New chicks acting strange???

whychickens2

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Hi i got 4 new chicks from a nipi cert farm amd ive got chicks from this lady a yr ago and two months after getting chicks from her last year my whold flock got sick... I didnt think it was her birds however i bought four chicks from her sunday and three out of four sneeze but eat and drink and seem otherwise healthy this fourth chick eats and drinks however if i leave her she ends up laying down with her legs out to the side... Is this normal for a cochin baby and would you integrate with your flock? Ive had these in iso since i got them but with the sneezing going on and the odd way this one is acting im not sure i want to take the risk... Plus when i was leaving this ladys farm i ask her if she ever has mycoplasma issues and she pointed to one free range bird who sneezed and she said if they get sick i treat them and they usually get better.... Ugh my heart is saying it was a bad decision....im new and need advice please

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It looks like the little black one has a splayed leg. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/spraddle-leg-in-baby-chicks-what-is-it.html\
Here's a good website to treat it. Sorry not sure about the sneezing can't help you there. Good luck hope they get better. Feel free to ask any more questions that you have :)



Thank you! Would it still be considered straddle leg if both legs go to the same side Also i am really worried about MG and MS in these little ones.
 
Hmm. I don't really know, can you post a picture of the chick standing or you holding it upright? You do need to make sure that it is eating and drinking though. I'll get back to you about the MG and MS, okay? I would recommend not putting them in with the rest of your flock yet, and watching them to make sure they eat and drink and everything.
 
I am not very experienced with this so if someone else says it's a problem then please take their advice. But my Naked Neck bantam chicks all used to lie on their sides like that, and I haven't had any problems so far. It freaked me out at first but they all seemed perfectly healthy otherwise. If she is behaving normally otherwise and not showing any other signs of illness or weakness I wouldn't be too worried. If she has other symptoms too though I would be more worried. Let us know how it goes.
 
My thought is this: if I got birds from her last year, and they all got sick, I would not consider buying birds from her in the future. And you asked the mycoplasma question before leaving her property. It's obvious that she knows her birds are carrying an illness that to my knowledge is a forever thing once it's in your flock. What business does she have selling birds to the public? I'd have demanded my money back and walked away from that sale.
 
Everything LazyGardener said above is spot on, that seller has no business selling birds. On the flip side, you bought birds from her before and your flock got sick after incubation, correct? In that case YOU also have micoplasma (or whichever upper respiratory disease you contracted from her). In that case, shouldn't cause any harm to your already infected flock to add new birds from same source. That said, a year is a long time, her birds could've picked up any number of other yuck if she's clearly that unabashed in selling contaminated birds to the public. There's a state vet in Missouri that estimates up to 90% of our backyard flocks are micoplasma contaminated (in mo).
There are a couple choices when you have reason to suspect your flock is contaminated.
1. Keep a closed flock, for the life of the birds, do not buy, do not sell. Once they have all lived out their lives and died follow proper guidelines to clean and start over.
2. Cull all birds on site, clean, start over.
In my opinion there's a third less acceptable option you could choose in this instance if you're attached to the flock. 3. Keep the flock, NEVER sell birds, and accept that you have an infected flock. Ad only birds like your chicks who are already infected (ms & mg pass through to the egg) or add healthy birds knowing full well that they'll get sick and need treatment after incubation (seems unethical to me, but chickens are one's property).
I've personally been through the devastation of this decision making, although mine ended up being a non lifelong upper respiratory illness. I loved my flock and decided to make sure before culling. I treated them, waited until they were all 100% and bought "tester birds". 6 months went by without so much as a sneeze or sniffle or runny eye from the testers. I naively decided my birds couldn't have had ms or mg.. but knowing what I know now about the health of chickens in my state, it could be more probable that the tester birds were already infected. I had to move, and sold those birds with utmost honesty: these birds have had upper respiratory problems and been treated for them, I do not have an official diagnosis from a veterinarian, blah, blah blah. It was an incredible flock of young beautiful birds. A man bought all of them for very cheap. Looking back it was probably very irresponsible of me to sell those birds, but at the time I truly believed them mg ms free. Maybe your seller does too? Hope my head doesn't end up on a pike.
Best wishes.
 
Everything LazyGardener said above is spot on, that seller has no business selling birds. On the flip side, you bought birds from her before and your flock got sick after incubation, correct? In that case YOU also have micoplasma (or whichever upper respiratory disease you contracted from her). In that case, shouldn't cause any harm to your already infected flock to add new birds from same source. That said, a year is a long time, her birds could've picked up any number of other yuck if she's clearly that unabashed in selling contaminated birds to the public. There's a state vet in Missouri that estimates up to 90% of our backyard flocks are micoplasma contaminated (in mo).
There are a couple choices when you have reason to suspect your flock is contaminated.
1. Keep a closed flock, for the life of the birds, do not buy, do not sell. Once they have all lived out their lives and died follow proper guidelines to clean and start over.
2. Cull all birds on site, clean, start over.
In my opinion there's a third less acceptable option you could choose in this instance if you're attached to the flock. 3. Keep the flock, NEVER sell birds, and accept that you have an infected flock. Ad only birds like your chicks who are already infected (ms & mg pass through to the egg) or add healthy birds knowing full well that they'll get sick and need treatment after incubation (seems unethical to me, but chickens are one's property).
I've personally been through the devastation of this decision making, although mine ended up being a non lifelong upper respiratory illness. I loved my flock and decided to make sure before culling. I treated them, waited until they were all 100% and bought "tester birds". 6 months went by without so much as a sneeze or sniffle or runny eye from the testers. I naively decided my birds couldn't have had ms or mg.. but knowing what I know now about the health of chickens in my state, it could be more probable that the tester birds were already infected. I had to move, and sold those birds with utmost honesty: these birds have had upper respiratory problems and been treated for them, I do not have an official diagnosis from a veterinarian, blah, blah blah. It was an incredible flock of young beautiful birds. A man bought all of them for very cheap. Looking back it was probably very irresponsible of me to sell those birds, but at the time I truly believed them mg ms free. Maybe your seller does too? Hope my head doesn't end up on a pike.
Best wishes.


No i culled my flock last year cleaned and waited before getting the birds i have now my flock has been clean. What happend was i contacted the state vet and she re recommended this lady as a safe place to purchase new birds. I explained the issue last year and she said my birds most likely had gotten it from the hay i bought at the feed store who had chickens for sale. Im still new to this but when i was leaving amd she said that it freaked me out.... Now ive got sneezing chickens but no nasal discharge or anything else :/ im so nervous to put them in my old flock
 

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