Disillusioned, frustrated, and confused

[cloverfarmgirl]

About a month ago, nearly half of my chickens (25) were sick with a respiratory infection. I lost four but thanks to this great forum, I was able to treat the rest of them. They all seemed to be doing well.... until recently. Now the same "disease" seems to be spreading again with a different bunch.

Back in July, I had treated the very sick ones with Tylan injections and put Sul-met and Gallimycin (not at the same time) in their water. So everyone got treated... even the ones showing no signs of sickness. When everyone seemed healthy again, I put electrolytes, probiotics, and vinegar in their water to build them back up again. Our state vet said to wait 45 days before we used the eggs again (due to the Tylan), so in two weeks we should be able to use the eggs again (after throwing away a sickening amount).

AND NOW HERE WE GO AGAIN! I don't know what to do. Do I begin again with the same course of treatment, injecting the sickest ones and putting meds in the water for the others? I don't really have a way to quarantine the sick ones... but by now they have all been exposed to the same disease anyway. Can they be reinfected? Any advice would be much appreciated. At this point, I don't know what to do. I'd like to get rid of them all and start over, but I don't have the heart to do them all in. Not to mention I have a lot of money (and pets) in all of these birds. I certainly can't give them to someone else with these problems. So what to do???? I really don't want to start this treatment again (and lose hundreds of eggs again), but if that's what it takes to save them.... or will this sickness ever end????

 

[ranchhand]

I am far from an expert on this, but the first thing that came to mind is that the soil may have been still contaminated? Or bedding?

Once they have a respiratory disease, do they become carriers for life?

I am so sorry you are having to go through all this again- sometimes it doesn't seem worth it, but the good times to make up for the misery.

 

[Dar]

i am no expert either but the first thing I thought of was Purple chicken.. I will see if i can find his very informative thread


https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=196261

 

[Katy]

Some respiratory illnesses, even tho they seem "cured" they are carriers for life and continue to infect other birds. Unless you have a bird tested there is no way to know for sure what illness you're dealing with.

 

[cloverfarmgirl]

Thank you for the Purple Chicken link. It was helpful to read his post and all that he went through. Obviously, he regrets culling his entire flock when the problem was fixable, so to speak. I look at my birds and just know I could never do it.

I agree that the bacteria or virus is probably in the soil. I don't know how to clean that, though, and how long it takes to eradicate it. The birds have two good-sized barns and a large outside run.... lots of contaminated soil to deal with.

I wish I had someone around here to help me with a diagnosis. Unfortunately, our vets don't want to deal with poultry issues, and the state vet is 2 hours away. She told me she could do a necropsy for $90 if I brought the bird to her. In hindsight, I guess that's what I should have done the first time, although that didn't seem reasonable to me at the time. I'm so envious of the people who have vets willing to help without breaking your bank.

 

[Katy]

If you're not willing to have a bird tested, PLEASE don't sell any of your birds to anyone else and run the risk of infecting their birds.

 

[cloverfarmgirl]

Katy, I would not dare sell my birds and risk making someone else go through this. I got this disease from buying my neighbor's hens across the road from our house. He wanted to start traveling and couldn't keep them. He claimed they were healthy and they appeared to be. That's how I got into this mess.

 

[cloverfarmgirl]

Please know...it's not that I'm not willing to get them tested -- I would LOVE to have them tested. In order to do that, I will have to take a day off from work, drive a long distance, and pay a lot of money to do so. I may have to do all of this, although I wish there was another way to get a diagnosis.