No good deed goes unpunished

[onthespot]

I think at the very least the humane society should be responsible for "the deed" of culling your entire flock for you, free of cost. Be sure to let them know that you loved these birds and that they were good layers, and that you hold them solely responsible. They may get a rude awakening and a valuable education in poultry rescue if the problem came back full circle and landed in their lap and they had to face the consequences of their actions. Doesn't matter if they are a "rescue" or if their heart was in the "right place" your entire operation was compromised and is past recovery. Shame on them and they ought to pay you for your loss.

 

[Guitartists]

Also, if they had THAT many of them, chances are, they still have a bunch of them awaiting adoption and are most likely carriers as well. They need to be notified!

 

[NH Chicken Lady]

I agree...I just dont know if I could prove it & do I really want to go through all that stress?

At the minimum, I will not be bringing any new chicks/eggs to my farm until all the current chickens are gone & the coop is sterilized. How & when that will happen isn't decided.

Oh the joy....

Thanks for everyone's advice.

 

[annaserv]

I had the same type of outbreak in my flock several years ago, right after I adopted some chickens from a local kid who was done with 4-H and no longer was interested in doing county fair chickens. I didn't lose any during the outbreak (cawing, coughing, sneezing, discharge from eyes and nose) but several died later that year, after never really getting their health back.

I did eventually bring in other adopted chickens though out the years, but it never did occur again. knowing what I know now after some research, I certainly wouldn't have brought more chickens in.

The chickens that mingled with the chickens that mingle with the chickens that were carriers are at our farms chicken coup and I have a new coup for my new little ones at home. Sure was an eye opener though. I know all about quarantining cattle and their various diseases but had no idea chickens could have the same problems.

 

[lovethechickens]

The very responsible thing to do would be to contact the state veterinarian. They will kill a bird, and check for the disease. Depending on what it is, they my cull all of them off. It depends on your state. The reason they do it, is to try and eradicate the disease. So it is totally sad that they are your pets, but they wont pay their way in eggs after 4 years anyways. Generally speaking you can add more birds, and most of the diseases dealing with respiritory problems are only fatal to babies.

 

[nnbreeder]

Or it could have been caused by a wild bird's droppings, the others could have already been exposed and immune at some point in the past where as only some of your older birds were. As posted before it would be the thing to do to call in the state vet and have them test a bird to see what you are dealing with. Worst case is that they cull the flock, best case it is something that can be vaccinated for as chicks and you can add new birds to the existing flock. Here would be a good start, just scroll down to your state and either call or e-mail you rep for the NPIP program, that is usually conducted by the state vet.s office. http://www.poultryhelp.com/npipcontacts.html

 

[PAChickenChick]

Ok...and here's the question that always comes to my mind when dealing with a sick bird....

I'm getting the impression that a sick bird usually doesn't lay eggs (or the ones they do lay will be odd) but what about after the bird is better....
if you don't know what they were sick from but they are better now and are laying like normal....is it safe to start to eat those eggs again?

 

[kees]

As one poster mentioned, I think that it's judicious to contact a state veterinarian to be on the safe side. You tried to do the right thing with good intentions and will worry endlessly about whether any chickens in the future will be carriers. Good luck!

 

[SpottedCrow]

With the conditions that they found the birds in, in the first place, it doesn't surprise me that some of them got sick in the end.
Here's the original story:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/11/hundreds_of_chi.html

 

[lengel]

I wanted to thank you for posting your experience. Last year, I almost took in some hens from someone who had posted on the board at the local farmer's exchange. Fortunately, I waffled long enough that the sign was taken down but I could have been in a world of hurt given my inexperience and sheer ignorance. I learn every day from the members here and can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

I'm sorry for your loss but you probably saved a bunch of us from the same problem.