Winter Bio Security food for thought.....

Just a few words of wisdom...and an overall good idea for breeding season and all year round for that matter...this from personal past experiences .I highly suggest curbing traffic to a minimum if not completley  ... that is band anyone coming in and out of your pen at this time of year( breeding season) ... prevention goes a long way and is easier than medicating sick birds. Also having vistors can add to stress of the birds,something that can affect production and fertility. Many get offended when I do not let people come into my pens/barns during the winter months(this came to light over the weekend when an inquiry for birds presented its self and I denied entry to my facility) .This is not done due to me having something to hide or that I do not want some one to see my meathods.( I am pretty much an open book for information,many can attest to this) .. but more over I try  to avoid bringing any ailments into the barn in this crutial time of the year... lets face it they (birds) are cooped up in tight quarters for 4-6 months depending on the winter....if something respitory( or worse)  gets in ... the results can be devasting. I work very hard at keeping my birds healthy and disease free all the time and especially during the winter months. I work hard at keeping them as compfortable as possible ( warmth/cool) in the varied weather seasons we experience and try to provide only the best fresh feed and water at all times. Also try to keep up with house keeping in the way of cleaning pens , sweeping floors and running an automister with Oxine in it to knock the dust off the pens and equipment and freshen the air. ( an endless job). This is not to say my place is hospital clean and neat as a pin.. far from that for sure....but I do have a regular cleaning and care routine... I run an outake fan in the pen year round  and have fresh air intake that is set up in a manner to bring in fresh air in with out creating a draft. All this is for not if a respitory ailment gets into the pen.Results can be disheartening if your season is lost due to a preventable situation..... I keep on hand at all times a series of respitory drugs just incase and am on a regular vaccination program for a variety of viruses and diseases that affect my birds and our area of the country. Mind you I  do not use much of the medications on hand... only if absolutily necessary as I believe in prevention and the vaccination is the route to go. When I come home from a show or if I happen to purchase something new( rarely)  .. they go into a holding room away from the general population for at least 14 -30 days( depending)  to ensure nothing is being brought in including mites/lice ( treated as they come out of the boxes) . Knock on wood I have not had issues with respitory in many years... but did have a bad experience about 10 years ago.. after a visit from a fellow fancier in the middle of the winter. If you must have visitors I suggest the use of foot baths with bleach or bleach type products added at the point of entry( mind you these must be changed frequently as they loose their effectiveness after each piece of foot wear is dipped)   and/or disenfectant sprays (as mentioned I use a automister with Oxine this is done after any visit as soon as possible) or can be something as simple as disenfectant house hold sprays.Also hand sanitizers are a good idea...  In short not trying to scare anyone or prevent those who wish to sell birds or have friendly fellow fancier visits at this time of the year.. but rather a friendly food for thought on weighing the risk factors of letting people/ disease factors... in that may affect your birds health.
Keep them healthy and happy
Troy