Is this Coryza?

[tzygani]

I recently bought 3 point of lay pullets from a breeder. I should have examined them more carefully but it was on dusk, I had kids in car, I was careless....I didnt.

I put them in a separate coop for quarantine purposes. Next morning I noticed that 1 looked "fluey" Nasal congestion, gasping and sneezing on occasion, fluid coming from nose and watery eyes....and the smell...it is one of the worst smells I have ever encountered.

I went to my vet. He gave me antibiotics but then warned me with "it could be Coryza, but I am not an expert....you'll have to look into it and possibly make some hard decisions."

10 days later and the antibiotics have helped the 2 that showed symptoms, but now the third is showing the same symptoms and I have decided that if this is coryza, I will cull rather than risk infecting the other 10 chickens I have. I know that I'll never cure the infected birds.

Questions:
Are these the correct symptoms for Coryza; sneezing, wheezing, fluid from nostrils, stench from head/beak/ nose area and bubbly liquid coming from eyes?

How do I clean up after culling these sick chickens....bleach? burn bedding and carcasses? what else?

Is there anyway at all that my other chickens could have caught it? Or could catch it in the future from the ground etc near the infected coop?

I have not allowed either set of chickens to free range since I realized there was a serious illness. But my flock generally does free range.

Thank you in advance.

tzy

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

I’m sorry to say this, but it does sound like coryza. All of the symptoms make since.

 

[dawg53]

The foul odor is a dead giveaway for Coryza, your vet was correct.
Cull the sick birds and bury them deep in the ground away from your flock as far as possible or incinerate them as well as bedding. Disinfect everything using bleachwater.
Here's a link that might help you as a guide:
https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2014/04/cleaning-and-disinfecting-your-poultry-house/
Wait at least 3 weeks before repopulating. By the time 3 weeks is up, the sun shouldve taken care of coryza bacteria on the soil.

 

[tzygani]

The foul odor is a dead giveaway for Coryza, your vet was correct.
Cull the sick birds and bury them deep in the ground away from your flock as far as possible or incinerate them as well as bedding. Disinfect everything using bleachwater.
Here's a link that might help you as a guide:
https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2014/04/cleaning-and-disinfecting-your-poultry-house/
Wait at least 3 weeks before repopulating. By the time 3 weeks is up, the sun shouldve taken care of coryza bacteria on the soil.

Thank you so much for replying. We've culled the sick birds, burnt the bedding, sprayed the quarantine coop with bleachwater. I am hoping that we've acted swiftly enough that none of my main flock have somehow picked it up. There's always a possibility of transfer from boots or clothing even tho we believe we were careful. Such a sad thing.

Good lesson learned though!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

You might want to save this link for the future. Its not thorough, but its pretty comprehensive, and near the bottom is a nice chart to help cross reference symptoms to help include/exclude likely possibilities.

Sorry about your losses, glad you quarantined. Hopefully your free rangers had no contact with anything infected. Coryza is devastating

 

[Cazook]

good decisive action, sorry for your sick chooks. hoping that the rest of the flock don't get it. was it possibly transferred from a wild bird? covering the roof of the run might help prevent reoccurance.

edit: nevermind, i failed to notice you got them from a breeder. just shows how important quarantine time is.