Are my new birds a threat?

[Katy]

One thing to keep in mind is that the antibiotics can take care of the symptoms in some diseases, but the birds will remain carriers and can infect any other birds they come in contact with.

As far as eating them, there is generally a withdrawel period for antibiotics so check the label.

Ivermectrin is a pesticide, not an antibiotic.

 

[greatestgrammie]

Thank you redhen.

Katy,the more I think of the place where I got the birds I think I remember someone somewhere making a comment on Craigslist some months back about someone having some bad birds/animals and I think I found them unsuspectingly. . . darn! I would be more incline to believe I brought something home as I had no other symptoms of anything prior to these birds coming to my flock.
I WILL contact the people from where I got these birds and let them know that I now have now introduced Infectious Brochitis because of the birds they sold me.

ddawn,you are exactlly correct on the fact that antibiotics will not work on a virus. . . . hello,I have medical background and even I failed to remember this.
Everything I read says that there is no treatment but I can't see where going ahead and giving some antibiotics would not be a bad idea anyways so to work as a preventative for anything else. I DID read on Poultryhub that I should vaccinate though it does not say what to vaccinate with so any info you can give me on that would help. Not very many of our local vets know much about poultry medical care.


To anyone wanting to respond to me. . ..I have to leave for work BUT I will appreciate any and all help that you can afford me and I will return to the Forum when I get home if I have anymore questions on answers.

GOD BLESS and THANK EVERYONE for your assistance in ensuring that I get everything back in order as it should be! ! ! ! ! !

 

[greatestgrammie]

Okay,home from work and I go out to check on the chickens and to view all of those that I am concerned about and find that I can add runny nose to the symptoms I previously listed.
I am sooooo MAD! ! ! I haven't had one issue with my birds over the 5yrs I have had them and now I have this and I suspect I will end up having to get rid of all 43 of my chickens won't I?
What is the worst case scenerio? Get rid of the chickens and possibly can't get rid of the virus for years so I can't have chickens any time soon? I am soooooo MAD! ! ! !
Is there any hope?

 

[Carolyn]

I had a similar experience in the past. I thought the birds I bought looked very healthy and mine had never been sick. I made the same mistake you made in that I did not quarantine them 30 plus days. It is an absolute necessity. I bought might at a flea market where birds are commonly sold and I suspect I didn't even buy sick birds rather they were probably infected from other birds.

To make a long story short, I lost a couple of birds; the rest survived. They quit laying for about 2 weeks. I gave them apple cider vinegar, electrolytes and scrambled eggs and buttermilk....just supportative care.

I was feeling like you that I had ruined my whole future with chickens and thought I might should cull the whole lot.

I have since raised chickens in the same pen without any illness. Predators took care of the older chickens but the young ones had plenty of exposure first so whatever it was it did not have lasting effects.

Chickens get colds also.

I hope things turn out well for you. ALWAYS QUARANTINE NEW BIRDS FOR 30 DAYS and that needs to be enough space to provide separate breathing space. Also trust your nose, a chicken that smells bad is likely a sick chick.

 

[greatestgrammie]

Carolyn. . . .. Everything that I research says that after Newcastle's or Infectious Bronchitis I can not use the chickens for egg production which is the very reason I have my chicken hobby.
This new bunch of chickens I bought contained some Cornish Jumbo which I intended to butcher for that meal of Fresh Fried Chicken that G'ma use to serve but those are the primary birds that I notice are making the hacking and sneezing noises accompanied with the wet noses so I am scared to butcher them. . . . . I am more inclined to just go ahead and kill them and burn the bodies to prevent the spread of any more virus.
Those birds who don't seem to be sick I wanna keep healthy but I am sure they have already been infected since they have been exposed to the sick birds for almost 2wks. so what do I do?
I've never sold any of my birds though I have given some away in the past,I don't transport them across state lines nor do I show them so I have never had them tested by our State Animal Health but with all of this going on I will call them tomorrow to come out to test my birds.
To isolate any new birds I get,if I put them in my extra hen house which is off the main hen house will that be sufficent. Everything I read says that these infections are of the air borne nature but with a double wall between both buildings I would suspose that this would be alright.

