Biosecurity - purposeful exposure to other flocks

[fanofdmb84]

I'm getting chickens in the spring. There have never been chickens on our property, so it's as much of a clean slate as possible. That said, we have neighbors about 1/4 mile away who have chickens, as well as a few friends who have chickens. Our kids are all friends. There is bound to be cross-contamination even if I'm careful because kids are kids.

Would it be beneficial to purposely 'innoculate' our chicken run area with soil from our 3 friends' flocks so my chicks grow up with that exposure?

Everything I've read so far says not to allow anyone with chickens anywhere near your coop/run but that doesn't seem very real-world-practical, especially for families who mingle a lot.

 

[dawg53]

If your birds are going to be penned all the time, ensure that other children arnt allowed to go into your chicken pens.
Make sure YOUR children change their shoes before going in your pens. In other words, a pair of "chicken shoes" solely for gaining entrance into your pens.
I wear chicken shoes in my pens, and I dont wear them anywhere else.

 

[Eggcessive]

Wild birds who visit feeders nearby can also spread diseases from flock to flock. I would try to train your kids to not let their friends inside coops or runs with your chickens. Explain that other chickens may have been exposed to things your new chicks would not be able to fight off. The chicken shoes that Dawg53 mentioned is pretty common practice. I also have used shoe covers or plastic trash bags to cover the shoes of visiting grandkids. Kids also need to wash their hands after being around the chickens to protect themselves. Reading up on common poultry diseases is a good way to spot any symptoms that you may see, whether they come from your kids’ friends’ bird or wild bird.

 

[nuthatched]

It's real world practical.
"Hey, can you stay out of my chicken coop?"
"Why would I go in your chicken coop??"

Look but don't mingle

 

[townchicks]

I wouldn't go so far as to try to "inoculate" your chickens in the way you are thinking. However unless you are keeping your chickens inside a covered run 24/7, they are going to get exposed to something. Even then , some things can be airborne. So true biosecurity is very difficult to achieve for the majority of chicken owners. If you plan to let your chickens range, even inside a fenced yard, they are exposed to wild birds. At a 1/4 mile distance, these same birds will visit your neighbors also. Only you can decide what risk you are willing to take. One precaution you can take, that even the kids can follow is to have a dip tray at the gate that the kids use before entering the yard. A dip tray is a shallow tray with a thin layer of bleach and water that the person steps into for a moment, to kill germs on the bottom of the shoes.