Have to kill all my chickens tomorrow!

[Foxinthehenhouse]

I live in the mountains of NC, very seclude. About a month ago my chickens started getting sick. Respiratory infection. Treated
with sulphur drug prescribed by Vet, didn’t work. Lost a hen and took to state for necropsy. Got a call this afternoon and I’m under quarantine and I have to kill all my babies!! I’m so upset, don’t know what to do! They have Mycoplasma Gallisepticum. Very contagious, the state is sending a rep tomorrow morning to have me sign papers stating that I won’t remove chickens from my property.
I haven’t had anyone with chickens at my home or introduced any new chickens to my flock for five months. WHAT HAPPENED, I‘M DEVISTATED,

 

[Granny Hatchet]

I know a few people with MG positive flocks and they are not made to cull them by anyone. Keeping a closed flock is best of course but I cant see anyone "making" you do it. They can catch it from a wild bird ! You could start all over and have it again . there are many flocks with MG . Im just saying, Check into further before you decide.

 

[NatJ]

then leave her to return to Mother Earth (presumably with the help of a coyote or raccoon).

Might not be a good idea when dealing with a contagious disease that can also affect some kinds of wild birds.

In other situations I agree it sounds like a nice idea.

 

[chickenlover007]

I live in the mountains of NC, very seclude. About a month ago my chickens started getting sick. Respiratory infection. Treated
with sulphur drug prescribed by Vet, didn’t work. Lost a hen and took to state for necropsy. Got a call this afternoon and I’m under quarantine and I have to kill all my babies!! I’m so upset, don’t know what to do! They have Mycoplasma Gallisepticum. Very contagious, the state is sending a rep tomorrow morning to have me sign papers stating that I won’t remove chickens from my property.
I haven’t had anyone with chickens at my home or introduced any new chickens to my flock for five months. WHAT HAPPENE, I‘M DEVISTATED,

I'm so sorry. I know you don't know who I am, and I don't know who you are, but I do know that losing chickens is hard. My heart goes out to you, and if you need morale support, this byc community is here for you. I don't know what else to say. Is there anyone else who is quarantining with you who can do it instead of you?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Have they advised you to euthanize your flock? What about a closed flock?

 

[Punkybrewster]

This is the worst-case scenario I never even imagined could happen. I am so sorry you have to be in this position! No one here will judge you for humanely euthanizing. I think you should research how long you have to wait to get new bird on your property.

After culling, clean and sanitize your coop, feeders and waterers, rake out the run.

Because we are going into winter, let the coop sit empty until spring and I would sanitize it one more time before introducing more birds.

If it were summer, you would only have to wait 4-6 weeks but with cold, rainy/snowy weather i would wait longer as an extra precaution.

All the years of having chickens, i have only once had my birds infected.

I had to cull all my flocks this past spring because i brought an infected bird in that had no symptoms.

 

[Foxinthehenhouse]

After culling, clean and sanitize your coop, feeders and waterers, rake out the run.

Because we are going into winter, let the coop sit empty until spring and I would sanitize it one more time before introducing more birds.

If it were summer, you would only have to wait 4-6 weeks but with cold, rainy/snowy weather i would wait longer as an extra precaution.

All the years of having chickens, i have only once had my birds infected.

I had to cull all my flocks this past spring because i brought an infected bird in that had no symptoms.

