Need advice - about to move across state lines, one hen dying.

[ArmyWahoo]

Help!

I have three hens which I have had for about 9 months now, they are about 12 months old, I got them on Craigslist.

Two of them seem perfectly healthy except for occasional diarrhea. They are fantastic layers, both lay an egg every day without fail.

The third hen developed a cough shortly after I got it. It seemed otherwise healthy and the cough didn't worsen, so as the months went by I didn't do anything. But two days ago it suddenly got ill, it barely moves, just stands or sits still, eyelids closed, opening its beak and chest heaving to breathe. Diarrhea as well. Still eats a little bit but not much. Interestingly this is the one hen that hardly ever lays an egg.

I quarantined from the others but only after a day of me trying to figure out what to do, so I'm sure the other birds are have been exposed to the same pathogen.

I have already accepted that my poorly-laying hen may very well die. But what should I do with the other two?

I'm about to move across country to my parents' home. They have their own flock. I was planning on taking my chickens with me but now I'm not so sure. Could my star layers be carrying some deadly disease? Should I not be transporting them across state lines? If I don't bring them with me, what should I do with them? They are such great hens, but probably anyone who already has chickens won't want to take them in, for fear of contagion.

 

[ArmyWahoo]

Just checked on her again. Not eating or drinking, and you can hear the "rales" in her chest, you know, that pneumonia sound.

 

[ArmyWahoo]

I'm not sure why nobody offered any advice, but I managed to nurse the sick hen back to fair health and she's back with her friends again. Still if anyone has any information about concerns with moving chickens across state lines I would be grateful.

 

[Triple Willow]

I don't know why nobody replied to you. Maybe they thought you wouldn't want to hear their advise. I don't know the laws on transporting poultry across state lines, but no doubt it would be really irresponsible to carry sick birds or birds that had been exposed to sick birds across state lines. If I were your parents or where ever you plan to take the birds to and I knew they were sick, under no circumstances would I allow it. I wouldn't allow any of them anywhere on my place, no way! I am really sorry you birds are sick (or one sick and the other two exposed). However my advise would be to cull all of them, move and then get you some healthy birds. Personally I would order some chicks from a hatchery or buy some eggs and hatch them out. I am too paranoid to introduce new adult birds into my flock. I like my flock too well to chance bringing in a disease and causing them to possibly all get sick or die. I really am sorry. I hate to see people struggling along with sick birds when you could have some healthy ones and ENJOY your chicken keeping. I wish you the best.

 

[ArmyWahoo]

Thanks Triple Willow. I tried to do my own research, I read that birds that survive "Chronic Respiratory Disease" go on to be carriers of the disesase (virus?), but that birds with common bronchitis could be treated. I don't know which one my sick hen may have had. From what you are saying though, it sounds like it's not worth the risk of introducing my birds, even the apparently healthy ones, to other birds. Which means nobody is going to want to adopt my birds if I don't keep them.

If anyone else has anything to add I would be grateful. My wife thinks it's wasteful to kill to apparently vigorous young laying hens.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would have to agree with culling the birds, because all respiratory diseases make carriers of all birds exposed whether they show sickness or not. CRD is another term for mycoplasma gallisepticum, and along with coryza, ILT, and other diseases, they will be carriers for life. Infectious bronchitis will make all birds carriers for up to a year after no symptoms are shown. If you were staying put, closing your flock and treating your birds would be an option. By transporting carrier birds across country you could be exposing poultry all along the way, plus to your parent's bird. Not worth it. Here is a good link to read that gives symptom, treatments, and whether it is a virus, bacteria, or a mycoplasma organism: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Triple Willow]

@ArmyWahoo... I'm really sorry about your birds. I can imagine how your wife feels, especially if she is really fond of the birds. This is the reason I try not to get too close to my birds - some can get sick and die, some predators will get, they won't be productive forever, some are just not good birds (mean) and need to be in the stew pot asap, etc. You will have life and death with chickens. Guard your heart.

 

[ArmyWahoo]

Thanks to you both. Those were definitely respiratory rales the sick chicken had, which judging by the web page you posted makes me think it's a good chance of MG/CRD, which I understand now is pretty serious. That would be rather un-neighborly of me to transport them anywhere.

 

[ArmyWahoo]

Well, the wife and I took care of all three birds with the hatchet tonight. It wasn't too difficult to rationalize the necessity of the killing the bird that had been so sick and had only laid 2-3 eggs ever, but it was awfully hard to do it for the other two who were still providing us with eggs... If it hadn't been for one of them starting to show similar symptoms to the first one I don't think we would have been able to do it.

All the more reason to be careful to start with and maintain a healthy flock at our new home after our short stay with my parents. And like you said, not get too close to them. Thanks very much for your honest and gentle advice.

 

[Triple Willow]

Congrats on a very hard decision I know. I really believe you did the right thing, hard as it was. When you get moved to where you're going I wish you the best of luck on building up a beautiful healthy flock!