Respiratory infection in chickens

kealoni said:

My chickens had a respitory infection and they all got treated with Tylan. My question is can I buy and sell birds or do I have to have a closed flock?how do I stop my chickens from getting it again?

There are many respiratory diseases that have the symptoms you describe. Without testing, there is no way to know which one you are dealing with. Birds that have been exposed to illness, regardless if they ever show any symptoms are generally considered carriers.

It would be wise to have some testing performed, if you are considering selling/giving away hatching egg, chicks, started pullets, etc.

As far as I know, there is no way to stop them from getting ill or contracting the disease once exposed. Depending on what you have, symptoms can sometimes be managed. You would isolate and treat any sick birds. Some people do have whole flocks with illness and follow some "preventative" measures - keeping stress levels down, providing fresh feed, clean water, keeping the coop/run clean and administering medication as needed. These people also keep a closed flock, practicing all in/all out.

I encourage you to do some research/reading on poultry diseases, this will help you make an informed decision on how to proceed.

Contact your local/state lab or your Ag Extension office to see who does testing for your area. You can also send swabs/samples to independent labs if you want to go that route.

Here's some info to get you started:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Necropsy and State labs
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

Independent lab testing:
http://www.zoologix.com/

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