First thing: most "colds" infections etc are bacterial, but for ones that are viral, antibiotics will weaken to destroy only, your birds immune system with no benefit. I like how people talk about bio security but having seen n been to hatcheries the main ones always have song birds rodents and insects etc loose going through pens, and I've seen healthy birds get sick from only one bird mouse or bug getting in or feather, dropping, or carapace in water. So yes bio security helps greatly, but unless you've got all open to air areas and cracks at all covered in inch hardware cloth and mosquito netting, keeping poultry under cover and off ground, they are still at risk, so should we not try to breed resistance and or find cure for these problems, as we are not allowed to get rid of BOPs and songbirds that threaten poultry the most, instead of just culling at first illness? Farmers back in day bred resistance and had terrible care compared to nowadays, yet today our animals are as weak as us, yet with them, some people will nurse an animal past decent quality of life, and others say we should just Cull n buy more because affordable to do for them or they do not only have a small family hand raised pet flock. It's interesting.. not bad either way, just Interesting points of perception. Pets and hobby vs business merchandise, quantity vs quality of life. It is in the end a game of chance and prevention vs cure as best as cat at either or both. I'm curious if coryza in cocks transfers to eggs, because had show cocks that had for years in bio closed flocks or alone and suddenly came down with coryza and have smell etc Everything for week to month.. ok suddenly and never for five years etc show symptoms again through heat drought cold wet hot wet, predator attacks and other cocks tossed in by neighbors that thought good idea for some reason, and had all many healthy young for those and years after Never show symptoms or test positive. Coryza and parathyroid are the stuff of my nightmares! One place I lived no matter what I did short of putting birds in glass cages with hepa etc filters they got both, off ground, hardware cloth with mosquito netting over (wild birds, pest insects, and mice to packrats, always around till it froze). Other areas tested had birds free ranging and never a problem. Oddly just poultry drench vitamin drops, vetRX, and layer pellets worked good to stop problem.. that and getting good ratter cats that are large and small to kill all insects songbirds and rodents, stopped problem until New songbirds came once rehomed most of older cats. problem found was small songbirds more over whole time not BOPs dove species etc rodents insects, just the songbirds-sparrow starling finches blackbirds magpie etc, except hummingbirds and buntings for some reason (ones killed n tested never came up positive for anything). Especially if you have wild
Bird seed feeders or fruit trees nested in etc close to coop areas, but muscovy ducks seem to share some of their immunities with chickens when chickens get into their poop or coops rotated, as oils coat chooks (or it's just that scovy destroy every bug rat snake weasel etc and BOP they can and alleviate stresses on chickens). What works on one property isn't certain to work on another, so learn and try as much as can from mostly local sources (I'm in East Tennessee).
Bird seed feeders or fruit trees nested in etc close to coop areas, but muscovy ducks seem to share some of their immunities with chickens when chickens get into their poop or coops rotated, as oils coat chooks (or it's just that scovy destroy every bug rat snake weasel etc and BOP they can and alleviate stresses on chickens). What works on one property isn't certain to work on another, so learn and try as much as can from mostly local sources (I'm in East Tennessee).
