Mcmurray Hatchery sick pullets!

[kelly01247]

Has anyone recently ordered started pullets from Mcmurray that are sick? Sneezing ? Runny nose? I have received 7 pullets from them on 11/13/13 that have tested positive for Infectious Coryza!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Sorry that you are having problems with your new pullets. Have you contacted McMurray / the drop shipper the girls came from about the problem? Are these the only chickens you have or have had recently?

 

[kelly01247]

I have notified them ,they are aware of the situation . I spoke to the woman from the farm ,they treated the birds with tylan 200.They are still selling them knowing they are carriers for life.I have 5 hens I've had for 6 yrs that have tested negative .Thank god the new ones i quarantined when i received them.Its been quite an expensive nightmare.

 

[Kelsie2290]

That sounds like a nightmare. Wait, the farm treated the birds before shipment? Wonder who else they drop ship for. Have you asked for a refund and vet expenses (not sure if you can prove birds came infected?)

 

[kelly01247]

The farm claims they didn't know the birds had coryza until after I had notified them. Mcmurray did reimburse me some of my financial losses but not all. I can prove they were sick when I got them. My vet has all the test results for all the birds.My hens came back negative, mcmurrays came back positive.My vet spoke to someone at cornell university that said this comes from overcrowded and unsanitary conditions ,hatcheries and farms mostly. Which would explain the mite infestation and coryza.The owner of the farm said they have been raising chickens for 20 years and never heard of Infectious coryza. Then she goes on to tell me they have had numerous problems this year with their flocks, then she tells me she had a shipment of broiler chicks this summer that they had to cull because they were sick and had bulging weeping eyes.She claims that they get most of their stock as chicks from ideal hatchery because it's closer and there is less stress. I said well you get your chicks from mcmurray right? She says no we get them from ideal hatchery because they are closer and it's less stress on the chicks during shipping. She tells me that they have had so many problems with the shipments of chicks they get from them that it has been a nightmare this years. The problem is they are aware of what is going on and it's like they don't care.They don't want to lose the money. Totally immorally wrong. The same day i got them I noticed a few of them sneezing, didn't think too much of it . A few days later one had alot discharge coming out of her nostrils. I call mcmurray and lady tells me"its shipping stress" give them some duramycin or tylan. I'm thinking why would you use antibiotics for shipping stress? So I was like this don't sound right and I called my vet. She says kelly bring the sickest one in.I brought her in,vet gives her a thorough exam, finds she is infested with mites,notices the sneezing and discharge and says we need to run some tests. So she took some samples and overnights it to a lab california.She tells lock them up in their coop and don't let them out.She says take care of them last, feed your older girls first and change your shoes before and after entering the new pullets run ,wash hands,wear a smock etc. she gave me doxycycline to put in their water. Got the results back in 3 days " positive for Infectious coryza" So she told me to test my existing girls to see if they have been exposed .Thankfully they are negative. My vet says depopulate, rehome to someone that doesn't have hens already or euthanize.So i'm trying so hard to find them a home, but nobody wants them. People hear what they carry and are scared. So unfortunately it doesn't look good for them.In the mean time the poor things have have been locked up for a month straight in their coop,and my other girls have been locked up for a month in their coop.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Poor girls, sorry you are having to go through this. Sounds like the farm has no idea what they are doing. Did you get one breed or multiple breeds? Would consider putting complaints up on their web sites under the chickens, since it looks like they still have them for sale. Unfortunately IC is not a reportable disease, wonder if it would do any good for you or your vet to make a complaint to the TX NPIP or somebody or the USPS.

 

[enola]

The Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency need to know about this. Very unethical business practice. I wonder if Murray McMurray is still using them as a source of started pullets?