California - Northern

[ronott1]

No more have died. Just symptoms. I didn't keep the ones that died. I just need to know what I can do for the others

It is sad when they die. I am very sorry for your loss.

Watch them closely and quarantine any that look sick right away. Clean up any place where the sick chickens were with oxine(do not use the activator). Make sure you do not pass the virus or bacteria from the sick chickens to the healthy ones. The best way is to make sure you work with the healthy ones and then move to the sick or quarantined ones.

Of course quarantine any new chickens to make sure they are ok.

Be careful when visiting other flocks or going to shows. Try not to bring germs from your place there and when you get home, wash what you wore and take a shower before going to see your chickens.

I try to minimize my risk by hatching eggs instead of buying chicks. There are some illnesses that can be passed through the egg but not that many.

I know it can be hard to send them in for Necropsy-- They are cherished pets and we grow attached to them. I tell myself that it is better for my flock and my poultry friends that may get my chickens to not have an infected flock. Many of these illnesses never go away and they are carriers for life. It is the responsible thing to do, which can be hard sometimes. I really do feel better after getting the report back--I then either have peace of mind knowing that my flock is safe or I have an action plan for solving the problem.

Best!

 

[Chickengirl1304]

It is sad when they die. I am very sorry for your loss.

Watch them closely and quarantine any that look sick right away. Clean up any place where the sick chickens were with oxine(do not use the activator). Make sure you do not pass the virus or bacteria from the sick chickens to the healthy ones. The best way is to make sure you work with the healthy ones and then move to the sick or quarantined ones.

Of course quarantine any new chickens to make sure they are ok.

Be careful when visiting other flocks or going to shows. Try not to bring germs from your place there and when you get home, wash what you wore and take a shower before going to see your chickens.

I try to minimize my risk by hatching eggs instead of buying chicks. There are some illnesses that can be passed through the egg but not that many.

I know it can be hard to send them in for Necropsy-- They are cherished pets and we grow attached to them. I tell myself that it is better for my flock and my poultry friends that may get my chickens to not have an infected flock. Many of these illnesses never go away and they are carriers for life. It is the responsible thing to do, which can be hard sometimes. I really do feel better after getting the report back--I then either have peace of mind knowing that my flock is safe or I have an action plan for solving the problem.

Best!

Thank you Ron. I appreciate your advice. And kind words. They are quarantined and if anymore die I will send them in. I am debating just culling them and cleaning everything and being done with it.

Can I use bleach to clean it or do I need to order oxine?

 

[chiqita]

its VERY frustrating when the symptoms are so general, and it could be a thousand things.
/hugs to you.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

its VERY frustrating when the symptoms are so  general, and it could be a thousand things.
/hugs to you.

Thank you.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

I have a question for everyone;

What do you do for your chickens to keep them healthy? Yearly, monthly....vaccinate? Worm? Etc...

 

[PetRock]

it depends on what it is, could be a large variety of things. Step one, necro. and determine what it is. there is no MG vaccine, ( but you can test each individual chicken to see if they have it via blood test iirc) you can vaccinate against IB/newcastles but its LIVE virus and can be worse then the problem, You can vaccinate against marek's, but it can only be guaranteed useful when done as chicks.
here is a site listing vaccines.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps030
Most ( but not all) are not recommended for backyard flocks.

And the Marek's vaccine doesn't always work even when they are vaccinated as chicks. I lost a 15 month old Speckled Sussex hen last summer to Marek's and she had been vaccinated at the hatchery. I was shocked when the diagnosis came back from Davis because she had none of the usual symptoms of Marek's. She just slowed down, stopped eating, and passed away. She had cancer all over inside her. So sad! I went through a period of vaccinating every chick and re-vaccinating all of my adult birds in order to prevent it. But I have come to the conclusion that some will get it and the ones that don't will be stronger. I lost 3 birds to Marek's early last spring and all 3 were brought into the flock as chicks or juveniles.

 

[ronott1]

And the Marek's vaccine doesn't always work even when they are vaccinated as chicks. I lost a 15 month old Speckled Sussex hen last summer to Marek's and she had been vaccinated at the hatchery. I was shocked when the diagnosis came back from Davis because she had none of the usual symptoms of Marek's. She just slowed down, stopped eating, and passed away. She had cancer all over inside her. So sad! I went through a period of vaccinating every chick and re-vaccinating all of my adult birds in order to prevent it. But I have come to the conclusion that some will get it and the ones that don't will be stronger. I lost 3 birds to Marek's early last spring and all 3 were brought into the flock as chicks or juveniles.

The research I have done says Mareks is reduced by 1 to 2 percent. Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds are the most resistant to it.

The vaccine does not stop them from getting the initial mareks infection--it is related to herpes--The cancer comes later at age 2 to 3.

Mareks is everywhere and chickens universally get it. Most do not show symptoms from the initial infection.

 

[PetRock]

Thank you Ron. I appreciate your advice. And kind words. They are quarantined and if anymore die I will send them in. I am debating just culling them and cleaning everything and being done with it.

Can I use bleach to clean it or do I need to order oxine?

Have you considered treating them with Denagard? http://www.denagard.com/vet-poultry/en/index.shtml There are a lot of threads that talk about it and one of our BYC experts Dawg53 has recommended it. Here are a couple of threads that talk about it:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/392918/anyone-familiar-with-denagard

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...e-with-denagard-as-a-treatment-for-mycoplasma

 

[PetRock]

The research I have done says Mareks is reduced by 1 to 2 percent. Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds are the most resistant to it.

The vaccine does not stop them from getting the initial mareks infection--it is related to herpes--The cancer comes later at age 2 to 3.

Mareks is everywhere and chickens universally get it. Most do not show symptoms from the initial infection.

It's pretty sad to see them go downhill with Marek's. The ones that I had that had the paralysis form were still eating, pooping, and trying to live the good chicken life but just couldn't get their bodies to cooperate.

 

[ronott1]

It's pretty sad to see them go downhill with Marek's. The ones that I had that had the paralysis form were still eating, pooping, and trying to live the good chicken life but just couldn't get their bodies to cooperate.

I probably have a three year old with cancer now. She was struggling to get scratch but still trying to get to it and eat it. Yes cancer is very sad.