I'm stumped and lost and I am seriously thinking about culling my whole flock. Please help.

[Ms Clucky]

My chickens got sick. Swollen eyes, runny noses. wouldn't eat or drink. Also had foamy runny poo. Could be bad feed or are you watering them in those little giant metal gallon waters? I used them for a while and my chickens got sick. Sounds like the same thing. We used terramycin and took the metal waters containers out which I was told they contain lead. I now use plastic ones. With the terramycin you can't eat the eggs for a while though. For bugs we use the diatomaceous earth food grade. We haven't had a bug problem since. Make sure it is food grade though. It helps with worms also. Hope this helps. Sorry for your loss

 

[Ms Clucky]

I found rust in the water one day.

 

[LaFleche]

This sounds like every chicken keepers nightmare - what a terrible situation!

Maybe there are several different things going on in your flock, that just incidentally started to overlap. So I would not just put aside the necropsy results.

Previously to buying the chicks for your silkie, did you have any chickens in your flock vaccinated for Marek's? If not, these chicks (if vaccinated) could have been the carriers.

You might want to ask from which hatchery the sold chicks originally came and if they were vaccinated for Marek's. Some hatcheries do generally vaccinate and others do not vaccinate for Marek's unless the customer expressly requires it. And this could just be the cause for the Marek appearing in your flock. The formerly used strains for Marek vaccination were not as aggressive and easily transferred as the ones that are used nowadays (need to be nitrogen-cooled).

I am very sorry for your losses and hope that you decide the right thing to do.

 

[TBaltis1013]

Feeling you need to cull the whole flock may be your best bet.

Youre just going around in circles with illness and secondary infections and will continue to do this until no bird is left.

Its a heartbreaking thing to have to do. I know. I had to cull my whole flock last week from bringing in MG carrier birds with no symptoms. It made all of my birds sick.

After culling, sanitize Coops, feeders, waterers, everything and let it all rest for a couple of months.

Then you can start over. Im sorry. I really am.

That's kind of how I'm feeling. Like I'll never have them 100% healthy again no matter what I do.
I was thinking about just waiting to see who survives, and keep them around, but then there goes my breeding program. I wouldn't be able to hatch or add new lines or anything. And having to continue watching them die one by one has been eating at my heart as well.

 

[TBaltis1013]

This sounds like every chicken keepers nightmare - what a terrible situation!

Maybe there are several different things going on in your flock, that just incidentally started to overlap. So I would not just put aside the necropsy results.

Previously to buying the chicks for your silkie, did you have any chickens in your flock vaccinated for Marek's? If not, these chicks (if vaccinated) could have been the carriers.

You might want to ask from which hatchery the sold chicks originally came and if they were vaccinated for Marek's. Some hatcheries do generally vaccinate and others do not vaccinate for Marek's unless the customer expressly requires it. And this could just be the cause for the Marek appearing in your flock. The formerly used strains for Marek vaccination were not as aggressive and easily transferred as the ones that are used nowadays (need to be nitrogen-cooled).

I am very sorry for your losses and hope that you decide the right thing to do.

They're from ideal hatchery. I have other chickens I've raised from babies that are from feed stores who order through ideal as well, and never had this many issues when they were young.
Thank you for your support and thoughts.

 

[TBaltis1013]

Plastic waterers

My chickens got sick. Swollen eyes, runny noses. wouldn't eat or drink. Also had foamy runny poo. Could be bad feed or are you watering them in those little giant metal gallon waters? I used them for a while and my chickens got sick. Sounds like the same thing. We used terramycin and took the metal waters containers out which I was told they contain lead. I now use plastic ones. With the terramycin you can't eat the eggs for a while though. For bugs we use the diatomaceous earth food grade. We haven't had a bug problem since. Make sure it is food grade though. It helps with worms also. Hope this helps. Sorry for your loss

Plastic waterers here. Feeders too until recently.
The state vet and local vet both recommended not using de, as it actually doesn't treat infestations.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I’m dealing with infectious disease issues too - it really sucks!!! Necropsy of recently dead chickens really is the best way to get a definitive diagnosis. However, it can take several tries before you have a definite answer. Were the necropsies done at your state animal diagnostic lab? They will have the best resources to answer your diagnostic dilemma. When we first diagnosed Mareks, it took three necropsies before we could put the picture together. We also kept coming up with random diagnoses, but it turns out that the underlying condition was always Marek’s disease. This disease immunosuppresses the birds, so they die of any infectious disease, like coccidiosis, crop thrush, mites, etc. It can be confusing for the pathologist because these other diseases are also present.

If you’ve had positive test results for Mycoplasma and Marek’s, then you have both in your flock and they underlie all of your other problems. Mycoplasma is vertically transmitted, so you can’t get away from it in your breeding program; even hatching eggs will carry it. Marek’s is not vertically transmitted, but it stays in the area for a long time, so you’d have to wait about 18 mo after culling your flock before reintroducing birds. Infectious disease really sucks.

 

[ameliathedominant]

are they being given enough space? they could also be battling malnutrition and its making their immune systems weak. the bone snapping thing makes me think he or he may not have enough nutrient/calcium.

pls keep fighting its the best u can do

 

[bruceh]

I'm no guru. nor do I claim to be..is there any.i mean any chance of rodents ? cholera acts in the manner your describing. cholera is caused by rodent urine and feces.
a few dead this day. a couple the next day. and so on.
2 products for normal bacteria NOT CHOLERA is oxine added to the water and denegaurd for respitory infection.
mereks will cripple a bird. some will recover and remain carriers.
cocci is very strong and continues to get stronger. I strongly reccomed the powder 2 tbl spoons per gal. yreat again 10 days later.
for overload of worm flubenzanole found at tractor supply in the horse section.
these are just my opinions
they have worked for me.



.

 

[ameliathedominant]

i do think that you need to retrace your steps to find the first case. then put a fine tooth comb thru those symptoms. try and connect them to diff diseases to see what you might be dealing with. this may be a mutated disease