Please an explanation about virus spreading

[Waves]

Ok, i'm me with my terrible flock, again
I just would like to have an explanation/clarification.
Two weeks ago, one of my old hens passed for a respiratory virus.
I disinfected all with fire and i'm giving to my other flock apple vinegar and a nutritional supplement to avoid that others keep this. i don't know surely if they have already had this.
So, today, my roo went out of the coop (i didn't see him ) and drank in a dirty waterer (dirty cause there were some old poops [i don't know who the poops are obviously]) that i didn't disinfect and that i putted out of the coop cause i didn't want they use it.
only one or two sips. then i ran, caught him and putted him in the coop.

so now i wonder. i read that respiratory viruses spread with inhalation of dusted poops.
Could my roo keep something (not unless he hadn't it before) again?! i'm terrified!
i was just counting 15 days from the disinfection to keep calm, and now this!
I'm feeling so so stupid cause i didn't throw away that stupid waterer!

Please tell me your opinion

 

[Kiki]

Ok, i'm me with my terrible flock, again
I just would like to have an explanation/clarification.
Two weeks ago, one of my old hens passed for a respiratory virus.
I disinfected all with fire and i'm giving to my other flock apple vinegar and a nutritional supplement to avoid that others keep this. i don't know surely if they have already had this.
So, today, my roo went out of the coop (i didn't see him ) and drank in a dirty waterer (dirty cause there were some old poops [i don't know who the poops are obviously]) that i didn't disinfect and that i putted out of the coop cause i didn't want they use it.
only one or two sips. then i ran, caught him and putted him in the coop.

so now i wonder. i read that respiratory viruses spread with inhalation of dusted poops.
Could my roo keep something (not unless he hadn't it before) again?! i'm terrified!
i was just counting 15 days from the disinfection to keep calm, and now this!
I'm feeling so so stupid cause i didn't throw away that stupid waterer!

Please tell me your opinion

Did d you have testing done to know what virus or disease you are dealing with?

ACV will not cure nor prevent any respiratory disease or illness.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Two weeks ago, one of my old hens passed for a respiratory virus.

Sorry for your loss.

Don't beat yourself up over that water dish. Just learn from it so you don't repeat it in the future.

How old was your hen, what breed, and what symptoms made you think virus? What do you feed on a regular basis including treats and supplements?

If that hen was with the rest of your flock at the time she started showing symptoms... they have already been exposed whether or not they become symptomatic.

Keeping nutrition high by using a formulated ration and not diminishing nutrients with excess treats is a fantastic way to support a birds own immune system which rally's T- cells to fight viral infections.

Some virus are not a big deal... like fowl pox. They run their course and done. Other viruses can be a huge deal like Marek's (a herpes virus which takes at least 3 weeks from exposure before any symptoms can present, most often effecting young birds) or New Castle's....
http://www.poultryhub.org/health/disease/types-of-disease/list-of-avian-diseases/

If you have another become symptomatic or pass, I would suggest getting a necropsy done by your state vet to determine the cause. It can be free or low cost in many cases. Links to help if you're in the US...
How to Send a Bird for a Necropsy

State poultry labs

i was just counting 15 days from the disinfection to keep calm, and now this!

Since you're not even sure what it was (as far as I could tell anyways), 2 weeks may be an irrelevant time frame. Definitely keep calm! Let me share a couple links that might be of interest to you...
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry

Once this following blue link opens, use the "chickens" tab and click on the "symptom checker" tool to open it up and use it. It has lots of great info that's not 100% perfect and they are working on it all the time. Sometimes you need to clear it all the way (start over) after adding or subtracting symptoms to get it to change. But I still find it to be a great resource to give me ideas of what to research... always getting other resources (like the reliable Merck vet manual, other BYC'ers) to verify any treatment suggestions. And please remember not to jump to any conclusions, consider the WHOLE picture, and use your own judgement...
http://www.poultrydvm.com/

Adding your general location to your profile can help folks make their best suggestions possible at a glance.

Hoping everyone is well and thriving!

 

[Waves]

Thank you very much friends
yes i said too less about the hen... here is her thred
https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/21980243/
you can read about symptoms and all here..

What is your location? It would help to know that. You can go into your profile and edit your location later.
Im not sure exactly whats going on with yiur flock. What symptoms were they displaying when the first one passed?

I'm in Italy yes i'll add in my profile! i always forget to do it!

Sorry for your loss.

