New Birds from Breeder have Lice & Coryza

[sonew123]

Me & Jack :

The thing is, a smelly nasal discharge CAN come from something as simple as a basic respiratory (bacterial) infection. It's the bacteria and infected tissue that create the putrid smell. There do not appear to be any other symptoms -- no swelling, no wheezing, no sneezing, no conjunctivitis or sticky eyes. It's just that smell.

And I'm still waiting on the vet --- oh, wait. Okay, just talked to the vet. He said culturing this particular strain of bacteria is not something they do in his office because of the long incubation period and the regulations for culturing that would make it cost-prohibitive. He said if I am at all worried I should go ahead and cull the birds and burn or bury them deeply. He said he would lean toward that recommendation and replace the birds after using Oxine to disinfect the coop.

Ugh. This is awful. What if it's not coryza? What if it is? Those of you who are more "all about business" than I am can tell me to cull all you want but it is simply not an easy choice for me to make. I would rather these be the only two chickens I have for the next few years than kill them. They are currently no where near any other poultry.

It's not easy and we are not making light of this saying to cull...If you choose to keep only these two birds..only these two...then that is your choice..but if you have friends that keep poultry and visit..you are taking a huge risk on infecting their chickens...you visiting them too..It horrible and I hope for you that it isn't what it sounds to be​

 

[Me & Jack]

if you have friends that keep poultry and visit..you are taking a huge risk on infecting their chickens...you visiting them too

You're right; I know you're right. *sigh*​

 

[foxypoproxy]

Me & Jack :

The thing is, a smelly nasal discharge CAN come from something as simple as a basic respiratory (bacterial) infection. It's the bacteria and infected tissue that create the putrid smell. There do not appear to be any other symptoms -- no swelling, no wheezing, no sneezing, no conjunctivitis or sticky eyes. It's just that smell.

And I'm still waiting on the vet --- oh, wait. Okay, just talked to the vet. He said culturing this particular strain of bacteria is not something they do in his office because of the long incubation period and the regulations for culturing that would make it cost-prohibitive. He said if I am at all worried I should go ahead and cull the birds and burn or bury them deeply. He said he would lean toward that recommendation and replace the birds after using Oxine to disinfect the coop.

Ugh. This is awful. What if it's not coryza? What if it is? Those of you who are more "all about business" than I am can tell me to cull all you want but it is simply not an easy choice for me to make. I would rather these be the only two chickens I have for the next few years than kill them. They are currently no where near any other poultry.

Well as long as you don't plan on selling, giving chickens away, or showing, Then you can keep them on meds and let them live out the rest of their lives.
Chances are they could get a secondary infection and die though.
You could also give the birds back to the breeder, let them know, and disinfect everywhere.
Either way, i understand its not an easy situation.
I had to put my whole flock down because they had CRD and were suffering.
They also ended up getting pneumonia because the CRD was suppressing their immune systems.
I had brought mine to a university and they put them down for me with CO2, then did a necropsy to figure out what was going on (they are still testing for the exact CRD it was).
I then got their ashes back in the mail.
What ever you choose to do, i just suggest maybe thinking about the well fare of your birds and the quality of life they will have.
You also have to worry about spreading this disease around and you would have to be very careful.
Diseases like this can be carried on your clothes, skin, etc, i know you would hate to accidentally spread it onto someone else's birds.
I had neighbors with chickens so that was a big concern to me, i didn't want to infect theirs.
Anyway, i wish you luck with whatever decision you make.​

 

[EweSheep]

good luck on your decision. I know its not easy to make but do what feels best for you and your flock and how you want to deal with the egg production.

Had a friend that had Coryza, all of her flock died, all because she didn't stop to think about the biosecurity in shows (her daughter showed in 4H), brought them home and next thing you know, it spread like wildfire. I would not let her step foot on my place. She had to burn everything out of the coop, including the barn which it was starting to rot on the bottom and predators are finding the easy way in. It has been over five years ago and she only has a handful of birds in the other barn. She quit showing as well. No problems since then.

The decision is yours, yours alone, not ours.

 

[Silkie-lover33]

Isn't it possible to give them back to the breeder?

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
2x

x3 You dont want to mess around with coryza. I'd cull in a heartbeat.

 

[Me & Jack]

I sent an email to the breeder and am waiting to hear back. We'll see.

 

[Bigcreekpeafowl]

I can understand your dilemma. When we started in peafowl we got birds with blackhead, worms, lice, and coccidiosis.
We were devastated.

We did find help from Purdue university in diagnosing the problem. I don't know how close you are to a university that has a veterinary program. But you may find help from a goverment extension office or by calling your vet back and getting telephone numbers where you can get necropsies and animal lab diagnostics performed. They should know labs that might help you get a diagnosis.

If it were me I would be very interested in that you need to know what you are dealing with.

I wish you luck!

 

[Me & Jack]

Absolutely no signs of discharge whatsoever today from my new cockerel. The pullet is showing no signs at all of anything being wrong. Both seem happy to flop around in the sunlight and groom themselves ceaselessly, and I'm beginning to wonder if I didn't make a huge mistake in assuming the worst.

Can't imagine the sulment would have worked that fast (exactly 24 hours) but I suppose it's possible. Thinking I won't cull, but contemplating a closed flock --- vet said airborne transmission of coryza is possible but highly unlikely beyond a radius of 100 yards. Don't even know who the closest neighbors are who have chickens, but they're all at least a mile or more given where we live. Not sure if I'm trying to convince myself or the folks who told me to cull, but I'm still in a holding pattern for now.

 

[kari_dawn]

I just would like to add that I have read that birds that survive coryza become carriers for life, and that stress (like being shipped) induces symptoms to come back for a short time...so if the bird is a carrier, the symtoms may come back from time to time...and nasal discharge/smell uppon arrival may also point towards coryza...why I related it to the herpes virus....If I were you, I would see if a vet could test and see if the bird is a carrier first before going any further...