Is it recommended to start over when flock has ILT?

[daze333]

Hi everyone,
I am new on this forum, but have read much. I have gone through what I am sure a lot of others have in worrying, hours searching the net, trying to diagnose, giving antibiotics and caring for my flock of 15 (now 14) in the last two weeks. I have read the recent post on ILT and how hard it is to diagnose chicken diseases. And the controversy about antibiotics. I all makes sense.

My question is that if I am pretty sure my flock has ILT (they now have blood splatters on walls) then what do you do with the chickens? I have read in the Chicken health handbook that they will always be carriers. To make matters more concerning I currently have 36 hatching eggs in my incubator. I am concerned that they will all eventually catch it. Can I vaccinate them all before putting with others? (like vaccinate at 4 wks and add to flock at 8 wks?)


Thank you in advance for any advice you have to share.

 

[swtangel321]

First.....

I'm so sorry to hear about your sickness, The first chicks I ever got from a breeder had ILT ( I know for sure b/c her state vet came out and tested the dead ones) I also did a lot of reading on ILT and talked it over with our local vet (who knew a little about chickens and read up on ILT himself) Most of my chicks ended up dieing on there own within a few days of getting them, The others I decided to cull as they never really got 100% better and I knew if I kept them they would be a danger to any other chickens I wanted to get. It was very hard but in this case I think it's the best. Unless your never planning on getting new birds I would think long and hard about what you end up doing. Like you said they are always carriers and never really healthy.

Dont know if you ever read this site, but check it out there is some goog info on there..... http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex2216

In your case also (just what I would do) you should call your state vet and see where you can get one of your chickens tested to make sure you are dealing with what you think you are !!

I wish you the best of luck with your flock, keep me updated !!

 

[daze333]

Thanks for the welcome and advice. And congrats on your bouncing baby boy!

I read the site you linked me to and it makes me wonder if it is ILT or not. I will run down the events and maybe you can help?

12-10-found dead araucana on floor of coop
Inspected flock and noticed other araucanas had wet spots on throat and kinda sneezing and tossing heads. But they were still eating moving about, going outside etc.
12-11-started Terramycin for 4 days in case of secondary inf and added heat lamp to coop.
12-16-started AVC in water
12-17 next several days it snowed and none would come outside. I tried to entertain them with fresh straw, hay and snacks.
12-20 noticed rooster with picked comb and hiding under coop. Brought him inside cleaned and warmed him. Looked better in a couple of days.
12-22 noticed buff orp shaking head alot-keep an eye one her
12-23 not better- brought her inside for the day, put back in coop for night.
12-24 getting worse-almost shaking head constantly-brought her in the house for next 24 hrs.
12-26 about 5 more hens look sick, shaking heads, wet heads, look snotty. Called and vet recommended Sulfa antibiotic. Put buff with flock and started Sulmet.
12-27 everyone looks about the same-no changes yet. Buff not shaking quite so often. Went to change water and noticed little flecks of blood on and around waterer.

ILT is the only one I have seen with blood for a symptom. If it is ILT I don't know if I should bother with the Sulmet? It says there is no treatment.

If you don't mind my asking, what did you do with the culled birds? Were you able to kill them? I am quite attached to our flock as are my kids. But I have 36 specialty breeds in the bator. Do you think the vaccine would at least protect the babies until I decide what to do with the old ones?

Thanks for your help!

 

[dlhunicorn]

In most states ILT is a reportable disease... you need to call your county extension office immediately to get the telphone number of your state vet to report this and ask for a necropsy to confirm. Different states manage ILT differently.
ANYtime you have several birds dying you need to have necropsy done.

 

[swtangel321]

Quote:
The culled birds went to the dump, I cant cull anything thats hubbys job and he doesnt mind what so ever. It was very hard for me but for the best.

Nope, I dont think you should give the babies any vaccine, I dont even think there is one to give, is there ?? The babies are still in the bator waiting to hatch ? How many days do they have left ?? I would make sure the babies when hatched have no contact with anything the sick chickens have, make sure you wash your hands before touching them after being with the big birds !! I always made sure my dog didnt go near the sick ones just so she didnt bring anything weird in on herself.

Its hard to tell if it's ILT or just a respatory thing. I dont know of any other illness's that have the blood go with them either. Check this site out there is a lot of info on here about many illness's...... http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp

I do agree with dlhunicorn about calling your state vet to get a necropsy done. This will tell you for sure what you are dealing with and how to treat it (if it can be) I know where I am they can do it for about $40. Ask your vet for the state vets phone number, they should know it !! But I belive this is very important to do !!

 

[pips&peeps]

dlhunicorn is correct, you need to contact your State Department of Agriculture to get a confirmation on the diagnosis as each State handles ILT differently. I believe if you are located in a large meat type chicken industry State they will cull your flock.

They do not need a bird for a necropsy, they can swab the throat of your live birds and culture it.

ILT is very contagious and you could have already spread it by going out to your feed store or grocery store without proper sanitation. You need to get a handle on this asap.

There is a vaccine, you can give it to chicks at four weeks of age and they will need a booster in six weeks. It is called LT-IVAX, it is not supposed to spread bird to bird. But, some states do not allow ILT vaccines, so you will have to check again with your State.

 

[daze333]

Thank you all for your advice! I will contact my state vet asap.

Good point, I have recently been to 3 different feed stores asking questions and getting medicines. But I wore different shoes to town and always wash my hands after being with the chickens. Hopefully this helps.

My hatching eggs; 2 are set to hatch on Jan 1 and the rest on Jan 8. Yes my big concern is the babies. If I have to cull the old flock because they are carriers I could live with that because I have a new flock in the bater. But if I were to loose both flocks, I would just lose it!!!

Even if I cull the current flock, isn't the quarentine for coop and run like 3 months??

Good to know they can take a sample without killing the bird. When I looked online the nearest lab that did those tests is clear accross Washington from me. Do local vets help take the swab and send to the lab?

I looked at the Ag guidlines for wa and it didn't list ILT as reportable. But I will still follow up with ext office and state vet.

Worried mother hen,

 

[pips&peeps]

Oh, you are here in WA. ILT is reportable, but quarantine is all they do.

I need to ask where you got your chickens and where you live as there is a problem in the area with ILT.

You can actually probably swab your chicken yourself and send the swab into the lab. I think you can send it either to Puyallup or to Pullman. You need to talk to Dr. Dhillon at the WADDLE lab to find out.

 

[swtangel321]

WOW, that is very interesting the chicks I got that I was talking about in my post that had ILT were from WA also. Whats going on over there ??

 

[daze333]

I live in Port Angeles, Northwest corner of Wa. I have half of my flock from 2 years ago and the other half were chicks from spring of 08. I have not added any new adult birds etc. I think mine caught it from wild birds. I have a large walk in door that I leave open for the chickens to go in and out of the coop and I see sparrows flitting around all the time after the chicken food.

I have neighbors on 3 sides of me with chickens and I have notified them.

Where have there been outbreaks of ILT in WA? I looked on the net but couldn't find this info.

I am resigned to culling my old flock in the next day or so in order to sanitize my house, clothes, shoes etc before my chicks hatch on the 1st. They are my priority now.

Does it matter to swab and send it in if I am going to cull them?