Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[bruceh]

sick birds just curious.where do you live ? does the junk from them have a bad smell.. the reson for me asking where you live is another member live in upper pa and has a similar problem.

 

[smyers32]

I'm in south central Indiana.

 

[Folly's place]

At this point your'e going to have to tough it out; good nursing care, meds, and time. I wouldn't kill any birds that are eating; they may recover. Diagnosis will involve post-mortem exam and testing if one dies or is put down. Depending on the problem, you may have a carrier situation where any new birds will also be affected in the future. Mary

 

[Beekissed]

Yes, sorry. I'm so frustrated and disappointed, I forgot to state the facts. All birds came from 2 local, small hobby flocks of all healthy looking birds. 4 Ameraucana pullets(4 months old) from one farm and 5 buff, 1 lavender orp hens(about 2 yrs old) and a buff orp roo (about 5 months) from another place. The biggest healthiest looking (the buff girls are starting to molt) buff hen was first to show symptoms, now 2-3 of the ameraucanas are wheezy/snotty, and I occasionally hear little sneezy/coughy noises from some of the others. The original buff and one of the ameraucanas are significantly worse, I might not even notice the others if I weren't on high alert for symptoms.
Yes, I threw them all together from day one, which I understand is a cardinal sin according to most. But I don't have a set up to keep two groups far enough apart to prevent sharing the same air, didn't see sick birds at either place, and I have a strong feeling that people 100 years ago didn't do a 30 day quarantine when they got new chickens. I'm a practical farm girl (new to chickens, but not to animal husbandry) and I figured either they'll be fine or they won't, I doubt a quarantine would have prevented them getting sick, honestly. I'm just not sure how to proceed now that they are sick.

I have a feeling that you are right about 100 years ago. They also didn't use antibiotics.....

Having said that, some folks here let these kind of respiratory illnesses run their course. I've never had any respiratory symptoms in any of my flocks, so I can't tell you how they handle those. I can only tell you how I would handle this situation. Chances are your original buff and the americaunas are your original disease carriers...it's probably too late to prevent your flock from getting ill from this exposure.

First, I'd call the places of origin and tell them about the illnesses. I'm sure they already know about it....but you can still tell them that YOU now know about it. Then I'd never buy anything from either of them again.

Second, I'd skip giving antibiotics for something that is probably viral...all you do at that point is suppress the immune system even further and start a practice of crutching poor immune systems right off the bat. I never advocate crutching the immune systems of livestock...this creates a weak flock that will always be susceptible to every walking germ.

Third, I'd assess the symptoms...any birds that are obviously laboring for breath, I'd kill to put them out of their misery. If they merely have snotty noses and a cough, I'd let that pass.

Fourth, I'd work on putting some good probiotics into their systems....mother vinegar and raw honey in the water, fermented feeds, garlic in the feed, fresh foraging conditions.

Then I'd just wait it out and see how bad it gets. I'd clean out any crusty beaks and try to keep them comfortable. Any survivors should be all the stronger from having weathered the storm.

Ultimately? I'd decide how healthy a flock you want to have and start building your husbandry style on solid, preventative measures that last longer than the next bacteria or virus that strolls into the vicinity. I'd get my birds from one source and make sure it's a reliable one...no hobby farms unless you know them well and their husbandry practices are in line with yours and they can be trusted.

 

[Celie]

as for the acorn question-some species of oaks, such as white oak and bur oak have acorns that are low in tannins, (so should be less bitter,) I believe the settlers/frontier folk made acorn flour from those.
Angela

My ducks love to forage under he Oaks and every time I harvest one, it has a lot of acorns in the crop. Does this make the meat taste better or worse?
I read somewhere it makes pork taste sweeter?

 

[smyers32]

Thanks Mary. Everyone is eating and drinking like normal, I see varying stools. Some watery, some healthy from the same birds throughout the day, no one is loose fulltime. How long for the meds? I was planning on 10 days, is that sufficient. I spoke with a very helpful OT at a local-ish extension of Purdue. (The university, not Perdue chicken) and they exclusively deal with livestock diseases. I'd love to do a necropsy to pin down what this is for future reference, but they charge $98..a little steep for me, but might be worth it in the long run. The plan was to get the older hens to have eggs immediately, then cull them and replace with younger stock as they stop producing. Now I have to worry about this bug being in my coop and on my land affecting any incoming birds. I understand there is a vaccine for some respiratory things, but that's not really something I want to deal with either. I really liked the idea of 'chickens are easy' haha, silly me!

 

[gardendufus]

Aw, c'mon, folks!!! That's funny, I don't care who ya are!

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

I had a minor repertory problem go through my flock about a month and a half ago. A few runny nosed pullets, a broody that had expiratory gurgles. Everyone recovered with out intervention other that I kept a closer eye on everyone. Imo I feel that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. You have to be vigilant, but don't panic at every sniffle.

 

[Celie]

I have used food grade mineral oil but never heard of ghee, what is it? Where do you get it? Info would be greatly appreciated!

Anybody?

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

Oh a quick question as I am not familiar with this tree. I found a lone Holly oak in the portion of my property that is wetlands. Are the red berries harmful to chickens.