Arizona Chickens

[LarryPQ]

Infectious Bronchitis. You can vaccinate for it every year, which helps cut the losses big time.

I lost an entire generation ~50 birds, last summer from IB.

 

[Lyongirl]

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and moist conditions can stimulate this disease? One of my friends uses a mister as well in her coop..should I tell her that it's a good idea not to do this? I just spray the coop down in the early afternoon just enough so that it stays damp through the hot time but is dried up by nightfall. Is this still a good idea?

 

[LarryPQ]

No. Infectious bronchitis is infectious, which means they have to contract it from somewhere else. Irrigation or food left in the open would attract wild birds and pigeons, which also carry IB.

ETA: That is to say, BIRDS carry IB, not moisture.

 

[dofnup]

I have a mister system setup and used it all through the hot months last year with no ill effects. I have started using it this year, too, and it has been great.

Hopefully I don't have any problems with it

 

[Lyongirl]

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I know it doesn't cause it- that's why I said "stimulates it". My word choice probably was not the best for what I intended it to mean but that's what happens when I post at 7 AM while sipping my coffee

. What I meant was that moisture promotes the infection. Not that it's the direct cause, but it is a subsidiary. I know moisture, for example, in dogs' ears can help them get ear infections. Because of this, when washing dogs you need to not get water into their ear canal. Likewise, should excessive moisture be avoided outside near the chickens? How much moisture would you say is a good amount to help keep them alive but not too much to invite wild birds and pigeons?

 

[LarryPQ]

OK-- moisture in dog's ears causes YEAST infections, usually.

The moisture won't promote infections. Stress on the birds will promote the infection. It doesn't matter what the stress is: it could be heat, cold, new birds, a change in surroundings, starting laying, a change in feed, etc.

Too much moisture is not really much of an issue here--except for those 4 days of rain we might see this monsoon, and then the 2 days of rain we get in January. If you are seeing IB in your flock, it is because it is HOT outside and the chickens are stressed. One chicken goes down with IB, and since all the birds are huddling together in the shade (or in the shade in a damp spot on the ground) they are spreading the IB around like wildfire.

If you have 15 chickens packed into a 5' by 5' space---and they are all stressed from the heat--- and ONE chicken sneezes, they are all going to get it.


SO: go ahead and flood the run. You'll get more flies, but it will keep the chickens cool. Isolate anyone you suspect has a respiratory problem, and make sure your flock has TONS of shade, so they are dog piling to stay cool. ALSO--add ACV to you waterers. It will kill germs, especially when birds are standing (and thus pooping) in the water to stay cool. It will keep the spread of disease down.

 

[Lyongirl]

I know it's not the same kind of infection I was just asking if it was similar and that's the first example I could come up with since I'm a dog groomer

.

None of mine have any respiratory problems I have noticed thus far. I will def. add the ACV to our waterers. This is the first summer we have had chickens and after losing the two we are trying to do everything we can to make sure we don't lose any more. Our backyard is horrible when it comes to shade. For a house that's 10 years old you would think one of at least 2 of the prior owners would have done something with it. Alas, it's all dirt and not a plant in sight when we moved in. We are slowly working on it but it's still horribly bare. The good thing is the chickens have full run of our yard so they are constantly moving with the shade instead of staying in just one shaded area. I tell you I went from one extreme to the other when I moved here from Maine in 2005. Super cold winters to way too hot summers.

 

[mclevinson]

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Thanks!

But now I wanna see the dance.

Put it on Utube, phleease!

Ain't happinin' darling. It'd go viral and embarass me for eternity.

 

[Tracydr]

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I was wondering if the dust storm was partly from all the fires? It seemed extra black and dirty. We got caught in it walking our dogs. Turned to go home and it looked like it was eating our house!

 

[Tracydr]

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Wow, you're having a rough chicken week!
How did they get so hot with the AC running in the car? Or, were they chilled? I guess I lost you on that part. I hope your Icelandics do well.