Wednesday, January 7, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Keep backyard chickens away from waterfowl
By kym pokorny
OSU Extension
CORVALLIS – Chickens
populate thousands of urban
backyards throughout Oregon
– and in light of a recent out-
break of avian flu, people who
keep flocks are urged to take
measures to keep their birds
healthy.
Jim Hermes, a poultry spe-
cialist with the Oregon State
University Extension Service,
said to lessen the likelihood
of disease, chickens should
be kept away from wild birds,
which carry the disease but
don’t get sick.
Avian influenza has been
diagnosed in a small flock of
poultry in Douglas County,
according to the Oregon
Department of Agriculture.
The infected chickens and
guinea fowl had access to a
pond visited by a large num-
ber of waterfowl. The Oregon
occurrence follows on the
heels of a major outbreak in
the Fraser Valley of British
Columbia, Canada.
Unlike other strains, the
current virus (H8N5) is not a
threat to humans and doesn’t
affect chicken meat and egg
products, which are still safe
to eat, Hermes said. Concern
is for the commercial poultry
industry.
Hermes said people have a
responsibility to learn how to
raise a flock before bringing
chicks home. First, research
the rules. Some cities allow
only a certain amount of
birds – three is a common
number. Others require a
permit. Contact your city for
specifics.
Roosters, because they
are so noisy, are likely not
allowed, which shouldn’t
cause dismay unless fertile
eggs are a goal. Most people,
though, raise chickens for the
eggs.
“There’s the perception
that it’s cheaper than buying
eggs at the store,” Hermes
said, “but that’s not necessar-
ily true. Minimally, though,
people raise their own chick-
ens so they know what they’re
being fed. They want to feed
them specific things of their
own choosing,”
However, Hermes warns
backyard enthusiasts not to get
off base with what they feed
their flock. Though they’ve
been described as quasi gar-
bage disposals, chickens need
a balanced diet for maximum
egg production. Some table
scraps are OK; just don’t
overdo it. If they clean it up in
about 20 minutes, that’s about
right.
“Get what they have at
the feed store,” Hermes said.
“That sack of feed has every-
thing they need.”
Be sure to get the right
mix for their age, too. Starter
diets are formulated for chicks
from hatch to a few weeks old.
Grower feed is for adolescent
birds. And layer feed, which
has the important addition of
calcium, is for egg-producing
chickens.
Some people like to offer
supplements such as grit,
which helps them grind their
food, or oyster shell, which
has calcium. The birds will
take these supplements if
needed.
When choosing chickens to
start your flock, Hermes sug-
gests buying four to six good
producers and staying away
from exotic breeds, which
don’t lay as many eggs. Feed
stores sell young birds in the
spring, usually from March
to May. You can expect pul-
lets (young females) to begin
laying eggs at 18 to 20 weeks,
and produce seven to eight per
hen over a 10-day period.
Don’t be surprised when
your hens stop laying eggs in
the winter.
“Decreased daylight
causes hens to molt and cease
egg production, a process that
may take several months,”
Hermes said. Artificial light-
ing, however, can keep hens
laying. See “Why Did My
Chickens Stop Laying” at the
OSU Extension website, for
more information on artificial
lighting.
Any structure that provides
protection from the weather
and predators will do for a
chicken coop. It needn’t be
big. Before you begin build-
ing, get detailed advice from
the Extension’s audio-visual
guide called “Backyard
Chicken Coop Design.”
Keeping your birds inside
won’t distress them.
“You can give chickens
access to the outside through
a door, but they’ll usually
choose to stay put in inclement
weather,” Hermes said. “They
don’t use large areas well.
They like to be in groups. One
chicken is a lonely bird.”
Provide nesting places that
are a foot or more above the
ground. Hens feel much safer
when laying eggs in a pro-
tected space. Roosts or perch-
ing areas are also important
because hens prefer not to
sleep on the ground. Roosts
also concentrate nighttime
manure for easy cleaning.
Fencing can be a valuable
addition, sometimes electric
fencing, as protection against
dogs, raccoons and other
predators. Wire netting or
some other barrier over top
of the coop is needed if birds
such as hawks, eagles and
owls decide chickens are their
preferred meal.
There are a few drawbacks
to raising chickens, including
odor and the flies it draws.
But good management and
keeping the manure dry will
reduce these problems.
And rodents are a given.
“Wherever you have
chicken feed, you have
rodents,” Hermes said. “The
best solution is rodent-resis-
tant feeders, covered food
storage such as a trash can and
cleaning up any spilled feed
immediately.”
Cleaning the coop once a
week helps, Hermes said, and
the chicken manure – which
is high in nitrogen – is a wel-
come addition to the com-
post pile. Washing down the
coop isn’t necessary unless
there’s been an illness in your
flock or the possibility of
exposure to the avian flu is
high.
Waterfowl go north for
winter, he added, so the
threat of the virus is greatly
diminished.
“If there’s another out-
break,” he said, “you’ll know
about it.”
Learn more about keep-
ing chickens in OSU
Extension’s handout called
“Raising Chickens in Urban
Environments.”
73,000
oregonians
enroll at
federal
health site
PORTLAND (AP) — Just
over 73,000 Oregonians have
enrolled in private health
insurance through the federal
website that replaced Cover
Oregon’s failed portal.
The figures released
Tuesday by the federal gov-
ernment show coverage that
will begin on January 1.
Oregon’s enrollments for
the start of 2015 fall slightly
short of the 77,000 people
who currently have coverage
through the health insurance
exchange.
Because of the switch
to a federally run website,
Oregonians who enrolled in
2014 were not automatically
re-enrolled for next year. A
Cover Oregon spokeswoman
says it’s not clear how many
people who signed up for
coverage in the new year are
currently covered.
About 79 percent of peo-
ple who selected plans are
receiving federal subsidies.
Oregonians can continue
enrolling at HealthCare.gov
until February 15, but cover-
age won’t begin immediately.
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