chicks in shipping-- tell me not to panic

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They ended up positive for coccidiosis, reovirus, infectious bronchitis, and the one necropsied was reactive to the bursal disease test (I need clarification what that means for the others.) So yes, they were very sick chicks.

Going forward, my new policy is only to accept day old chicks from reputable breeders and/or use hatching eggs.
 
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They ended up positive for coccidiosis, reovirus, infectious bronchitis, and the one necropsied was reactive to the bursal disease test (I need clarification what that means for the others.) So yes, they were very sick chicks.

Going forward, my new policy is only to accept day old chicks from reputable breeders and/or use hatching eggs.

That sure is a hard blow, but confirms the earlier suspicions and explains their miserable condition at arrival and - as hard as it is - calls for culling. At least that is what I would do.

If your neighbour intends to get other chickens, (s)he will have to wait quite a long time and disinfect everything well, as these viruses are quite hardy and not easily eradicated.
 
If your neighbor intends to get other chickens, (s)he will have to wait quite a long time and disinfect everything well, as these viruses are quite hardy and not easily eradicated.

Yeah, I just hope these faverolles live for a while, as then neighbor won't get other chicks for a few years. She set up a webcam on them one day and zoomed it, and I got see them happily chirping around in their new digs.

When I get new chicks in the spring, I am planning to put them in a completely different place, in a different brooder, with a different waterer (I gave away the waterer for the faverolles along with the faverolles.) The new chicks would have the same feeder, but it is metal and I put through the dishwasher on the sterilization cycle twice, and I will put it through again prior to getting them. For the glass part, I can use new Mason jars.

I have an order in to Sand Hill, with chicks arriving anywhere from March to August. I also plan to hatch my own easter eggers at some point in March.

Anything I am forgetting in terms of preparing for new ones? I really can't get my big ones tested as it would come at a cost of $500 or so. Getting a necropsy is $58, but I am certainly not going to necropsy my healthy pets. I only have 4. We are keeping the policy of using special shoes to go out to the chicken pen for a while, and we all wear "basement shoes" to go down to the basement (where the sick chicks were)
 

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