Michigan

[chickflick]

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Glad you found us! Great bunch of people here, ready to jump in and answer questions or just talk chicken.

 

[chickflick]

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Same to you!!

 

[chickflick]

Hi Mom!! Glad to see you back. You need to get on this site and talk to us chicken people so you don't get in another funk. We're here for you, girl!

 

[fifelakelooper]

Welcome Easter eggersz...I'm up near Traverse city...you anywhere nearby?? Welcome to anyone else I missed too. I worked the election polls yesterday..got up at 4:45am ...worked from 6am to 9pm. First year doing elections and the money earned go into chicken purchase next spring.
I have sad news...I've been quiet about it because I feel "stupid". As a rundown...last year I decided to hatch , breed, sell BBS orpingtons and jersey giants. I got the eggs from great people on BYC. I had been without chickens for a year and was eager to get back with them. I bought two more coops for a total of 3 coops...one for each breed and one for chicks. I got impatient...decided I wanted some eggs right away for eating. I bought (sight unseen I might add) 13 barnyard mixed chickens. Didn't pay much and he delivered! Well...dumb thing #1 I did...I had my 3 coops all close together for easing feeding and watering ...thinking that the new hens would be in a different coop so therefore my new hatched chicks would be safe from any disease, etc. The first thing I noticed about the hens delivered were "mites". Scaley leg mites. I treated them immediately after doing research on the computer. Doing the research OPENED my eyes to what was the dumbest thing I'd done......places these new hens so close to my purebreed chicks. (separate coops but so close doesn't matter). I am thankful none had Marek's. Thank you Lord. The new hens laid HUGE eggs and so I thought wow...how lucky I am. Planned to sell them in the fall and not have my developing flock free range until they were gone. Meanwhile..DH decided every winter we would go to Fla. for 3 months. I bought a RV and converted it to transport my purebreeds to a friends for the 3 months. (but not happy about them being NEAR a persons flock after reading about bio security). About a month ago I posted a ad on CL to get rid of my old flock...part of my plan. One of the old hens "sneezed" right about that time. I had never heard a chicken sneeze before but figured "dust" or something. They sold. Within a few days one of my purebreeds sneezed. I immediately became concerned and bought tetracyline powder. Within another two days I had 3 sneezers and did research. Found out CHICKENS DON'T GET COLDS. SNEEZING MEANS BAD NEWS.
My chickens have not been acting sick at all. They look beautiful. After 7 days on tetracyline and still hearing faint sneezing from two or three I did more research. I'm pretty sure it is MS. I bought Denegard and used that for 4 days. Sneezing stopped (only symptom) and today I got my first egg. What is sad is that mine are now "carriers" which I am SURE the mixed flock I got from CL were. Carriers of MS can pass the virus through eggs. So no breeding . I can't transport to friends either (but had decided with all the reading I did on biosecurity it was too risky anyway). I will be culling my beautiful flock prior to us going to Florida. Hard when they look perfect and never had symptoms other than sneezing. I am now very educated on bio security and I will get from 1 person only 5-6 young pullets each May when we return and sell each late fall. I am thanking the people on BYC who offered chickens (Fred and Huston) and found that BJs Poultry farm will sell me juvenile chickens in May. Hope they lay by July and I can still enjoy having chickens each year. I wish they would be vaccinated but they won't be. He has a good reputation and I will for sure examine closely. I will not bring in any other chickens. I know some may think I have over reacted but if you think that and have never read up on poultry diseases...you may want to. I intend to enjoy my flock while I can....and my DH has agreed to do the culling and prepare for the freezer . This is a long thread...just felt I wanted to share. Quarantine far, far away if you bring in new chickens. Be aware that a sneezing chicken is not just a cold. If I was not going back and forth from Mi. to Florida...I'd keep this flock just for us and eating eggs....but cannot take to my friends for fear it would go to his.
Thanks for listening. Live and Learn and my sympathy to Farmboy who had to get rid of his too.

 

[obaan1]

A sad, yet encouraging post. Thanks for sharing. You're doing the right thing for you-- and it is commendable. Spring will come soon enough but in the meantime, Florida sunshine should do wonders for a broken heart. Any thoughts on next spring's breed selection? That part of flock raising is always fun. Take care on this dreary, rain soaked Wednesday.

 

[fifelakelooper]

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Thank you Obann. I will be getting lavender LF Ameracaunas and Black copper Marans. Dark and blue eggs! Should be fun and I have already placed a deposit. I will also be selling My Converted RV coop in the spring. Never used. Best price over $500 which is a deal. I will give my neighbor first shot at it. I hate to sell it but I know I'd be worried sick having my new flock in the care of someone else who has chickens so won't be using it. I am not selling my two extra coops because maybe DH will decide he loves winter snow and in the future we stay all winter. You never know Gods plans.