Once I get this situation under control,will my "cured" birds still be carriers of this disease? Will they infect any other birds I try to put in with them? Will I pass health inspections in the future?

 

[redhen]

Quote:
From my understanding..(and i could be very wrong here) chickens do not get actual colds. What they get does not really ever go away...the SYMPTOMS can go away..but the virus stays in them always..and they can pass it along..again..i'm probably wrong..

 

[greatestgrammie]

redhen,everything I have read in the last 12hrs tells me that chickens that have Infectious Bronchitis do get over the symptoms but as you state will always remain to be a carrier.
One article I read states that the "old farmer" has been heard to say that the chicken merely had a cold but that this was probably related to something like Infectious Bronchitis.

I don't want to have to get rid of my birds,I want ALL 43 of my birds to be as healthy as possible and with that in mind I don't want any bird harboring a virus that they can pass on and make other birds go through what I am dealing with now so I am afraid I am going to have to get rid of my current birds and start all over again and I hate that because I have an assortment of birds that I am very proud of and that I really enjoy. Finally ended up with a pullet that is actually friendly which I never thought I would enjoy but this 4mo pullet is not only enjoyed by myself but my young grandchildren who are plumb tickled to death that they actually bend over to pick up a chicken and not have to chase her down to hold her.

I have gone to our State's Animal Health web page and have made my request to have my birds inspected so maybe I will end up with a better idea of what I'm dealing with.

 

[redhen]

If you dont plan on selling any of them, or removing the birds from your property, i think you can still keep the flock.. Not sure if this is the one thats passed on through the hatching eggs also. Its a tough decision..Dont make any quick decisions...get them tested first. Good luck.

 

[greatestgrammie]

redhen,I have been so distressed over the idea of introducing infected birds that I have jumped from one web site to another looking for answers and as best I can remember I think this can be passed onto hatching eggs which also kills my heart as I have a 95% fertility rate and I have wanted to sell fertilized eggs and the man who wants to help me hatch out my own chicks is asking for half of what we hatch and I don't want to give him "infected" chicks. Everything I have read says that there is a high mortality rate in chicks infected with Infectious Bronchitis.

I could just kick myself. . . . .as I carried these birds home in my dog crates the smell of their poop was so foul . . . ..very unlike anything I have smelled in my hen house or in the henhouses of my G'ma's. . . that I should have known that they were not healthy birds. I dismissed the smell because I have a friend who raises the Jumbo Cornish who has told me of their foul smelling feces and I thought this was what he was refering to . . . . . maybe he too has Infectious Bronchitis and he is just use to the foul smell and dismisses it to being something this breed naturally has. . . . I will strongly suggest that he have his birds tested as well.

I have contacted the lady I bought my new birds from to let her know that I'm very upset over getting sick birds. . . .. I don't think I have to worry about her contacting me again nor do I think she will ever post an ad for the selling of her chickens again.

It is getting late and I'm off to bed but if anyone has any suggestions or knows what kind of vaccine I need to get PLEASE let me know.

Thank You ALL for your help

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
...isn't very powerful anymore.

First, always please quarantine for 30 days. This is the reason why. Most illnesses can take from 4-21 days to 'incubate'. This is as much a good thing for your birds as the new birds - they're both at risk, always, when you bring new birds in.

You're seeing something that could be viral (your birds could be carriers of something they encountered and never showed symptoms - or these birds could have had their immune systems reduced with travel), or bacterial (same as above). The symptoms are the same for both types of respiratory illness. Infectious bronchitis is viral. other things are bacterial but they can still be carriers.

