Coryza..cull?

[Peeperscreepers]

Well I got a couple Brahma chicks for my husband from a breeder, something I promised myself I would never do. Turns out they have coryza. I have kept them in a strict quarantine. FAR AWAY from my healthy flock. Never again will I bring a live chicken, only hatching eggs as I promised myself. Now I'm guessing I should cull? Would goat hoof trimmers work to do the deed? My husband is going to be so upset, I bought these as a way to include him in the hobby and it has turned out to be a nightmare. And I paid good money for these sick baby's.

 

[Eggcessive]

NPIP does not mean a lot to me. The only time I have bought birds from a breeder 5 years ago, her NPIP testor was coming later that day, and I thought they only came once a year. She had 5 hens and a rooster of a very hard to get breed at the time. After we had them all packed in the car, she told me that one hen had been missing for almost a month, and had just turned up the day before in good condition. I kind of freaked out hearing that, since she had many neighbors in a rural area, and the hen could have been with other birds. I was too polite to protest, so we went home with the chickens. We were fortunate that none became sick in the month of quarantine before adding them to our existing birds. But just thinking about it, and knowing that I could have brought a disease hime, I will never bring anything home except chicks from a hatchery in the future.

 

[roosterhavoc]

IMO culling is best. How old are the chicks? I would definitely let the person you got the chicks from know about it.
Hatchet or a sharp knife.

 

[Eggcessive]

Just wondering what the symptoms have been so far? Sorry that you have bought sick chickens. It is always a gamble, and good that you quarantined. Many use the cervical dislocation method of culling. I have used a killing cone or hung them by the feet tied to a tree, and cut the jugular. Any method takes a bit of practice. There are videos of either method if you Google them.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Culling with a sharp knife or hatchet on a piece of wood couldn’t get any easier. Just hold the chicks legs behind him in one hand and stretch the head out. It doesn’t take much force with a hatchet to kill them even if the head doesn’t come off.
The same can be done with a sharp knife. Stretch the head and neck out on the piece of wood and hold the knife where the blade meets the handle close to the far side of the chicks head. With some decent downward pressure pull the knife back over the neck.

 

[roosterhavoc]

The chicks are around 6 weeks old. I did, but they swear there has never been a respritory illness in the flock, and that I would be culling healthy birds. The foul smelling snot dripping down their beak and raspy breathing indicates otherwise. They have never been near my chickens or any chickens on my property so it didn come from here.

I don’t know anything about the person you got them from. That’s for you to decide. It’s best imo to cull every single bird with any kind of respiratory problem coryza or not. Treating for these kinds of illnesses lead to weak flocks that will need constant medication.
Sorry you got sick birds but it’s best to cull them.

 

[casportpony]

Does npip test for coryza?

No. Most test for pullorum and maybe bird flu, and a few will test for the others shown.

 

[dawg53]

It might be best that you order chicks from a hatchery. Some respiratory diseases can be passed through eggs, mycoplasma diseases for example.

 

[Peeperscreepers]

I don’t know anything about the person you got them from. That’s for you to decide. It’s best imo to cull every single bird with any kind of respiratory problem coryza or not. Treating for these kinds of illnesses lead to weak flocks that will need constant medication.
Sorry you got sick birds but it’s best to cull them.

I know they are sick, and my large animal says it's infectious coryza. Eaither way I know they are sick and totally agree with you on culling the sick with respritory illness, now just to do it. Ugh. But my healthy flock is more important than these two Brahma chicks, I will not make my whole flock sick for 2 birds and have to constantly deal with culling and nursing birds. If possible I would like to keep my flock without disease and will do what's nessecary to do so..

 

[casportpony]

I know they are sick, and my large animal says it's infectious coryza. Eaither way I know they are sick and totally agree with you on culling the sick with respritory illness, now just to do it. Ugh. But my healthy flock is more important than these two Brahma chicks, I will not make my whole flock sick for 2 birds and have to constantly deal with culling and nursing birds. If possible I would like to keep my flock without disease and will do what's nessecary to do so..

Can you send a swab off to this place and find out what it is?
https://www.zoologix.com/avian/Datasheets/PoultryRespiratoryPanel.htm