Re: Sick Black Rock

Amy Blankenship wrote:

Which area are you defining within "here" ?
I know of plenty who pay much more within the USA for breed lines
they are interested in -- for utility and otherwise.
I have had offer after offer from people prepared to pay hundreds of
dollars worth of blood testing to get eggs exported from here to
there, with the chances of getting a few stock birds.

I'm sure those people have enough birds to make it worth the while of
the vets in everyone's local area to know poultry really well ;-)

surprisingly they were folks with 10 - 20 birds mostly, looking to improve their bloodlines.


I'm talking about birds that are livestock, not pets. If your
birds are pets, it's a whole different story.

Who is "your"?
I am talking, and was clear I was talking, about the growing domestic
market.

I was talking about in general.

But there is no "general"
There are folks who have had a few chickens around their back yard for donkeys years, and may have a low value for them
There are those who are running a commercial unit and have strict health plans and biosecurity
There are those who are new who are looking to improve their connection to the food they eat
There are those who are aiming to win at shows, and breed and raise accordingly.
There are those who want to improve the pure breed productive qualities
There are those who are raising and selling some birds
There are those who raise and sell thousands of birds.

Most of those would appreciate access to good veterinary advice and knowledge.


These are people who are having birds in their backgarden,
smallholding, orchard, allotment etc for eggs, and increasingly
meat, for their own consumption and some neighbourly sales.
People who have between 2 - 25 birds probably. Pure breeds, rehomed
battery, and commercial birds included.

Sure, and if you have that many birds and you're calling the vet out
enough to make it worth his while to know something about poultry,
you're doing something VERY VERY wrong!

Who said anything about calling a vet out?
People take animals TO vets.
And any health issue that affects one can affect others, or indicate management issues that can help others.
And I am talking about the vets accessing the knowledge that they can already, and that the demand from the thousands of similar poultry people create.
Not that ONE person is going to trigger this.


What is your category of "livestock" ?
I know quite a number of larger flock owners who would be keen to
have more research being done into poultry diseases, husbandry and
welfare in mixed outdoor situations.

And they just go around donating money to it...?

Pardon?
The research institutes do research on many things, and the recognition of the massive increase in domestic poultry is plenty big enough to trigger more work in domestic birds.
It is beginning to happen. I know of a few projects already started.


There is a lot to learn still, which would give us all help as more
and more birds get raised and kept in more and more marginal
conditions with the increasing demand for free range production.
There is plenty known about why its not a good idea but if farmers
are going to be forced into it by consumers then we have a lot to
learn so as not to end up with the same poor health status of flocks
as beset our predecessors in the 1950's which led to the necessity
for cage units. So the economics for the veterinary world extends far beyond the
domestic keeper.

OK, well tell that to the vets, because I'm sure they're quite
willing to do anything that will positively impact their bottom lines.

I have. And to a several hundred vets to be as they passed through here.


Instead of poultry production being localised into relatively small
parts of any country there will be pressure to try then elsewhere so
more vets will have enforced contact.
And our commerical folks expect close collaboration with the
veterinary profession for good preventative measures.

And they already HAVE that. But it's probably not the same guy the
rest of us get when we call the vet.

It is, if you live in that area.
A few companies will have an in-house vet but most of the units will use the local veterinary practise.
Obviously in areas where there is a high concentration of one species then it tends to attract specialists interested in that one.


But this is about the economics of why vets don't know much about
poultry--and that is because it is not economically feasible for
most people to call a vet for a chicken.

They take chook to vet, like they do their cat, rabbit, pet hamster.
I am talking thousands of people. not a handful.

So I guess there IS no problem with vets not knowing much about
poultry, since there are people all over the place bringing their
chickens in for regular checkups LOL.

Are you just being silly?

People who have domestic birds, and many thousands are very new to poultry keeping, are quite prepared to take an animal that is not well to the vet.
This is the same response tehy would have with any other domestic animal.
At present, but hopefully changing, the response from many vets is not particularly helpful, nor are they drawing on the professional resources they have access to.
Obviously as the critical mass of demand rises then realisation will dawn.
The spin off will benefit all of us.

--
regards
Jill Bowis

Domestic Poultry and Waterfowl Solutions
Herbaceous; Herb and Alpine Nursery
Seasonal Farm Food
http://www.kintaline.co.uk

.

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