infectious bronchitis

Quote:i have a closed flock. only NPIP chicks or eggs.
my recommendation for buying at a flea mkt or auction is DON'T.

not only can bringing the animals home bring illness/disease into your flock, just touching them can bring home illness/disease also.

how long did you have them before they got sick?

 

You can medicate them to make them feel better. BUT, they will always be carriers and the disease can be passed on through eggs hatched from them Stress can bring on the illness again once they are better.

 

This is my first year too and I will never bring another bird home from a swap. I myself have been scared to death with a bird that I had quarantine for some time and finally culled her because I was scared to put her in my flock. My birds still caught it because I had been around her I guess. All my birds are healthy and the only thing I ever noticed was a little sneezing and a couple weezes but everyone is fine now. I spoke to a poultry specialist at ISU in Iowa and he said that backyard flocks are almost always carriers of one thing or another. It is almost impossible for them not to be. they can also contract diseases from wild birds that may be on the property. They will be carriers. And their eggs will be carriers, but you can eat them.
Try giving them some Apple Cider Vinegar about a tbs in a gallon of water in a plastic waterer and crush up a couple cloves of garlic. It's great organic way to treat your birds and I give mine ACV all the time just because it is good for them. Some things need an antibiotic. You could always call your vet and talk to him.

Before someone jumps down my throat about saying most backyard flocks are carriers. That was the specialist saying that not me. I just hate posting sometimes because so many people want to argue or "act" like they know everything.

 

Isolate the sick birds immediately! I did that and lost 4 but two did not ever get sick. I kept those two and had them checked for everything in the book and they have remained healthy. No problems.
It is so sad to really look for ward to the hens and name them which I did and have to cull 4 right within a week. I would never knowing sell a sick hen but some will esp. at auctions or flea mkts. It really upset me. I too learned a hard lesson. No flea mkts or auctions.
I am qualified for npip now and will remain so. The agr. man is getting my num. for me.
I ask now where my new biddies come from and if they are NPIP. I still might get some from non NPIP but they sure would be isolated for at least a month and be tiny ones.
Sorry for your looses. Jean

 

IB does not transfer through the egg.

http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/disviral.htm

I believe once they have fully recovered, which may take several weeks, the disease is done. It is not a herpes virus that stays with the bird for life.

 

IB doesn't but some other diseases do. You are right. Thanks for saying that because I wasn't clear about which disease.

 

Are your hens laying age?