 

[soctippy]

I am looking into having a vet clinic check for worms in my chickens. By this point I just assume my chickens have worms because we have had them for about 15 yrs now and one of our chicken houses is where I used to keep my pigs for 4-H, and I KNOW they had worms more than once. I also currently have a very pretty blue and gold Ameraucana rooster who is very sick. He has no symptoms other than lethargy and lack of appetite, so me and my mom (we both work in human medicine) are thinking he may be anemic. We have never wormed our chickens before, though I have used Wazine on my pigs. So yesterday I mixed up 1 quart worth and treated my rooster. He is still hanging on, but eating hardly anything. So my mom suggested we worm him after reading some other posts on this site. Though I have also been doing research and learned that Wazine only kills ring worms, but we don’t know what else to try. And to be honest spoon feeding a sick chicken is rather messy.

 

[Chickmate]

Fife - I'm so sad for you. I know you were looking forward to a breeding project, not to mention all the $ and work that went into your mobile coop. But, as obaan said, a sunny winter in FL should make you feel better and you'll be ready for new chicks when you come back. I now have to read up on sneezing. I have one chicken who sneezes occasionally but I always thought it was the dust, too. Now I'm worried. When I started reading your post I held my breath because I thought you were going to say that you had some dire medical condition. I'm so glad YOU are OK. We enjoy your friendship and posts so much. Please feel better.

obaan1 -

The MI thread has great people who are always ready to help or offer advice. So glad to have you with us!

Olive - Thanks for the insight on feather plucking. I did think of that since it is only two of them, and I DO find feathers in the nest boxes, but I just thought it was too high up on their necks for them to get to. Maybe not. Makes more sense than anything else.
Rainy dreary day today, but the chickens are all out in it and don't seem to care one bit. Good day for house cleaning and laundry.

I'd rather be in the chicken coop!

 

[fifelakelooper]

Thanks for the hugs Chickmate. I have many blessings in my life...it is hard to let go of some dreams and harder still to let go of pets we love, but I have sunny Florida to enjoy and new chickens to look forward to. Put sneezing chicken into the search on this thread..you will get tons of stuff. Most have other symptoms...wheezing, coughing, running nose and lots more. However...these may be flock owners who have a lot more than 11 in their flock. Small flocks are easy to watch and notice small things right away. I had noticed my English Orp...did a wheeze after his crow but it may or may not have been due to MS. The two roos both had a "unfamiliar" gait in the past few weeks. Not a limp...but would draw up one leg at times and walk at times pulling one leg up high before stepping forward. (sort of arthritic looking) These were the only things I noticed along with the sneezes. Oh....didn't get any eggs until today which COULD be a sign since affected chickens lose productivity. Mine are 6 and 7 months and I have one egg. All small things that could easily go unnoticed with a large flock. I did send a email out to a address I found for testing but never heard back. Some people feel that ALL chickens have a form of infectious virus and no big deal. As I said...I would keep these and not breed to sell ...keep a closed flock...IF I was not going back and forth from Mi. to Florida.

With you only having one "sneezer" it may be dust. If it isn't...you will find more sneezers in your flock and then you will know it is infectious. Hope it isn't.

 

[chicken grandma]

So sorry to read of the sick rooster Soctippy and your sick flock Fife.
Birds are more delicate than people realize, even with the very best care.

As far as worming sick chickens, I would just like to encourage people to find out what is wrong with their chicken so that you can give the right medicine and save it's life.
Sometimes a chicken needs antibiotics pronto to save it's life. Worming might be helpful or might not. I think it is very hard to guess and treat chickens. Even the veterinarians will check to see what type of bacteria is in the stool or what type of worm is in the stool. That way they can give the right medicine from many choices of wormers and antibiotics.

Not every chicken is worth trying to save but if you have one that you want to save, a fecal check is about $20 and can help you figure out what medicine to give. It can identify coccidia, gapeworms, giarrdia, some bacteria and all intestinal worms. I had a fecal check done on a sick hen recently. It showed NOTHING! I had to take her in and the vet listened to her chest and diagnosed pneumonia. Amoxicillan was what she needed. But her symptom had been loose stools - that was her only symptom.

If I had follwed the advice on BYC, I would have noticed the runny stools and wormed her with Valbazen. And she had pneumonia, so she would have died. She needed an antibiotic.
There are 4-H extention offices and MSU veterinarians and local vets who will have their technicians do a stool check for you. They do them every day for dogs and cats. Same parasties, same test.

Fife - what is M.S.?