Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Going to be hard to clean up with this wet weather I think.

Oh boy, if it's not one thing it's another.
Bit too close to home for comfort.

Yep bad time of year. The up and down temperatures are enough stress on the birds as it is, let alone a nasty virus out there. Time to look into vaccinating. And no birds in or out for me until at least April.

Jim

I hate to say it but I think a lot of the poultry sales contribute to these dieses. If I ever get back into chickens permanently I will not be buying from a sale. From what I have read about ILT now I can say that over the years I have seen really sick birds at sales and I am pretty sure from the symptoms they had ILT, I also saw a hen at a show once doing the wings down, tilted forward gasping for air but I didn't know at the time what was going on. She was part of a display group only but I remember wondering why they brought it. I never ever had a sick chicken until a week after my first purchase from a sale.

Sometimes I wonder about a vaccinated sale like the beef farmers started having vaccinated calves sales in the fall to help prevent the spread of disease in the feedlots. I always tell people starting out that sales are fun but if you already have a nice flock and they are healthy, the best thing they can do is not buy. I am not telling anyone what to do or saying that it's wrong to go to a sale, but if they ask I say they can learn from my mistakes. I hate saying it because so many people put so much time and effort into these sales and it's a way for clubs to get money; however I would hate to have someone starting out lose their flock. Especially since now many see their chickens like their dogs or cats.

I agree with you. Never have bought from a sale. I have fleetingly thought of showing some of my birds at the fair.... especially the turkeys, as I have turkeys that are FAR nicer to show than those I have seen. Nothing is more disgusting than a dirty Royal Palm Tom. However, I would have to want to part with him after that... I would NOT want to bring anything back home.

So... I don't, lol. I really wonder about walking thru that poultry barn as well. Can be scary. You can get in to enough trouble at home, letting your birds free range. With me, its loads of pigeons. AND Canada Geese land beside the barn in our cow pasture, AND corn/hay fields.

Huge pond next door.