DETERMINED MY SILKIE FLOCK HAS A Respiratory Infection! HELP!!!!!

[renovationmom]

With BYC forum members help, and some research, I have determined my flock has a Respiratory Infection. Which one, I am not sure of, but treatment of the infected recommended is the same for any, Culling. It started when I purchased 5 mature silkie hens, and now all but one has had to be culled. Others could be carriers, but never actually get sick. All my flock has been exposed. Of my flock, one, 5 week old chick(hatched before I purchased hens) has been culled. My incubated eggs has started to hatch, some of which are eggs from the culled hens, but I do not know which eggs. And, 1, day old chick, the 3rd to hatch, is infected, and was culled.

Can anyone advice on what to do for my flock to boost their immunity and resistance to this?

How long does it take before this will pass, and I can say I am in the clear? I have read it will wipe out 50% of the flock(I have 18 mature silkies and 12 new hatches)

 

[speckledhen]

Well, exposure doesn't necessarily mean infected. A bird with a strong immune system may not catch what it's exposed to. Honestly, I don't have a good answer for you. Some respiratory infections are like herpes-type viruses and some are bacterial, but both types can produce carriers in the flock. It may be fine if you never plan to sell hatching eggs, chicks or adult birds, but if you do, you'll have to think about the possibility of passing this to someone else's flock and causing the stress you're going through right now. If you plan to sell in the future, you'll have to really consider what this will do to those plans. And it would help if you knew the exact disease you're dealing with--many have similar symptoms.

To boost the overall immune system of your flock, you'd have to cull any that show symptoms. They will be the ones with compromised immune systems. You build good immune systems by attention to the best management of the flock, the best feed programs and supplements, fresh air and water and sunshine and then you cull birds who become symptomatic. I realize this is a hard reality for most folks (me, too) and many would disagree with me, but you can't treat avian species like a kid with a cold. That kid doesn't become a carrier, able to infect others when he seems well and is asymptomatic. The bird with Coryza or CRD does.

I'm really sorry you're dealing with this. It's why many people have a no-treat policy for respiratory illness and never purchase started birds. If you cull all those that become symptomatic, I'd say in a few months with none showing symptoms, maybe up to a year, you may be able to breathe easy. I'm not an avian vet, but there is so much written about these diseases that you can do your own research and make informed decisions.

 

[renovationmom]

Thank you very much for your advice, it helps a great deal. This is not been easy to deal with, but I feel better knowing I am doing all I can and should for my flock.

 

[renovationmom]

One unexpected benefit with this forum has been the excellent time line I now have to refer to. I was was wondering when I had culled my last infected bird, as I have not had any more infected since. I also wondered when I collected the last egg from the infected, which are now in the incubator mixed with my healthy eggs. I only had to look at my posts to get this information!

It also has occured to me that any member's of my healthy flock, could be a carrier, and when I brought in the 5 hens, who were stressed for several reasons, overbreeding(10 hens for 15 roosters!), confined to a very small coop and could not be free ranged due to the owners dogs on the property, and the stress of being moved, they became ill.