I talked with the Poultry Expert at Utah State University today. I learned some very useful information from him. First off, when your birds get Infectious Bronchitis (IB) they are not carriers for life, if they survive it, they become immune for life. Next, if birds are infected by IB and become immune to it before they go into laying production, then the chances of having damage to their reproductive system is very minimal. The biggest problem with chickens getting IB is malformed, mis-shaped eggs, which if you are just eating them, there is no problem with that. I personally wouldn't sell a weird shaped egg to a customer, but they are perfectly safe to eat. He told me to keep my babies away from the older ones, which I was going to do anyway, until they were much bigger, so that they do not become infected, because IB has a much higher mortality rate in chicks that older birds. He thought that I should be able to "naturally vaccinate" my chickens by introducing them to the flock 4-6 weeks before they start laying to prevent any damage to them, and that is if the virus is even still in my flock. If it ends up being more of an issue, then there are vaccinations that I can get and vaccinate my chicks so that they have an immunity to it from the beginning. He told me that Infectious Bronchitis, especially the mild strain, that he suspects my flock had, since there were absolutely no symptoms other than weird eggs, is very common, and it can go through an entire flock without you even knowing it. Which is what happened to me. So long story short, I do not have to kill my chickens, they will be just fine, and there is no concern in eating the eggs, selling hatching eggs or chicks. WOOHOO!!!!!!!
That's good news, Steff! Interesting that the Chicken Health handbook says they will be carriers. Hmm, hope your information is correct! I was under the impression that in general, IB is not the worst thing they could get, as diseases go.
That is very good news to hear! I was reading your other thread and it was just so depressing. I am very glad for you.
Congrats for you! And its GREAT that you had the self initiative and responsiblity to research it further than a book or an internet opinion! See what rewards hard work and intiative bring!
Good for you. But I still wouldnt sell hatching eggs. I know that i wouldnt want to buy hatching eggs from a sick flock, wether it can or cant be passed from the eggs. If you are still going to sell hatching eggs, I would say that you flock had been infected in the past with IB.