New Pullet Sneezing, Wheezing, Coughing - Has she infected the rest?

[SandyNest]

I am glad for this post as I am experiencing the same problem. I thought I prepared the best I could. The 3 new bantam pullets I purchased were quarantined for 3 weeks and a weekend and all seemed ok. My vet said 3 weeks quarantine, no other meds were necessary. They had been in my garage and well tended and watched and everything seemed fine, but about 3 weeks after the birds were together, the new ones started to seem a little "sneezy". I didn't think there was much to be done, since now all the birds had been together for a while. The 3 new ones seem to be doing ok now, but now some of my other birds seem somewhat "sneezy" as well. Hopefully all will recover with no major problems. I am going to try some Vet Rx and I'll think about antibiotics, although, I tend to be sparing on antibiotics in general. However, the weather here at the moment is brutal and it is not scheduled to change for a while, so I may opt for a bit more aggressive treatment.

Good luck to you and I thank you for sharing your story, as you have helped me as well.

 

[swtangel321]

How are they doing today ??

 

[katiek]

She is doing a little better, but now the other pullet are sneezy!

My original flock, which is far far away seems to still be doing okay, I'm hoping it stays that way!!!

I haven't treated the pullets with antibiotics, I've just been waiting it out to see what happens. I bring them in at night so they stay warm and dry, and I built a quarantine run outside for them.

I was hoping to keep them outside at night. But last night, I went out to check on them, and they weren't in the run. I looked all over the place, and found them roosting on a nearby branch! HAA HAA!!! Wish I had taken a picture!

Anyway. I'm not sure what to do now. If they both get better and stay that way for a month or so, can I introduce them to my flock? Is this something that their immune systems can fight off naturally, or is it a permanent disease?

Thanks!

 

[speckledhen]

Anyway. I'm not sure what to do now. If they both get better and stay that way for a month or so, can I introduce them to my flock? Is this something that their immune systems can fight off naturally, or is it a permanent disease?

There's no way to know without testing. Many diseases make carriers out of them for the rest of their lives, but if you dont know which disease they have, it's impossible to say. To be safe, I would always assume it's the worst kind and just dont take the chance. Is keeping two birds worth the loss of your entire flock? That's what you must ask yourself.​

 

[SandyNest]

Here's what I learned today from my vet: treat the whole flock with tetracycline or oxy-tetracyline (according to the package directions). I live in Michigan and apparently this type of thing is very prevalent in the wild bird population. My chickens are well exposed to the outdoors, so even if I were to cull my flock and start anew, the likelihood of this happening again is quite high. This type of disease is not harmful to humans or human consumption so it does not affect the eggs. As long as I do not pass my chickens on to anyone, then there seems to be no reason for me to cull my flock as long as they stay reasonably healthy and symptom free. Apparently, like a std, these type of diseases are spread when the chickens are in the "active" stage and showing symptoms.

I intend to talk to my vet again tomorrow and see if there is a relatively inexpensive test to see exactly which virus my chickens seem to have. I would like to know for sure. I have no direct neighbors close by, so the likelihood of spreading this directly to other bird owners is virtually none. So, for the moment, unless I learn something different, I am planning on treating my birds, but knowing that they have something which has the possibility to be passed on, so there will be situations I may have to be careful of.

 

[speckledhen]

The main downside to keeping your flock intact and treating them is that you cannot in good conscience ever sell a bird to someone or bring more into the flock. If that is what you can live with, then certainly, that is a choice you can make.
Some things are passed from wild birds, however, even if a bird of yours is exposed to something from the wild ones, the key is, did your bird's immune system fight it off or cause it to be weak and contract the disease with all the accompanying symptoms? I want to build a flock with a strong immune system, so my choice is to cull birds who cannot fight off these organisms successfully without antibiotics.
I disagree with one thing: it does affect the eggs, in that some of these diseases are passed to the chicks through the eggs. It depends on what it is they have. And if someone is always running the flock through rounds of antibiotics, there will be residue of those in the eggs. I have one customer who has a heart condition and if I gave my birds antibiotics, it could compromise her health by the residue in the eggs. It was one of the issues she addressed before every buying any eggs from me.

 

[katiek]

Thank you both for your opinions.

I can't do anything right now, as my better-half is out of town for a week. I can't do the culling myself, just can't do it. So it'll have to wait till he gets back in town on Sunday.

The two pullets are still being kept separate from my flock. They are happy in their new run. Still not using antibiotics, using a more holistic approach.

Thanks everyone for your help!!!!

Sandy, please let me know about the test.

Thanks,
Katie

 

[speckledhen]

Good luck to both of you, Sandy and Katie.

 

[katiek]

Thanks speckled hen,

You are right. Definitely not work sacrificing the whole flock.

 

[spook]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=113931