Don't beat yourself up over that water dish. Just learn from it so you don't repeat it in the future.

How old was your hen, what breed, and what symptoms made you think virus? What do you feed on a regular basis including treats and supplements?

If that hen was with the rest of your flock at the time she started showing symptoms... they have already been exposed whether or not they become symptomatic.

Keeping nutrition high by using a formulated ration and not diminishing nutrients with excess treats is a fantastic way to support a birds own immune system which rally's T- cells to fight viral infections.

Some virus are not a big deal... like fowl pox. They run their course and done. Other viruses can be a huge deal like Marek's (a herpes virus which takes at least 3 weeks from exposure before any symptoms can present, most often effecting young birds) or New Castle's....
http://www.poultryhub.org/health/disease/types-of-disease/list-of-avian-diseases/

If you have another become symptomatic or pass, I would suggest getting a necropsy done by your state vet to determine the cause. It can be free or low cost in many cases. Links to help if you're in the US...
How to Send a Bird for a Necropsy

State poultry labs


Since you're not even sure what it was (as far as I could tell anyways), 2 weeks may be an irrelevant time frame. Definitely keep calm! Let me share a couple links that might be of interest to you...
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry

Once this following blue link opens, use the "chickens" tab and click on the "symptom checker" tool to open it up and use it. It has lots of great info that's not 100% perfect and they are working on it all the time. Sometimes you need to clear it all the way (start over) after adding or subtracting symptoms to get it to change. But I still find it to be a great resource to give me ideas of what to research... always getting other resources (like the reliable Merck vet manual, other BYC'ers) to verify any treatment suggestions. And please remember not to jump to any conclusions, consider the WHOLE picture, and use your own judgement...
http://www.poultrydvm.com/

Adding your general location to your profile can help folks make their best suggestions possible at a glance.

Hoping everyone is well and thriving!

i feed them with a complete organic mix, vegetables, grass, and sometimes i add some rice or other cereals (even quinoa sometimes)
Yes, the hen was for the whole time she had virus with the rest of the flock. i added some new chickens (with quarantine before) so i thought that they brang this virus. Then i had so many doubts and i'm not sure of nothing now! Only thing i'm sure is that all chickens stayed all the time with the sick hen!

I'm going to try your links! thank you so much!

So you are saying that they're already exposed.../"immunized"?
Yes i know that 15 are noting sure, it was only a psychologic date

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Could it be unrecommandable to make born some pullets?

You can do that or at least try. 50% will be cockerels and not pullets. And you won't be leaving your place bird free to help eliminate any possibility of whatever virus you may be seeing right now.

But if your birds seem fine and you want to hatch it up, do it. I just wouldn't bring in any new birds and I also wouldn't try sell or give any away without knowing for sure what the sneezing and wheezing was and if it's something that runs it course and becomes history or if it lays latent waiting to re-emerge.

I bred Silkies for a few years. Quite honestly they are excessively broody but NOT the the best broody's ever. My large fowl ladies brood circles around the Silkies, fend of predators better, raise more chicks, etc. Broody Silkies can be more effort than they are worth, and that's why I don't keep them anymore personally. One reason I like to use an incubator (aside from power outages) is because *most* broody's raise their chicks to avoid people so they are often less friendly. Broody's are cranky beehive's also. One plus of incubators, bought new they don't spread anything to your flock. But broody hens do have their pluses of course. Seeing a chick mum and family is quite lovely!

Your 6 year old chicken and other will eventually face their own mortality just like the rest of us. Genetics may help her live longer or not.

With birds that age, plus Silkies who will be broody, not laying, and raising chicks int he future... I would switch away from "layer" feed and use an unmedicated "starter" or a flock raiser type feed IF you have them available... with the added calcium source on the side for active layers. Those not in lay do not need the added calcium of layer and it could lead to kidney issues including one type of gout, possible failure, and even sudden death... though most often in those that are genetically predisposed somehow. In juveniles it can also inhibit growth and delay onset of production. "Layer" is too low in protein and amino acids for chicks aside from the calcium issue.

The sneezing would not line up with my following statement. But for what it's worth... many failing birds will have a hard time breathing as organs shut down everything becomes labored, even in chicks that have no disease exposure but are simply failing to thrive.

Don't forget that chickens are omnivores. They enjoy veggies, grass, and cereal grains (should be small amounts as they are often low protein and not diminishing the vitamins and minerals in the formulated ration is key). But they like bugs, and meat as well.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

At least to spring, maybe the next-next spring...
if my flock is immunized, they at most can trasmit virus at babies, but babies that -eventually- could catch it wouldn't be able to trasmit it another time to my hens...right?

