@CMV - in reading your other post on all the nasties, yes it does look like somebody dumped. But on the other hand, I see no reason to cull if he wants to try and cure them or at least get them stabilized. I have read many times on here where people thought it best to cull for whatever reason. But an effort was made and the bird pulled through just fine. Chickens can be very resilient and totally amazing at their ability to recover. Not everyone can cull easily, some don't have the heart or stomach for it, or the money if they have to pay for it.
Canker may be for life, but there are different strains of canker. If the bird can survive this episode, then it gains immunity and is resistant to more virulent strains. But you are right, it will become a carrier. The way you control that in the flock is currently with copper sulfate. I think if someone is willing to treat a bird for a difficult disease that's how we can all learn and improve the lot of chickens in general. Just like the Berimax, I hope someone gives it a shot b/c the zoles are most assuredly losing ground as far as effectiveness, and not everyone wants to use chemicals in their flock, such as copper sulfate. I believe there are cures out there - we just have to find them.
You say a sick flock takes all the joy out of poultry keeping - I think that is for the owner to decide. Yes, there is temporary stress during the illness period, but how else do we learn? We can't just put a bird down every time it gets sick - Every flock will eventually see some kind of illness of one sort or another. I feel I am the birds caretaker and will do whatever is necessary until conditions dictate I can do no more. As someone said, you win some and you lose some. But that is me. Each person has their own level of tolerance of the effort required, but the reward of seeing a sick bird recover back to full health as a result of your caring just cannot be described.
Canker may be for life, but there are different strains of canker. If the bird can survive this episode, then it gains immunity and is resistant to more virulent strains. But you are right, it will become a carrier. The way you control that in the flock is currently with copper sulfate. I think if someone is willing to treat a bird for a difficult disease that's how we can all learn and improve the lot of chickens in general. Just like the Berimax, I hope someone gives it a shot b/c the zoles are most assuredly losing ground as far as effectiveness, and not everyone wants to use chemicals in their flock, such as copper sulfate. I believe there are cures out there - we just have to find them.
You say a sick flock takes all the joy out of poultry keeping - I think that is for the owner to decide. Yes, there is temporary stress during the illness period, but how else do we learn? We can't just put a bird down every time it gets sick - Every flock will eventually see some kind of illness of one sort or another. I feel I am the birds caretaker and will do whatever is necessary until conditions dictate I can do no more. As someone said, you win some and you lose some. But that is me. Each person has their own level of tolerance of the effort required, but the reward of seeing a sick bird recover back to full health as a result of your caring just cannot be described.