My chickens have an upper resiptory disease. i am treating them as a closed flock for now and will cull late spring/early summer. just using them for eating eggs. When i cull i will send off 2 or 3 birds to get tested. I want to plan on getting eggs to hatch after this but have googled for information on how long the coop and runs etc have to be empty for each disease and have not been able to find any information about it. anyone know what the time line is for MG and ILT for the diseases not to be present in surroundings anymore? Thanks for the help.
Keep in mind that with both diseases, birds are carriers for life. MG is a bacteria. ILT is a virus. Here's a link regarding ILT. Scroll down to "Susceptibility to disinfection." Your answer should be in that section. http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/3869/technical-update-infectious-laryngotracheitis-ilt/ Here's a link regarding MG. Your answer should be in the second paragraph. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps034
Dealing with respiratory viruses is easier than some others such as Marek's and leucosis. Your biggest challenge will be soil where viruses can survive much longer than on solid surfaces. If the dirt is in sunny areas, the sunlight will take care of it. Oxine is a good disinfectant to use after culling an infected flock. When activated with citric acid, it can kill viruses as well as bacteria and fungus on most surfaces. Spraying on the soil will help, but you need to allow it to dry thoroughly after treating with activated Oxine since it's toxic to chickens while still damp.
thankyou! This is exactly info I was looking for. And yes.realise they are carriers for life, that's the reason for the cull. I may cull a few in spring and.send.them in to test so I know what I'm dealing with beforehand and.can plan according. Thanks again for the Info!
What symptoms do the sick birds have? If it is something like infectious bronchitis, it can only make them carriers for 5 months to a year after recovery. Mycoplasma (MG) only remains infectious about 3 days on equipment, clothes, shoes, hair, etc once the chickens and other poultry are gone. Coryza is about the same. ILT can last a little longer, maybe for months, especially if there are frozen droppings on the ground. VirkonS, available in single packets is used to clean equipments and to disinfect when there are diseases. Sorry that you are dealing with this. MG is pretty much everywhere, and it could be possible to cull your flock and get it again through wild birds in your area. It doesn’t always affect a lot of birds in a flock, in mild strains, as some of the other diseases can. I would be tempted to get a single bird or two necropsied, and then think about what to do from there. Of course, that is just my opinion, and it depends on the symptoms you are seeing. For me, if was dealing with ILT or coryza, I would cull and start over.