Backyard Poultry Tips

Backyard Poultry Tips

In the past several years, there has been a large increase in the number of backyard flocks of poultry. Often flock owners don't have much knowledge or experience raising chickens prior to bringing their poultry home. Colorado State University Veterinarian Extension Specialist Dr. Regan Adams says that often new bird owners are surprised to learn

Adams: "Is that the birds can carry infectious organisms or bacteria — most notably salmonella. They can be healthy but yet they can be excreting the organism and therefore potentially infect the humans around them. This is something that is this passage of disease from animals to people can happen. With poultry, it can be surprising to new owners because they don't realize that their birds are secreting salmonella when they in fact look perfectly healthy to them. Therefore there are precautions you should take when handling your poultry that are very simple: washing your hands after you have handled them; not putting your fingers in your mouth after you've handled them; making sure that they don't stay in your house — the salmonella can even be caught in their feathers and stay in the house. These are just basic common sense things."

Other important tips Dr. Adams says is make sure that your poultry have fresh food and water daily and take time every day to observe your flock to detect abnormal behavior or signs of disease.

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