I'm hoping to get input on my situation. If you have time to read the story, that would be great. I believe it's all relevant. Here goes:
I had 4 groups of chickens: laying hens, big kids (6-8 wks), little kids (are now 6 weeks,) and babies (now 2 weeks.)
2 weeks ago, the big kids got coryza. Some were so SICK! Swollen faces and everything. We decided to cull them all, 9 total, and that was 8 days ago.
Immediately after noticing the big kids were sick, we went on strict biosecurity. We disinfected our shoes after leaving the quarantine room, before going outside, and before going into the babies' room. If we went in the quarantine room, we stripped and showered afterward. The groups were all kept separate, and nobody was allowed to touch any of them, except for me... and I washed my hands with soap before and after.
2 days after culling, we checked the little kids and noticed some problem breathing. They immediately went into quarantine, on Sulmet. The next day, they all had raspy breath, but by that night, it had mostly cleared up. Right now they're still in the quarantine room, but haven't had any breathing symptoms since last Thursday. I have seen a few bright red stools in there, though.
2 nights ago, I noticed my brabanter baby was having a hard time breathing. I put Sulmet and Duramycin in the water. Last night, I almost culled her, but my husband knew how much I wanted to keep her, and he suggested we wait one more day. Four more showed breathing problems last night. Today, the brabanter is halfway to recovery, eating and drinking on her own, and not gasping for breath anymore! The other 4 were still a bit sick, but were getting better, and hadn't gotten as bad as the brabanter. The rest in the brooder are coming down with it as the disease cycles through, but everyone is still eating and drinking. I really think they'll all recover.
The laying hens haven't shown any signs yet. We figure, if the babies got sick with so many biosecurity measures, the hens have been exposed as well.
So here is my dilemma... .
Do I cull the babies?
I don't intend to breed. I don't intend to sell these. It's just a small flock running around our backyard. My primary goal is feeding my family, with side goals of having a colorful egg basket, a beautiful flock, and a delightful addition to our sustainable organic garden. And I realize that "rehoming" older birds will mean the stewpot, since I couldn't give one of these away without disclosing the history to the new owner.
After the coryza broke out, several friends pooled our money to buy some vaccine. I plan to vaccinate the little kids on Saturday, but the babies have to wait 3 more weeks.
Do you think the babies will be carriers, if they didn't get the swollen faces? Would they be carriers if they get the vaccine? If it was you, would it be worth the gamble?
Thanks so much for taking the time to give me input on this.
I had 4 groups of chickens: laying hens, big kids (6-8 wks), little kids (are now 6 weeks,) and babies (now 2 weeks.)
2 weeks ago, the big kids got coryza. Some were so SICK! Swollen faces and everything. We decided to cull them all, 9 total, and that was 8 days ago.
Immediately after noticing the big kids were sick, we went on strict biosecurity. We disinfected our shoes after leaving the quarantine room, before going outside, and before going into the babies' room. If we went in the quarantine room, we stripped and showered afterward. The groups were all kept separate, and nobody was allowed to touch any of them, except for me... and I washed my hands with soap before and after.
2 days after culling, we checked the little kids and noticed some problem breathing. They immediately went into quarantine, on Sulmet. The next day, they all had raspy breath, but by that night, it had mostly cleared up. Right now they're still in the quarantine room, but haven't had any breathing symptoms since last Thursday. I have seen a few bright red stools in there, though.
2 nights ago, I noticed my brabanter baby was having a hard time breathing. I put Sulmet and Duramycin in the water. Last night, I almost culled her, but my husband knew how much I wanted to keep her, and he suggested we wait one more day. Four more showed breathing problems last night. Today, the brabanter is halfway to recovery, eating and drinking on her own, and not gasping for breath anymore! The other 4 were still a bit sick, but were getting better, and hadn't gotten as bad as the brabanter. The rest in the brooder are coming down with it as the disease cycles through, but everyone is still eating and drinking. I really think they'll all recover.
The laying hens haven't shown any signs yet. We figure, if the babies got sick with so many biosecurity measures, the hens have been exposed as well.
So here is my dilemma... .
Do I cull the babies?
I don't intend to breed. I don't intend to sell these. It's just a small flock running around our backyard. My primary goal is feeding my family, with side goals of having a colorful egg basket, a beautiful flock, and a delightful addition to our sustainable organic garden. And I realize that "rehoming" older birds will mean the stewpot, since I couldn't give one of these away without disclosing the history to the new owner.
After the coryza broke out, several friends pooled our money to buy some vaccine. I plan to vaccinate the little kids on Saturday, but the babies have to wait 3 more weeks.
Do you think the babies will be carriers, if they didn't get the swollen faces? Would they be carriers if they get the vaccine? If it was you, would it be worth the gamble?
Thanks so much for taking the time to give me input on this.
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