HELP!!! CRD chickens

[jiggens]

I have around 200 birds and I recently bought a couple off craigslist and now the majority of my chickens have runny noses, bubbly eyes and are constantly sneezing. I have decided to start a new flock, I want to double fence off a part of the run for my new birds. Anyone know how far of a gap I need to have between the 2 fences to keep my healthy birds from getting infected? How do i go about disinfecting the dirt in the quarantine before putting my healthy birds in there? what am i going to do with 200 chickens with CRD? I need some advice please help me

 

[shelleyb1969]

I would've thought that SOMEONE/ANYONE would have some advice for you jiggens.

I'm sorry that I can't offer you any help, but I sure hope someone knowledgeable will chime in here.

 

[SpringChickens]

Hi Jiggens. I'm very sorry for your situation. I can't offer any help about the quarantine between flocks because I don't know how the disease is transmitted (airborne, direct contact, etc.), but I did find this article about treating birds with CRD with Baytril.

http://www.poultry.baytril.com/index.php/fuseaction/download/lrn_file/Wray_TXT.pdf

I'm not thrilled with the way the study is set up because it has the birds being treated within 24 hours after infection which is not realistic in a clinical setting, however, they introduced a higher level of causative agent than is seen clinically (at least according to them), so that makes it more realistic. They also seemed like they were treating meat birds and not laying hens... I don't think that Baytril will actually cure the birds, but maybe I'll go see if I can find more information.

Good luck!!

 

[MotherJean]

Given the size of your flock and the intention of expanding and bringing in new birds, I encourage you to sacrifice a couple of birds and have a necropsy done so you can confirm that your birds have CRD. Until you know for certain what bacteria/virus is at play here, it's just guesswork on what sort of biosecurity measures you need to undertake to prevent infection in the new birds. Even if you have to pay for it, a necropsy and firm diagnosis of your problem is money very well spent.

 

[Terri O]

Excellent advice above. You dont want to be spending money on different drugs willey nilley until you happen on the fix! Find out first--then treat accordingly. Terri O

 

[chickenzoo]

Contact your States Department of Animal & Agriculture. They do necropsys fairly cheaply - here in Fl $30 for up to 3 birds. Also have them come in and do NPIP testing. the blood they take and mouth swabs are also tested for other illnesses such as MG, MS etc if you have a sick bird and ask them... it is free here in FL. they can also help you find answers on what to do. Best Wishes.

 

[Wynette]

I believe the minimum distance is 8'.

 

[Katy]

Before you start treating them you really need to have some tested to find out for sure what you're dealing with. With that many sick birds I don't know that you can realistically keep them quarentined well from any new birds. As harsh as it seems culling your original flock may be the only solution if you want to bring new birds in. And by culling in this case I mean killing and disposing of their bodies....not selling them. I'd be scared to introduce any new birds into the same setting.....no matter how many feet you have seperating them.

 

[MotherJean]

I agree with Katy. As I said before, testing and a firm diagnosis of the problems with the current flock is really necessary because it will tell you whether your land can harbor the disease (as in the case of Marek's) or if the birds are the carriers. Katy also makes an excellent point about culling the current flock. That is an established practice encouraged by poulty experts - it's called "all out/all in" - new birds are only brought in after the old flock (and possible sources of infection) are removed.