Help please! Chicks with respiratory sickness!

[Eggcessive]

Very informative...and depressing. I have no way to know what type of illness my birds had this summer. It appears I need to cull my entire little flock of 9 and start over. They had the resp. Before they were of laying age and only 2 are laying. So their reproductive systems apparently have been damaged.

What symptoms did they have? Sneezing, bubbles in eyes, swollen eyes, nasal drainage? Many chickens in the US are not laying now because of the decreased amount of light. Yours may start up as the daylight hours get lighter soon. I usually see an increase in laying between now and Feb. Many diseases can cause a temporary decrease in laying, but they may lay better later. I would not cull my flock if they had infectious bronchitis or even MG, but I would for more serious diseases, such as ILT or coryza. Can you add your location to your profile page?

 

[lifeteacher]

What symptoms did they have? Sneezing, bubbles in eyes, swollen eyes, nasal drainage? Many chickens in the US are not laying now because of the decreased amount of light. Yours may start up as the daylight hours get lighter soon. I usually see an increase in laying between now and Feb. Many diseases can cause a temporary decrease in laying, but they may lay better later. I would not cull my flock if they had infectious bronchitis or even MG, but I would for more serious diseases, such as ILT or coryza. Can you add your location to your profile page?

Okay I did update my profile. We are in NoGa. They were only wheezy and rattly in their chest. The one that was the most severe I isolated and medicated also gave VetRx to the whole bunch in the water and a few drops on their necks. Most got over it in about 2 weeks; 1 old girl lingered longer then died but it never went into eyes or nose their breathing just sounded labored.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Very informative...and depressing. I have no way to know what type of illness my birds had this summer. It appears I need to cull my entire little flock of 9 and start over. They had the resp. Before they were of laying age and only 2 are laying. So their reproductive systems apparently have been damaged.

Here's a link for testing in GA. It would be a good idea to find out what you are even dealing with before you make you decision.
https://www.gapoultrylab.org/

Are you planning on selling hatching eggs, showing birds, breeding, selling chicks/started pullets, etc.? If this is a backyard flock, depending on what it is, you may be able to manage symptoms, some people do. Practice biosecurity so you minimize spread.
Do some research/reading on your own, talk to your local AG agent, the poultry lab, etc. Culling all and starting over would be hard, but it may be the best solution to meet your chicken keeping goals - only you can decide that.

I've seen different things said about respiratory illness and I am wondering, if hens recover and are ever after "carriers" will they lay? Why would you need to cull your flock if you are not planning to sell birds?

 

[Cragg Klefor]

@lifeteacher Just thought to add, culling and starting over isn't necessarily the easy option... especially without knowing what the illness you are dealing with is. Everything would need to be completely disinfected - Coop, run, and anywhere else the flock had been. So for instance, if your flock free ranged, the land they free ranged on would need to be disinfected. A big, intensive job.
It really would be worth finding out what illness is in your flock. Especially if you are considering culling and starting over. Have you considered culling one, and getting a necropsy performed? You would have a much better starting point going forward.