My Flock has been possibly exposed.

[Kiki]

Please allow me to clarify this statement made by my friend.

Avian viruses often come into a flock, infect the flock, and as long as the birds are young and healthy, often will cause no symptoms. In spite of that, once a flock is exposed to these avian viruses, which can come into your flock on the bottoms of your shoes or by wild birds shedding dander upwind of wind currents your flock happens to be downwind to, to name just a few of the means of transmission, your chickens will be carriers for life and there is no way to eliminate most of these viruses short of very drastic measures.

This is why quarantine is of dubious value. You may have just bought a very healthy chicken that may have been exposed to one of these viruses, and is now a carrier yet is asymptomatic. For this reason, importing adult birds into your flock, except from the most reputable sources, is very risky.

It is true that most of the time, healthy birds, even though exposed to viruses and being carriers, can live out their lives symptom-free, never being sick a day in their lives because their immune systems have made them resistant. Yet they can still pass the virus on to other birds.

Once a chicken shows symptoms, you can treat those symptoms (secondary infections) with an antibiotic. However, all this does is treat those symptoms. It doesn't remove the virus from the bird or the flock. There is no cure for these avian viruses, though vaccination is available for Marek's, and as far as I know, that's the only one.

The best way to find out of your flock carries any of these avian viruses is to have a necropsy done on any bird that has died of mysterious causes. Another way is to have the blood tested from birds from your flock for DNA markers for these viruses, but that obviously is beyond the means of most of our budgets.

Egghead is right in urging you not to panic. There's nothing to be gained from worry and being upset. Most flocks carry these avian viruses and their humans are never even aware of it because the chickens never become sick.

What I suggest is you keep in touch with this friend who has just returned your rooster. If their chicken happens to die, either urge them to get a necropsy or pay for one yourself. That way you both will know for certain if a virus was responsible and which one it is.

 

[azygous]

What LG pointed out about doing your own responsible enlightened breeding by only breeding the strongest and culling the weak, is the best way to develop virus resistant stock. This is what many commercial hatcheries do to create breeds that are resistant to many of these awful viruses. It's why some such as popular egg-laying breeds are much less likely to come down with symptoms of these viruses even years after being exposed.

Viruses are strange sinister little buggers. Science still isn't sure whether they're even a life form unto themselves. Unlike bacteria, which are self contained and exist on their own, a virus needs to attach to other cells and pilfer their DNA in order to have a life and do their nasty business. That's why they're next to impossible to kill. They never stay the same compared to bacteria which obligingly keeps on being the same identifiable critters even after thousands of years. That's why antibiotics work on them, kind of like a varmint that cooperates by holding perfectly still while you get a bead on it with your gun.

 

[lazy gardener]

What LG pointed out about doing your own responsible enlightened breeding by only breeding the strongest and culling the weak, is the best way to develop virus resistant stock. This is what many commercial hatcheries do to create breeds that are resistant to many of these awful viruses. It's why some such as popular egg-laying breeds are much less likely to come down with symptoms of these viruses even years after being exposed.

Viruses are strange sinister little buggers. Science still isn't sure whether they're even a life form unto themselves. Unlike bacteria, which are self contained and exist on their own, a virus needs to attach to other cells and pilfer their DNA in order to have a life and do their nasty business. That's why they're next to impossible to kill. They never stay the same compared to bacteria which obligingly keeps on being the same identifiable critters even after thousands of years. That's why antibiotics work on them, kind of like a varmint that cooperates by holding perfectly still while you get a bead on it with your gun.

This works with bacteria, as long as we don't keep throwing antibiotics at them willy nilly, thus creating strains of bacteria that are immune to the current generations of antibiotics.

 

[azygous]

And some bacteria are "smarter" than others, so those are even more likely to become resistant to antibiotics. E.coli is one of those "smart" ones, and it's why they have evolved into strains that gobble flesh and laugh at any antibiotic you throw at them.

 

[Derrick cook]

I gave a rooster to a friend just starting a flock. She got her birds from somewhere. Well the rooster I gave her was kind of picking on her younger hen. Well Her bird had started sneezing and having a runny nose, and her eye swelled up. She brought me back the rooster last thursday. He was making her nervous... she is new to chickens. He has always been super sweet here, and never had a problem. But I took him back. Her bird wasn't that bad last week, but her eye swelled up this past weekend. Now I'm concerned that by letting that rooster come back that I've exposed my flock. I did start them on tetraoxycyline that I had here for preventative just in case. But I don't want my birds to be carriers either. I have only had them about a year, and I would like to eventually sell eggs... or chicks... None of mine have shown any symptoms. However I just added 8 more birds to my flock on Sunday, all from Npip places. But I'm kind of panicking...Is there anything else I should do? And especially since I just brought home these 8 new birds. he was only here for 2 days. I had 2 roosters left and they all free range. He left Sat to another home, which now I'm scared I infected. He however had no signs of anything.

I had a terrible last 2 weeks with my flock. I lost almost all of them to predators. I had just redone my coop for the hurricane, and thought I was at a good stopping point, but I left a hole, and apparently a raccoon got it. Ate all 3 of my babies I had ordered and hatched. Then I found my oldest hen dead in coop and my easter egger headless at the front door of the coop.It was very traumatic. I am proud to say that I put a trap out Sat night and caught that little chicken eating raccoon. I've still got the trap out baited with catfish food that I grind up to add to my food for extra protein. But anyways. I'm just so nervous since I just had a horrible loss with most my hens, and then just spent so much money on these 8 new sweet girls. Any advice?

If your friend just started a flock, the sneezing could be from their new environment, different bedding from what they were used to, dusty coop, stress from environment change, my two silkies have a problem with the dust from their bedding once in awhile and they were sick when i took them from a friend, the swollen eye sounds like an injury if the rooster was pecking at her, me even though im new to chickens and ducks would be to just watch them close for any symptoms or unusual then normal bahavior. Hope everything works out!

 

[azygous]

By the way, last year we finally got a law passed to regulate commercial meat and egg operations from using antibiotics in the animals' water as a preventative. It will help slow down the progress of bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics. We all need to help by not using antibiotics except to treat actual disease.

 

[crazysilkielady1]

My friend took hers to the vet. He said they had parasites. He de wormed then. So hopefully all is well! I'm going to schedule a NPIP

 

[crazysilkielady1]

By the way, last year we finally got a law passed to regulate commercial meat and egg operations from using antibiotics in the animals' water as a preventative. It will help slow down the progress of bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics. We all need to help by not using antibiotics except to treat actual disease.

Well I wouldn't have if I wasn't afraid they were exposed. I've had mine for a year and never given any.

 

[Kiki]

My friend took hers to the vet. He said they had parasites. He de wormed then. So hopefully all is well! I'm going to schedule a NPIP

You are wanting to become NPIP certified?

What do you mean by scheduling a NPIP?