OK , for me lesson learned. Chickens get various infections easily. We wanted layers now and went and bought 5 layers form another yard. Huge mistake. They were free running with horses and a few ducks. These full RIR hens were dirty from the horse barn they frequented. Out of a large storage tote, I made a warm dunk bath of a little dishsoap, and a cup of bleach. The hens did not resist this emersion, and I covered their nostirls and completely immersed their head after their bodies were wetted down. I removed them and brushed their feet to remove cakedirt, and genrally looked them over for damage and faults. Two had dark dirt to the skin on their backs. With a mister head on the garden hose, this now wet gook easily flushed out of the feathers. More on that. Ok, basically bathtime is over, and each bird was sprayed down with cool water, to remove the little soap, and bleach for disinfectant. The now thoroughly wet birds were left to roam in the sunlight, and drip off. in 5 hours they were still wet, and that concerned me, as the spring nites here get to 45* or so. Next morning, all seemed chipper and hungry, dry with the rest of the flock.
Now comes the stupid part. A week later, and the entire flock has runny noses, 15 birds, 10 young from my original store chicks and the 5 oldsters. First, the old hens are not laying, only one is producing 3 eggs a week. The only old hen has a mess on her back, where the snot has glued the feathers together, and it collects dirt, like crazy. That is the crusty stuff I washed off I bet. So the bird was clear but apparently relapsed with the moving stress, and my dunking. Now I got snoty noses, and only two that are really hurting with gurgles and gasps.
Long run do I just keep this bunch separate and cull them for table meat, since it seems I will contaminate the rest of the coops (3) if I keep these birds on. What is best? What would you do.
