Coryza..cull?

Peeperscreepers

Songster
Apr 3, 2018
143
170
116
Peidmont-ish NC, us
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.
 
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.
 
Never again will I bring a live chicken, only hatching eggs as I promised myself
Sorry you face that. :( I have never yet dealt with it. Where did these chicks come from? Were they broody hatched? Are you sure it's Coryza?

Lots of things can still pass to eggs. Maybe committing to only NPIP eggs/chicks is even better.

Depending on age I use a sharp pair of kitchen scissors for small chicks. Or a cone made from a bleach bottle or 2 liter depending on size of bird... and a sharp knife all the way across the jugulars until I see blood gushing, it did take practice to get it right. I tried the broom stick method recently and found myself worry about pulling legs off, knocked the bird out but didn't kill it and had to finish in my cone. After blood is gushing good I walk away for a few moment so I don't have to hear the death jerk that always happens.

Hang in there... these are difficult choices you are making! It's great to know that you are willing in order to protect your flock. :hugs
 
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.
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Sorry you face that. :( I have never yet dealt with it. Where did these chicks come from? Were they broody hatched? Are you sure it's Coryza?

Lots of things can still pass to eggs. Maybe committing to only NPIP eggs/chicks is even better.

Depending on age I use a sharp pair of kitchen scissors for small chicks. Or a cone made from a bleach bottle or 2 liter depending on size of bird... and a sharp knife all the way across the jugulars until I see blood gushing, it did take practice to get it right. I tried the broom stick method recently and found myself worry about pulling legs off, knocked the bird out but didn't kill it and had to finish in my cone. After blood is gushing good I walk away for a few moment so I don't have to hear the death jerk that always happens.

Hang in there... these are difficult choices you are making! It's great to know that you are willing in order to protect your flock. :hugs
At some point I had to ask myself if keeping these chicks meant more to me than my healthy flock, the answer is no. I don't want to deal with sick birds if it can be avoided. I took my goat vet to see them and discuss testing and she picked one up looked at and smelled it and then pointed it out to me. Said it's most likely infectious coryza. I haven't smelled them before but today there was a foul smell not overwhelmingly powerful but still there. Then she asked if she could use some of the bleach I had next to them for her shoes and hands. At this point I think I'm sure that she is right. They were hatched in a incubator but when they got older were put outside in contact with her flock. She takes her birds to shows sooo.. maybe I should have known there was risk, hindsight is 2020. I just figured she did a quarantine considering she didn't want me close to her chickens. The chicks are around 6-7 weeks old, their necks look rather small. Ugh I hate to do this. How aweful. Considering these are my husband's special birds. I know something's are transfered to eggs but hatching eggs at least cut down on the risk. She said she was npip in her advertisement but now I'm thinking not. Does npip test for coryza? Thanks for you advice and kind words.
 

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