Bird flu..

oh and something else I remember from the distant past - I can't spell it, but I had and survived psyticosis - good news is you don't get it twice

 

I think good digger would be unlucky if her/his chickens got salmonella though they can get it from wild bird droppings, which is a risk if the chickens are running out and about. I understand that vets can test a sample of droppings quite easily. I think most chickens are free of it and am not sure, but I think some, particularly thye large commercial flocks, might be innoculated.
My main concern with chickens is one of animal welfare. It is best if they are in small flocks, up to about 50 birds. They cannot cope well socially with huge flocks, even if they are allowed a lot of space. They are probably at their best in a small unit with access to lots of space outside.
In researching this I found one firm that specialises is free range organic egg production. They wanted landowners and what they would do is provide the housing, the chickens, the organic chicken food and egg collections by lorry, twice a week. The flocks would be in the size of thousands. Now in those numbers research suggests that 3/4 of the chickens will never leave the hen house and range about, they will simply stay within a small area inside the house. After 12 months the lorries would come down and the flock would be "depleted" cause peak egg production would have passed and then fresh birds brought in.
So if you want proper organic eggs from birds that really do run around I would forget the supermarkets or the organic label. The small producers cannot afford the �£300-400 it costs/year to register with the Soil Association, which allows you to use the term "organic". They cannot even use the term "free range". If you can find a small producer who looks after their chickens properly then use them and pay them, its proabably the only way to get truly fresh eggs. Small producers can buy organic feed and can in practise and principle exceed the organic conditions laid down by the Soil Association.
I think the Soil Assocaition have been stupid. They started off with good intentions but have lost sight of their original ideals. A bit like the Consumers Association i think. They used to be good as well but just seem to produce junk mail and misleading offers now, so ignoring the people they were set up originally to help.

 

If you wish to buy poultry from a registered supplier they will have been innoculated and certified as such although lots of people breed their own hens that don't get innoculated for flu or salmonela the vast majority of egg laying hens in the UK are hybrids either the warren strain or the more modern babcock400 hybrid,these are small birds don't eat much easily pick up flu virus if they are not kept indoors and because of their size and egg laying ability they make the ideal bird for the evil battery farms 3 to a cage these birds can easily pick up colds and flu if outside for long and yes may rattle as they try to breathe through a cold,I keep Marans which are a hardy breed suited to outdoors lay a lovely chocolate brown egg, I have rhode island reds which are bigger still,and i keep some bantams of mixed breed none of my birds have suffered from colds or flu,i have kept hybrids that did get flu but it was easily treated by the vet if people keep hybrids on a free range system it is usual to provide heating at night to prevent illness