Comments on Urban Chickens Network blog: Do backyard flocks infect commercial flocks?

I'm no epidemiologist, but I do know that any dise...

2009-07-11T20:22:39.648-07:00

I'm no epidemiologist, but I do know that any disease transmission needs a vector- and there's no vector I can think of that would allow an urban chicken to unintentionally get to a commercial operation & transmit anything at all.
The risk would be from exposure to wild bird droppings, which is far more likely to infect our back yard free-rangers than the big commercial barns!
I don't remember if it's the CDC or Dept of Agriculture who published guidelines for limiting exposure, but guidelines ARE available- the birds need to live in a covered area so the wild birds don't poop on them. Anyone entering or exiting the chicken pen washes their shoes by stepping in a specified disinfectant. I think shoe covers would work as well.
And I think the chicken industrialists either don't know how the avian flu's transmitted, or just don't want to.Can you imagine going back to commercial eggs- even free range organic ones- after finding out how fun & easy it is to raise chickens and tasting a truly fresh egg?
We backyard farmers do well to know what's what - I have an anxious nightmare about the avian flu breaking out in local human populations & the ignorant neighbors rising up & burning down the coop, so when I first got the chickens, I carried fresh eggs around & told them how I planned to protect our tiny flock AND the neighborhood; I was astonished to find out that in this mostly well informed, many hadn't heard of it, & the rest weren't concerned at all!

Avian Flu never really came to much here in Englan...

2009-07-08T02:47:24.068-07:00

Avian Flu never really came to much here in England there was concern from back yard flock keepers about the neccissity of keeping their hens under cover and the lack on innoculation. Francine Raymond wrote a lot about this in her book - All my eggs in one basket.

P.S. I've nominated your blog for an award. Plea...

2009-07-06T10:14:52.498-07:00

P.S. I've nominated your blog for an award. Please come to my blog to accept

http://homewoodgardenplot41.blogspot.com/

Although I don't have an actual story, in all like...

2009-07-06T10:13:50.332-07:00

Although I don't have an actual story, in all likelihood the transmission of avian flu would come from commercial flocks due to the fact that they are kept in crowded, unhealthy conditions. Stressed and weakened birds are more likely to contract illnesses than are healthy vigorous ones that would most likely be found in backyard flocks. I heard on a podcast (Deconstructing Dinner) that avian flu outbreaks follow the route taken by commercial birds in transport. Interesting.

sorry, that was http://thepaleogarden.com...I forg...

2009-06-28T21:48:22.366-07:00

sorry, that was http://thepaleogarden.com...I forgot the "the." Happy chicken rearing!

I just found you from a link on http://PaleoGarden...

2009-06-28T21:47:04.453-07:00

I just found you from a link on http://PaleoGarden.com, and I am definitely marking your site for further exploration. I am new to chickens this year also (since childhood, at least). I am more rural, but am a proponent of chickens for all.

I'm new to chickens - I have 2 month old pullets, ...

2009-06-28T16:36:18.249-07:00

I'm new to chickens - I have 2 month old pullets, 6 of them. :) The zoning in my city allows it, and the coop is finally built!

I googled the phrase "backyard-to-commercial transmission of avian flu" and got mostly hits from 2005 when it was first a big deal. These results pretty much lumped backyard in with commercial as a potential source of avian flu, but there was not data, really.

I did find one paper from an organic food organization, so it is obviously biased, but it is also cited.

Called "Transmission of Avian Influenza and the Survival of Free-Range Poultry Operations NOFA/Mass, June, 2006 – (www.nofamass.org)," it calls for organic, free-range raising of poultry as the "answer." I believe that organic holds the answer for many of our food-system ills, but we need more than one paper to feel like an issue has been thoroughly addressed! And, it's 3 years old. I'll be watching this topic with interest!