Right, it can be a never ending repeating cycle.. some things pass directly to the embryo and they already have it at hatch even.

Your flock may have built some immunity... meaning they are fighting it off better. But they will not actually be immune to it.

but at the hatchery they said " uhmmmm we haven't this breed but we have a silkie

So you got sneezing Silkies from a hatchery, and they are both female, how old? Is it a hatchery like with a business that sell to many other folks or just a person in their back yard. If someone is spreading disease... it needs to be reported to proper authorities and stopped. At the very least it is important to let them (the hatcher) know what you saw and are concerned about and hear their response. People cannot change what they don't know, and sometimes symptoms have not yet presented at the current location OR the keeper isn't as keen on noticing this stuff or understanding it or simply doesn't care. It doesn't have to be a confrontational thing and might go a long way to preventing others from facing the the loss of their flocks.

I do agree with eggcessive... and I am obsessive about disease control as well as time management and will cull in a heart beat any individual who poses a threat to the greater good of my flock, the instant I suspect something. I also cull hens showing any signs of things that are not contagious (Salpingitis, slow crop) but DO cause diminished/weakened immunity to all things stressful, viral, parasitic, bacterial, predatory, etc. It all builds and works together. especially if they are showing signs of discomfort like abnormal stance. Or anything that MIGHT repeat like a prolapsed vent. No suffering for those in my care if I can help it. That being said, I have been doing this a long time and it has been a huge growing and learning process. Many things quite frankly aren't recoverable... though EVERY case is assessed individually.. Some things require following the mind and not the heart regardless of how difficult it is. That depends on your goals and what you can take. Everyone has different resources, set ups, thoughts, and abilities. I never regret making the right choice even if that bird MIGHT have POSSIBLY lived a longer (still happy) life until the NEXT time. That's my hard core side. My soft side does help everyone by giving them all the same great care.. light stock density, waste management, safe ventilated weather proof shelter... with some added nutritional (poultry vitamin supplement) support beyond a formulated ration during times of obvious stress like molt. I use 20% protein flock raiser year round with oyster shell on the side for my mixed age and gender flock as feeding all a happy medium is easiest for me and has been working well for my flock for quite some time now.

Luckily California (US) is a huge state and I was away from the zones hit hard by virulent New Castle's disease (vND) earlier this year... back yard flock were first quarantined to their coop with no free ranging at all. And no movement of fowl into or out of the area. Soon followed mandatory euthanasia off ALL back yard flock in those zones! These type of things can threaten our national food supply chain as far as I can tell. Check the following links to see reports.

Federal
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ou...ease-information/avian/virulent-newcastle/vnd

State
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/animal_health/newcastle_disease_info.html

This one is very useful, discusses depopulation and such... relevant to vND, not saying it's what you had but sharing as an example..
https://www.oie.int/en/animal-health-in-the-world/animal-diseases/Newcastle-disease/

Folks use raw ACV as an alleged probiotic... I prefer probiotics over antibiotics, but should only be used short term. No supplement should be given more than 10 days in a row.

Anyways, hope your getting lots of useful information without getting overwhelmed.

 

[Rammy]

What is your location? It would help to know that. You can go into your profile and edit your location later.
Im not sure exactly whats going on with yiur flock. What symptoms were they displaying when the first one passed?

 

[Waves]

i tried the checker! but lots of diseases had some symptomps and some totally different!
could it be a "light virus" that she kept in a worse form because of her age and stress caused by blindness? i'm just running ideas...

 

[Waves]

I just thought another thing!
Isn't drinking in dirty waterer like eating and scratching on the same ground on which stayed the sick hen for days and days? maybe i'm only worrying to much about this waterer can you help me guys?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I know this link is a lot. On pages 49 and 50 I see contacts in Italy that might be able to to help you find out how to get testing done...
http://www.fao.org/avianflu/conferences/new_delhi/docs/wildbird_hpai_manual.pdf

maybe i'm only worrying to much about this waterer

It's history so try to move forward. Clean that waterer. Again, if the remaining birds do present with symptoms it will from the time exposed way before that most likely. That link is about Avian Influenza, which not what I'm suggesting. It just appeared to be a good resource for finding out where to go next in your location.

Is another bird presenting now? Is it your rooster? Will check back again soon.