Chickens on Guard: Our Safety Rules
Hey there, it’s Moo! 🐥 Life as a chick is pretty fantastic—pecking at bugs, exploring the coop, and getting treats from my human. But keeping me and my flock healthy is serious business, especially now that summer is hot and sticky, and wild birds are starting to migrate. That’s where something called biosecurity comes in. It’s a big word, but it means making sure we don’t get sick by keeping our coop clean, safe, and away from any potential dangers.
I’ve noticed my human does a lot to keep us safe:
Fresh Water and Clean Feed: We always have clean, fresh water, and our food is stored in a dry place so it doesn’t get all yucky. This helps us stay healthy and strong.
Coop Fortress: Our coop is like a little chicken castle! The door is always shut tight, and there’s netting to keep wild birds out. This way, we don’t catch any nasty diseases they might bring.
Daily Health Checks: My human checks on us every day to make sure we’re all feeling good. If one of us isn’t acting right, they make sure to give us extra care.
Staying Cool in the Heat: When it’s really hot, we get lots of shade and sometimes even a fan! Staying cool is important so we don’t get too stressed out.
Quarantine New Friends: When a new bird comes to join us, they get their own little space for a while. It’s like a mini vacation before they meet the rest of us. This makes sure they’re healthy and ready to join the flock. I overheard my mom talking about how so many people skip this step and bring new chickens right into their flock without any isolation period—yikes! That could be disastrous! The new birds might be sick, or worse, they could have lice or mites (yuck!) and infect everyone. (This is the coop we use)
Extra Care in the Fall: With all the wild birds flying around, we stay closer to home, and our human makes sure everything is extra clean. It’s our way of staying safe while the wild birds do their thing.
Oh, and guess what? I hear my human mom is writing a book called The Biosecure Backyard. I don’t know much about it yet, but you can bet I’m keeping my ears open and will keep you posted with any juicy details! It sounds like it’s going to be full of tips to help keep flocks like mine safe and healthy all year round.
So, if you’ve got a flock like mine, remember to keep us safe with some good biosecurity practices. We’ll stay healthy, happy, and ready to give you all the love (and eggs) you could want!
PS: Check this out if you want to hear about our isolation coop and see some photos.