Because people have misused Duramycin for so many years, I would not recommend it as there are essentially two flocks at risk here. If you use an antibiotic, I would treat **nothing less** than Tylan injectable or soluble. It only takes 3 days of injections. Or you could use the soluble in the water for the whole flock. DO make sure to get the right dosage, do NOT use one single day less than the very longest dosage period listed on the package itself. I do not like to use antibiotics without knowing there's a reason, but you have a lot of birds here and you do not want this to go any further than it has. Alternately you could use the LS50 in the water. I would not use Duramycin, I do not recommend duramycin on its own, and the product is weak and takes 14 days of treatment, very rough on the system of a bird when it could be handled in a shorter time by a more effective antibiotic.

Also, I find it highly unlikely that it's Newcastles as that's a reportable and not very common illness.

One thing for sure, if any of them start to sling blood, please contact a state veterinarian. If you lose one single bird, get a necropsy. I would contact your state agricultural college and find the extension guys and talk to them about how you go about getting a necropsy if you need one. Some places require a live bird brought in, others will accept and require a carcass. You will want to know how they want you to do that. Having this information ahead of time is really very helpful and hopefully you'll never need it. But if you lose one, you'll want to know EXACTLY what the disease is so you can handle it with the rest of your flock.

Would you consider taking a live bird (new one) to an avian vet to get a couple of tests done to determine if it's viral or bacterial? If so, I can give you a list of certified avian vets. Contacting the state is a good idea as they can test for things like MS, MG, etc.

In the mean time, boost ALL immunities. The best feed, yogurt used daily because their nasal secretions will run into their digestive tract through the opening in the roof of the beak and cause diarrhea and possibly secondary digestive illness. Organic apple cider vinegar in the water (1 teaspoon per gallon) can help adjust the pH to be more friendly to good bacteria, bad for bad bacteria/yeast, and additionally it will help decrease the mucus that you're hearing in their throats. A little cayenne on the food every other day, or tumeric (the seasoning) could be helpful for their immune systems. Giving them all fortified wheat germ oil daily will give them vitamin A which is essential for respiratory healing. You simply buy the oil (see the horse sections of the feed store, make sure it's 'fortified' with ADE), and put it in a spray-bottle like you mist plants with. Spray the top of the food daily as you put it out.

If you can do VetRx on the sick birds, please do. Use diluted VetRx to swab their nares, the cleft in the roof of the beak, under each tear duct. Use a new q-tip end for each spot, a completely new q-tip when you switch birds. I mix a little VetRx with an equal amount of very hot water. Stir well - this cools the water and emulsifies the VetRx oil into the water, like a salad dressing. Theq-tips should be wet with the stuff. It's non-medicinal, can be used in conjunction with any medical treatment, and facilitates air flow in the sinuses in ocular areas. it also is said to help alleviate inflammation and reduce mucus. A bird that can't breathe will not eat and will worry himself more sick. A bird comforted by breathing will heal better. If you cannot find VetRx for poultry, the rabbit kind will work. If you can't find that, large pet store chains (Petsmart for example) often carry Marshal Pets Peter Rabbit Rx. It's the same thing. A 2 ounce bottle goes a long long way used diluted as a swab.

So summary:

Give everyone heightened nutrition.
Support respiratory healing with fortified wheat germ oil on the feed daily (only misted - do not over use)
swabbing with VetRx will help respiration and thus healing.
Using yogurt will help decrease chances of secondary digestive illness.
If you treat, get a strong and effective antibiotic like LS50 or Tylan.

I hope your flock turns out ok - very scary, and a hard thing to go through.


POSTNOTE: If you use anything ending with -mycin or -cycline (which includes LS50) do NOT use yogurt during that period. It will make the medicines not work. You would have to use a product like Probios dispersible powder from the feedstore. Buy the small bottle - it's around 8 dollars. Or the tube if they only carry the large bottles.

It's only 1/4 teaspoon per bird. Look in the livestock/cattle/calf nursing section. You would noto use in the water as labeled, but sprinkle on top of the wheat germ you're using to mist. After the treatment, you can use occassionally the same way to keep all your birds very healthy.