Thank you for the info. I’m having my shoulder replaced in January so maybe I’ll get chicks from Hoover’s in March. I will never buy a bird from anyone in the future! I’m expecting to man coming from the state about 9:15. I’ve got a long list of question.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I just talked to someone I know that had MG 2 years ago, to ask what happened. She was told to quarantine for 6 mos, that clock started after the 3 that were ill were euthanized. They did not destroy her whole flock, but she does have a closed flock, meaning no birds come or go. So let me share what she told me. She had 2 coops, 3 of the 6 birds in 1 coop had respiratory, this was 2 yrs ago. She moved those 3 to an indoor large cage & put them on medicine. The other 3 in that coop never got sick, but were put on medicine as a preventative after their waterer was disinfected. The 3 sick ones had swollen eyes & mucus in the beak clefts, they still didn't get well after she tried 3 different medicines & then tests confirmed MG. Those 3 were suffering so they were humanely euthanized. The remaining chickens in that coop never became ill. She went ahead and got the vaccine & vaccinated all chickens in 2 coops, 2 times (booster dose is given a few weeks later). The vaccine is in a blue eye drop, you sit the chicken on your lap, put drops in eyes and then chicken swallows, then open beak to make sure you see blue on tongue. She also disinfected all waterers & feeders, removed a bedding in coops, disinfected floors & nest boxes & dug out the top layer of sandy soil of both chicken coop pens, assuming by walking around she may have transmitted the illness. While it's true that all chickens on her property are potential carriers, none of her other chickens became ill since this outbreak happened 2 yrs ago. She keeps 2 type breeds of chickens, that's why 2 coops, her small flocks are for just her family's eggs & enjoyment, she doesn't breed to sell, no birds are coming & going, etc. There's no way to determine how her flock got MG, either one of the hens she got as a youngster already carried it, or a wild bird brought it. Anyone keeping birds can be vulnerable at risk, not even knowing the source, and wild birds are flying over every day, so the best we can do is vaccinate, try to provide the healthiest, happiest life & nourish their immune systems. MG can be devastating but it is not necessarily an automatic death sentence for an entire flock. When I have visited this lady's place, I disinfected by spraying my truck tires, my shoes, & my "visiting others" clothes went right into the washing machine when I got home & I took a shower. I have designated certain shoes & only wear certain clothes & shoes to certain places anyway...been doing this for decades. The clothes I wear around my flock are my "chore clothes" & they never leave my property. My chore clothes look like chore clothes...meaning I don't want to go out & about looking like that anyway! Lol! So it's never an issue, I do not get them mixed up, they're certain colors & they've got paint splotches from painting the coop & Bluecote stains, etc. They even get their own "chore drawer". Certain shoes & boots, yes it may look like I have a shoe fettish but this is essential, I have Pigeon loft shoes & Chicken coop shoes, gardening shoes, then shoes that go out & about but never around my own yard. To go a step further, a tray pan with disinfectant at the door prior to entering the house to step in, disinfecting shoe soles. Certain shoes go certain places, I've been doing this for decades, most of us do, no one wants to track chicken poop encrusted shoes around. Our shoes, where our birds spend time, and the birds' drinking waterers & places our birds hang out are the main areas of viral, bacterial or germ transmission. As wild birds can carry illnesses at any time, we need to always be diligent & proactive with cleanliness, and even then, illness can still happen. So don't blame yourself, we just do the best we can.

I know this is quite a shock to deal with & I am so sorry, my heart goes out to you.

 

[NatJ]

They have Mycoplasma Gallisepticum....I haven’t had anyone with chickens at my home or introduced any new chickens to my flock for five months. WHAT HAPPENE, I‘M DEVISTATED,

I had to go look it up....

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/mycoplasmosis/mycoplasma-gallisepticum-infection-in-poultry

It looks like chickens can be infected for months, and only show symptoms when they experience some other kind of stress too. So there's no telling when they got it, or where.

It is transmitted from chickens to other chickens, carried on people's clothes and shoes and such, can be transmitted through the eggs to the next generation, and can also affect some kinds of wild birds (who can then spread it.) And just to make it worse, they stay infected for life. Antibiotics can make them seem less sick, but they still carry the disease and can spread it to others, so that is not really a solution.

That is one nasty disease!

 

[GretchenM]

I"m so very sorry!!! Based on NatJ's explanation, tho, it sounds like you have no other choice, for the good of everyone. Given that it can spread via human clothing, etc., I would look into whether the disease can stay in the soil, coop, bedding, etc. before getting another flock. You want to be sure your living quarters are safe for newcomers!!

I HATE having to put down any of my chickens, but over the years, we've done it several times, when there was nothing we do to ease them of their own on-going suffering. As with losing any pet or human loved one, having a recognition of mourning helps me. We live on several acres. We put the body into a little basket, carry it down to a particularly beautiful spot on the property, pick flowers or whatever is growing at the time along the way; then make a nest out of what we've picked in an appropriate spot (at our last place, it was in the folds of a giant prickly pear patch underneath a live oak tree; at our current place, it's in the crook of a willow overhanging a beautiful pond), lay the bird in the nest, place some flowers/other on and around her, thank her for being part of our experience, shed a few tears, and then leave her to return to Mother Earth (presumably with the help of a coyote or raccoon). This may not be quite your thing, but finding some way to recognize the loss that works for you may be comforting to you, just as memorials and funerals are when our beloved humans cross over.

My heart and tears are with you!!!! <3 <3 <3