharges from nose or eyes or bad smell, cull, cull, cull...birds don't get colds, per se; they contract diseases, many of which make them carriers for their lifetime. That means they are able to infect others even if they seem to recover themselves. See Rule #7.

9) Do not medicate unnecessarily, including wormers and antibiotics

10) DO YOUR RESEARCH! There are numerous books and articles profiling poultry management and poultry disease. Read, study and then formulate a plan of action, should the worst happen, before it happens.

Happy Chicken-Keeping!

speckledhen said:

Chickens may be livestock or they may be pets, but they deserve and desire attention and care. If you are going to maintain a healthy backyard flock, there are certain rules that should be followed. For those of you who frequently PM me for advice, or for those of you who are new to chicken-keeping, here is the "Speckledhen Method" in a nutshell.

Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

1) Keep a clean, dry environment...change bedding as needed, watch out for leaky waterers/windows/roofs, etc.

2) Fresh air/ventilation is essential..poop and respiration add moisture in the air. Ventilation overhead, not at roost or floor level.

3) Provide fresh water, daily. Would you take a sip out of the waterer? If not, clean it.

4) Give fresh, nutritious food, formulated for the age/function of the birds

5) Provide a safe, predator-proofed, uncrowded coop and run...they depend on you for protection

6) Periodically, check over each bird in the flock for lice, mites, wounds, etc.

7) Practice good biosecurity..disinfect shoes before and after visting the feedstore and shows, quarantine new birds, etc Under no circumstances, sell, trade, or give away a bird that shows sign of infection or has contacted another bird who shows signs of infection, or comes from a flock that has shown signs of infection, now or in the past.

8) At the first sign of contagious respiratory illness, i.e., discharges from nose or eyes or bad smell, cull, cull, cull...birds don't get colds, per se; they contract diseases, many of which make them carriers for their lifetime. That means they are able to infect others even if they seem to recover themselves. See Rule #7.

9) Do not medicate unnecessarily, including wormers and antibiotics

10) DO YOUR RESEARCH! There are numerous books and articles profiling poultry management and poultry disease. Read, study and then formulate a plan of action, should the worst happen, before it happens.

Happy Chicken-Keeping!

Click to expand...

Wonderful advice! I do have to disagree with number 8 tho. I have had two over my chicken ownership who got respiratory infections - not sure how and why it was just one (one year) and another (a different year) but I took them to the vet both times an they were treated with antibiotic and are fine to this day. I could never think of just killing them if I didn't investigate first. Just my opinion but not judging yours either.

speckledhen · Jan 14, 2022

Wonderful advice! I do have to disagree with number 8 tho. I have had two over my chicken ownership who got respiratory infections - not sure how and why it was just one (one year) and another (a different year) but I took them to the vet both times an they were treated with antibiotic and are fine to this day. I could never think of just killing them if I didn't investigate first. Just my opinion but not judging yours either.

Do you know why I said that, though? There is a good reason behind it. The vet treated the symptoms, however, did he know exactly what they had? Did he test them? Most chicken respiratory diseases are like herpes viruses, stay in the body forever. They become carriers and can infect others even when they may not themselves be symptomatic. If you have only two chickens and always change your clothes after handling them before you visit anyone else who owns chickens and disinfect your shoes, you can afford to treat that stuff and keep your birds. They can still suffer a relapse in times of stress, even if their symptoms are now gone, depending on it being a contagious respiratory disease. If you sell hatching eggs or chicks or adult birds, you cannot ethically treat disease and cause heartache in someone else's flock.

My Very First 6 Chickens · Jan 14, 2022

Thank you for sharing your expertise. I appreciate it.

Hermits Garden · Feb 12, 2022

I have a neighbor who provides me an excellent demonstration of how NOT to keep chickens. Filthy conditions, filthy waterer & feed, not predator safe, and very little attention (zero health checks, etc.). Somehow a couple of her birds survived into very old age, almost in spite of their living conditions, but now there is only one left.

I'd adopt that single girl--an Easter egger who is at least 10 yrs old--but I'm due to get my "first time ever" chicks in late April, and I'd worry if this old gal could bring disease or infestation with her to my new coop and run.

But she's soooo lonely by herself over there.

speckledhen · Feb 12, 2022

That poor old girl may not be around much longer anyway. I'd stay clean for your new chicks. I hate to see that stuff, I really do. Chickens can survive in a lot of conditions, but they rarely thrive in ones like you describe. She must have some good genetics in her, poor old thing.

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