Poultry Health Information
Poultry illness is very different from human illness.
If you're an out of state poultry vendor, please complete these forms and follow the instructions for submission:
When a chicken gets sick, generally, it'll become a carrier of that illness for life and may then infect other birds added to the flock. Poultry diseases are amazingly common and, thus, hard to avoid. Some issues can be cleared up quickly with antibiotics while others may produce devastating losses. It is ALWAYS recommended that all new birds (no matter how healthy they appear) be QUARANTINED from all existing birds before introducing them into your main flock. After 1 month with no display of illness, you may want to first introduce 1 of your birds to the new quarantined birds to see if that bird begins to show signs of sickness which would indicate the new birds were carriers. After 2 more weeks with no sign of illness, it is now time to combine your flock.
Here are some helpful links to learn more about how to protect your flock
Most of the livestock vendors at the swap have been breeding/raising and even showing poultry for many years and take great pride in the health and vitality of their animals. They take amazingly good care of their animals and are full of knowledge about the animals they love and raise... they also love chatting about all things livestock! Use this opportunity to ask all those questions and take in some awesome advice. There is so much to learn and the more you do learn, the easier poultry keeping can be.
Maryland Dept. Of Agriculture Links:
If you're an out of state poultry vendor, please complete these forms and follow the instructions for submission:
- mda.maryland.gov/AnimalHealth/Forms2/poultry-exhibitor-self-certification.pdf
- mda.maryland.gov/AnimalHealth/Documents/permit-to-sell-poultry.pdf
When a chicken gets sick, generally, it'll become a carrier of that illness for life and may then infect other birds added to the flock. Poultry diseases are amazingly common and, thus, hard to avoid. Some issues can be cleared up quickly with antibiotics while others may produce devastating losses. It is ALWAYS recommended that all new birds (no matter how healthy they appear) be QUARANTINED from all existing birds before introducing them into your main flock. After 1 month with no display of illness, you may want to first introduce 1 of your birds to the new quarantined birds to see if that bird begins to show signs of sickness which would indicate the new birds were carriers. After 2 more weeks with no sign of illness, it is now time to combine your flock.
Here are some helpful links to learn more about how to protect your flock
- http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov/
- http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/
- http://www.askthechickendoctor.com/
Most of the livestock vendors at the swap have been breeding/raising and even showing poultry for many years and take great pride in the health and vitality of their animals. They take amazingly good care of their animals and are full of knowledge about the animals they love and raise... they also love chatting about all things livestock! Use this opportunity to ask all those questions and take in some awesome advice. There is so much to learn and the more you do learn, the easier poultry keeping can be.
Maryland Dept. Of Agriculture Links:
- Poultry Health: mda.maryland.gov/AnimalHealth/Pages/poultry.aspx
- Swine Health: mda.maryland.gov/AnimalHealth/Pages/swine.aspx
- Small Ruminant Health: mda.maryland.gov/AnimalHealth/Pages/ruminants.aspx
