- Oct 3, 2014
- 7
- 0
- 7
Hello all; I am in need of advice;
Two weeks ago one of my geese started to lose weight, went downhill rapidly and died. As she had seen the vet the day she died, they offered to do an autopsy; how I wish I had refused!
The lab results showed avian TB. So the vet visited my house and told me I had to destroy the rest of the geese and my chickens and disinfect the coop and I would not be able to keep any poultry for 6 months. I was devastated.
However, he clearly had done a quick search on the internet for this information and I felt it really only applied to large, commercial breeders; which I am not. It is obviously a contagious disease, but from what I can find out, it is not dangerous to cattle (I live in a large cattle rearing community) and only to humans who have a compromised immune system. My chooks are not overcrowded, or stressed and I am scrupulous with hygiene, worming and coccoid treatment. All my chickens look well, are laying and are feathering up nicely after a bit of a moult.
So I have decided to keep them and watch carefully for any signs of illness. I chatted to my neighbour, a cattle farmer, who also thought the vet was a little extreme..
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts and experiences, if any.
Thank you in advance.
Two weeks ago one of my geese started to lose weight, went downhill rapidly and died. As she had seen the vet the day she died, they offered to do an autopsy; how I wish I had refused!
The lab results showed avian TB. So the vet visited my house and told me I had to destroy the rest of the geese and my chickens and disinfect the coop and I would not be able to keep any poultry for 6 months. I was devastated.
However, he clearly had done a quick search on the internet for this information and I felt it really only applied to large, commercial breeders; which I am not. It is obviously a contagious disease, but from what I can find out, it is not dangerous to cattle (I live in a large cattle rearing community) and only to humans who have a compromised immune system. My chooks are not overcrowded, or stressed and I am scrupulous with hygiene, worming and coccoid treatment. All my chickens look well, are laying and are feathering up nicely after a bit of a moult.
So I have decided to keep them and watch carefully for any signs of illness. I chatted to my neighbour, a cattle farmer, who also thought the vet was a little extreme..
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts and experiences, if any.
Thank you in advance.