Over the last 5 months I've lost 4 chickens to avian malaria. 3 of these also had a bout of dry pox. I now have only 2 chickens left of my original 6. These 2 have recently recovered from pox. The last scab fell off 2 weeks ago.
I've got 4 replacement chicks now 9 weeks old which are being kept totally separate from the older 2 hens above. I'm not able to keep them separated for too much longer due to practical reasons. I have not vaccinated any of my chickens (mostly because I'm not confident to do this myself).
I have always free-ranged my chickens but due to the deaths caused by malaria am now reluctant to do so. They are presently being penned under netting during the day when outside, and at night are in their coop also under netting.
I need advice please about when it might be safe enough to add my new chicks to the coop. My concern is fowl pox. I will change the shavings in the coop just prior to adding new chicks, and of course will disenfect the coop well too. As the scabs are gone already, are my older hens still infectious after I've cleaned out the coop? I was very carefull to keep them inside their coop the entire time they still had scabs (I understand the scabs are infectious, which is why I'll clean the coop well).
Just need help with a good plan of action please :
Thanks
I've got 4 replacement chicks now 9 weeks old which are being kept totally separate from the older 2 hens above. I'm not able to keep them separated for too much longer due to practical reasons. I have not vaccinated any of my chickens (mostly because I'm not confident to do this myself).
I have always free-ranged my chickens but due to the deaths caused by malaria am now reluctant to do so. They are presently being penned under netting during the day when outside, and at night are in their coop also under netting.
I need advice please about when it might be safe enough to add my new chicks to the coop. My concern is fowl pox. I will change the shavings in the coop just prior to adding new chicks, and of course will disenfect the coop well too. As the scabs are gone already, are my older hens still infectious after I've cleaned out the coop? I was very carefull to keep them inside their coop the entire time they still had scabs (I understand the scabs are infectious, which is why I'll clean the coop well).
Just need help with a good plan of action please :
Thanks
