My nightmare started about a week ago and is still going on! Our chickens range in age from 10 weeks to 1 year, our ducks are a little over a year old, and our turkeys are 8 weeks old. About 2-3 weeks ago we finally moved my daughter's show chickens, Golden Polish, out to their newly built coop. All of our younger chicks have been established in the main chicken coop for approximately a month with no problems, my roos even seems to enjoy having the little ones running about. About a week ago my daughter brings me one of my little banty hens, she had an awful case of "muddy butt" (poo that matted down the vent feathers). Of course I brought her in and gave her a little bath in the bathroom sink, after that she seemed just fine. That next day we found 4 chicks dead in the main yard, they didn't seem to have visible injuries but seemed much lighter than they should be.
Within the next 24 hours they started dropping like flies! The symptoms started with white diarrhea, muddy butt, ruffled feathers, drooping head and wings, white liquid coming from their mouth when moved, and then they die within 12-24 hours. Instead of letting them suffer my husband and I spent some time checking each bird, if they where showing extreme symptoms we dispatched them. We were hoping to salvage at least a few of our flock. While catching our free range birds (aka the ones who escape from the chicken yard everyday) we found a wild bird dead in the yard. It showed very similar symptoms: muddy butt, ruffled feathers, and white liquid dripping from it's mouth.
I have contacted the extension office here in our county, most of the birds where 4-H projects for my son and daughter. I was then put in contact with several poultry specialist and educators at OSU in the Animal Sciences division. So far we have come up with possible diseases: pullorum, avian influenza, and fowl cholera. The advice I was given was to completely de-populate our flock, disinfect everything with bleach and lime, and to keep from spreading the disease we were told to pretty much stay home until we are able to disinfect inside and outside the house, all of the chicken coops, the turkey room, the entire yard (not just the chicken yard), and inside our cars in addition to our shoes and clothing. I was also asked to dissect one of the bird and take pictures of everything, to cut down of the risk of transmitting any disease to the Animal Science's poultry barns.
Any advice while I am waiting to hear a diagnosis? Not only am I greiving my lost feathered friends but I am going out of my mind trying to clean everything to keep us from getting sick!
Within the next 24 hours they started dropping like flies! The symptoms started with white diarrhea, muddy butt, ruffled feathers, drooping head and wings, white liquid coming from their mouth when moved, and then they die within 12-24 hours. Instead of letting them suffer my husband and I spent some time checking each bird, if they where showing extreme symptoms we dispatched them. We were hoping to salvage at least a few of our flock. While catching our free range birds (aka the ones who escape from the chicken yard everyday) we found a wild bird dead in the yard. It showed very similar symptoms: muddy butt, ruffled feathers, and white liquid dripping from it's mouth.
I have contacted the extension office here in our county, most of the birds where 4-H projects for my son and daughter. I was then put in contact with several poultry specialist and educators at OSU in the Animal Sciences division. So far we have come up with possible diseases: pullorum, avian influenza, and fowl cholera. The advice I was given was to completely de-populate our flock, disinfect everything with bleach and lime, and to keep from spreading the disease we were told to pretty much stay home until we are able to disinfect inside and outside the house, all of the chicken coops, the turkey room, the entire yard (not just the chicken yard), and inside our cars in addition to our shoes and clothing. I was also asked to dissect one of the bird and take pictures of everything, to cut down of the risk of transmitting any disease to the Animal Science's poultry barns.
Any advice while I am waiting to hear a diagnosis? Not only am I greiving my lost feathered friends but I am going out of my mind trying to clean everything to keep us from getting sick!
