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I didn't ask for sympathy, I am not crying poor me - the title is clearly asking for help on what to do to stop a seller that is keeping his birds poorly from passing them on to the rest of the public. I am trying to HELP those that haven't "had eight (and by the way it was seven, because I got into Cornell early) years of college education". I guess I just had no idea that you had to actually lift all the feathers to look for lice - rookie mistake, my bad... but once I saw them I sure as hell knew what they were. None of the birds had runny noses until at night when on the roost, and there was no evidence of diarrhea on their butts or anything at his place - they were gross from dust bathing in the yard, not covered in actual droppings. Why are you being so crude??? I am not asking for all of you to give me a big cyber hug. I guess none of you ever made any mistakes? I guess you have never had any fleas or parasites in your pets, and you have never had one get sick... because you are so much better than me. So much for this being a place to find support from other people who love their chickens!!! As soon as I noticed the issues (which was pretty much right when I got home...), I knew right away what I was dealing with. And I HAVE read up on the diseases. Wow. And the fact that he turned around and resold them knowing they were sick is what has me mad. Obviously, I am "aware of the kinds of problems that could result from purchasing sick animals"... which is why I quarantined and saw all of this stuff the very night they got home. MY birds are perfectly healthy and shall remain so. Being a vet, I have never purchased any animals from pet stores or brokers... they pretty much are all bad... but I did not know what else to do with chickens, being new to the hobby. Thanks for judging though. It really rocks to have so much love.
You must have missed my second post where I "did" try to give you some advice on what department to contact. I'll expand that here:
Contact your state department of agriculture. If this was an urban or otherwise incorporated area, you can also contact the local health department. Even in places where poultry is allowed by city code there are usually health regulations that trump the poultry ordinances. The director of health (name of this position may vary from one locale to the next) is generally allowed to conduct inspections and place additional regulations when there are potential health concerns. There would probably need to be a concern that the birds had something that could infect humans, or that conditions in the poultry yard were conducive to rat infestations or similar situations. If the animals are living in inhumane conditions then the Humane Society or SPCA might be a resource, as well. Additionally, if he is selling eggs from sick, filthy birds then the Health Department might also get involved on that issue.
As someone else has mentioned, it is possible that the birds became ill due to stress (though the lice are another issue) at the move. Obviously, the guy shouldn't have sold them again in this condition. However, other than his verbal statement to you about this, you don't have any proof to provide regarding this, right?. It would be your word against his, unless you know who he sold them to. He could simply say that he culled the birds and disposed of them. If you don't have proof, and this results in financial harm (or harm to his reputation) he might sue for libel or slander, depending on the situation. If other animals on his property aren't showing similar symptoms (if they were, you wouldn't have bought from him, correct?) then the only issue is lice and possible overcrowding / dirty conditions. Remember, people's ideas about what is overcrowding and dirt may vary greatly. Is it possible you are thinking of the type of cleanliness in pens that we associate with house birds and other household pets, as opposed to more average outdoor bird housing which may be a bit "dirtier"?
I am sorry if you were offended. However, you did state that the birds were so filthy -- covered in poo -- that you didn't want to touch them without gloves. We can only interpret the situation based on the info we have in front of us. A vet who buys birds that are so covered in poo that he/she doesn't want to touch them struck a strange note for me. Regardless of how novice you are with birds, this didn't seem like a wise purchase. It also opened up the possibility that your lack of experience may be causing other misjudgments in this situation.
