how bad is Coryza?

[pysankigirl]

I may have a new chicken with coryza. stinks to high heaven and one eye is shut most of the time.
my quarantine practices up to this point were non-existant. I am only 8 weeks into this chicken adventure. and dumb as a post.

But my chickens have definitely been exposed, although currently the new chicken is separated and doing just fine. still stinks, though.

trying to figure out what my options are here. the chicken was in with the others for about 10 minutes but they were picking on her so I took her out. after that was when I figured out that I was in trouble...that she might have an infectious disease. I was clueless. and stupid.

what are my options here? a really nice lady on the yahoo cicken group said cull her and treat the others with denagard...which I am having trouble finding locally.

is there a way to test said chicken to find out what this really is?

Laura, heartbroken.

 

[FireTigeris]

Here is another thread...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/684226/to-cull-or-not-to-cull-coryza

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/679458/foul-smelling-head-some-nasal-discharge



Quote:

Infectious Coryza is an acute-to-chronic disease of

chickens, pheasants, and guineas caused by the Gram
negative bacterium, Hemophilus paragallinarium. Coryza
commonly occurs in game chicken flocks. Mortality from the
disease is usually low, but significant economic losses result
from increased cull birds and decreased egg production.
Furthermore, Coryza often complicates and increases the
severity of other diseases such as mycoplasmosis.
Transmission of Coryza occurs by direct bird-to-bird
contact, inhalation of airborne respiratory droplets, and contamination of feed and water. Coryza is often introduced into
flocks by the addition of birds that are apparently healthy, but
harbor the bacteria (carrier birds).

• Clinical Signs: Watery eyes, foul smelling nasal discharge,
and edema or swelling of the face and wattles. Also,
swollen infraorbital sinuses, which often contain a yellow
“cheesy” exudate.

• Diagnosis: History, clinical signs with an absolute diagnosis
being made by bacterial isolation of the bacteria from the sinuses.

• Treatment: Use of water soluble antibiotics or antibacterials such as erythromycin (gallimycin

), sulfadimethoxine
(agribon

), and tetracyclines are moderately effective, but do not eliminate carrier birds.

• Prevention: Good management, sanitation, and an all
in and an all out program provide the best way to avoid
Infectious Coryza. If possible, raise your own replacements from day-old chicks. In addition, proper disposal
of dead birds is important.
A commercial vaccine, which is effective in reducing the
economic impact of the disease, is available.

 

[speckledhen]

How bad is it? It cannot be cured. It makes her a carrier even if you get rid of the symptoms. In the future, she will infect others even if she has no symptoms.

Why would you want to start out with a sick flock, just starting out? I'm sorry, Laura, but you really must ask yourself the hard questions here. No one should start out with sickly birds, IMO.

Denagard will not cure her carrier status, it's expensive and you must give it every month and it still won't cure her.

Exposed doesn't necessarily mean infected or you could never go sit in a doctor's waiting room. Clean out everything she touched in the coop, keep her separated and observe your others. You didn't know things before but this is your chance for a do-over.

 

[pysankigirl]

I guess I am asking just in case My flock is already infected by her. I am taking her back to the place I got her. but I have already gotten kind of attached to the small flock that I've been raising and don't want to get rid of them all. They were pecking at her. they definitely made contact with her.

 

[speckledhen]

All you can do is clean the waterers and feeders, keep her away from them and watch them to see if they become symptomatic. I'm sorry this happened. So many folks ignorantly or dishonestly sell infected birds to unsuspecting buyers.

 

[pysankigirl]

I am taking her back today. sigh.
she really is sweet. I love her attitude about life. curious but not afeared...and very trusting. I could never "cull" her, so bringing her back is my only option.


So frustrated...I just don't know how to find healthy animals to boulster up my little flock.
reading up on this has made me aware that even healthy seeming animals can be carriers of something bad.
and you have to start with stock from SOMEWHERE.

I have been keeping her and the one I got with her separate and in an area that the others can never free-range into (inside the dog fenced area)
and I've had Denagard next-day-aired to me to arrive tomorrrow, to maybe help protect my flock.

where can I get just a few safe chicks? I am wanting maybe 4 more birds...a couple Marans or Barnvelders, and a couple Americaunas

sigh

 

[speckledhen]

One thing to consider: if you return her, the seller may sell her to another unsuspecting person. You need to educate the seller about carrier diseases if you do this and tell her the only ethical thing to do is cull.

 

[pysankigirl]

I just got back from returning her.
I was trying to convince the lady to go over the mountain and get one of her birds tested at the state facility so that she knew for sure what it was.
if I'd been able to take time off from work, I'd have done it. but I started a new job this year and have no time off until the anniversary of my start date (grrr)

I am just SO depressed about all of this.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm really sorry. In the future, I'd ask a seller if they've ever had to treat illness in their birds. If they give you the "oh, yeah, the usual stuff--antibiotics kicks it right out", then I'd back away quickly. Most don't know enough to hide the fact that they've had sick animals, though some will flat out lie to you, of course.