Question about Coryza

[Fluffychicky]

Yes, I do think your other birds have been exposed. You put the hen in with your flock, they have had contact, they are exposed! Even if they have not been sick, yet, they can become carriers, or get sick at a later date. This is how this works with chicken diseases and parasites. ( One has it, all have it ) Unfortunately, yes again, those are your choices, cull, or keep a closed flock. If you want to bring in new birds, you will have to find out what your birds have, as you will need to vaccinate your new birds for what your current flock has. The only way to know for sure is a necropsy. If/when a bird dies, or you cull a bird, get a necropsy, then you will know and know how to vaccinate for new birds, if you are going to keep your current flock.

If you are thinking of culling, then I would suggest that you cull that one you brought in and have a necropsy done on that one, so you know, and can make a more informed decision. That is what I would do if my flock came down with a disease and I didn't know what it was. The common rule of thumb for introducing new birds to a current flock is isolation for atleast 2-4 weeks, longer is better. If possible, have a fecal and blood test done also, as that will rule out or in, any diseases/internal parasites that you might introduce to your flock if you add the new bird/birds.

So sorry!!!! I have read the anguish in so many peoples posts that are in your shoes!!!

Thank you for the sympathy, since they have all already been exposed should I give them all a round of Tylan shots? I've become so attached to these chickens I'm afraid I will just have to wait until all 12 die off naturally before starting over with a new home hatched flock of babies.

 

[chichek]

Im not sure if what i did was right or wrong... But i brought two little birds home., and i noticed a smell from them (i was a very amature chicken owner) so i brought them to the flock andd as soon as i noticed that one of the two i brought home, kept opening its mouth and acting funny and gloomy and wasnt eating i seperated her from the whole flock! Along with the other one that came with her, i seperated the little healthier one and the poor baby dies baby as in around 2 - 3months old, i noticed that all of my chickens caught exactly what she had, runny nose, smelly body and fluids, one of my chickens had runny eye.. i suspected it to be croyza but i kept giving them yoghurt with alot of garlic, and eventually the symptoms went and i even brought in a new hen and didnt have any issues of sickness... Infact after it went (the smell was horrific mind you! Im convinced it was croyza) but maybe im just lucky? Idk, maybe it wasnt croyza (even though the smell was a BIG giveaway) but after the symptoms went, i had no issues and the new hens are perfectly fine with no issues.. but like i said, i may have been lucky and i may be wrong vut i remember reading somehwete that there was a chancw they may not be carriers? Correct me if im wrong, but thats my experience, stressful times though!

 

[cocosandy]

If your birds dont get sick I wouldnt worry too much. If you go to the feed store, your tires, shoes, and clothes come into contact with these germs...wild birds fly over and and wild animals scamper through with these germs. You are not running a commercial poultry facility, so its not a cull or all in all out situation. Also, its not clear if it was just a mycoplasma or something like LT or coryza. Coryza is notable in its severity, contagiousness, and smell. There is a horrible smell and you cant mistake it as something bad...its not just a puffed up bird with a swollen eye.

when you press the outside of the sinus under the eye, does pus come out of the nose hole? does blood come out? is there white stuff around the opening of the trachea when she breathes (open the beak and look at the hole behind the tongue and see if you see white stuff around the opening or further down) is she rattling when she breathes or whooping? is she sneezing or coughing?
is there any blood down the trachea? is she shaking her head sort of violently (more than most chickens shake their heads naturally?)

People on these boards will give advice to cull your flock easily...but there is no saying that the same thing wont come up again, as almost every bird not from a hatchery and vaccinated for these things could be exposed in some way. Many hatcheries still suggest no vaccinations....why? they dont have experience with backyard chicken keeping so they dont look at the whole picture of what is happening on this level.
Also, you can get the germs on your car and feet in any number of places that you go. To say to just change clothes is silly.
Im not saying throw it all out the window, but in a reasonable way of keeping backyard chickens, you have to accept that many of these diseases are everywhere. If you bring in a new bird, you have to isolate them for at least 2 weeks, or you may bring disease to your flock. What you can do is to vaccinate against the biggest problems, much like we now do against Mareks.
Remember, we used to feel the same about Mareks disease (but it is 99% deadly so the cull question is moot, besides that some people still try to cure them, thus spreading the feather dust that causes it everywhere.) Now that Mareks is everywhere, we just try to get vaccinated birds or we accept that they might die or spread the disease. You cant prevent it in your flock because its everywhere.
So look at the situation. What was exactly wrong with the bird is pretty common. Its crd - number of upper respiratory problems . You can treat your whole flock with denaguard and then use it as a monthly drench to prevent reemergence of the thing,,,,if it doesn't respond, then you may have something else. I would immediately send that bird to your state lab if that is possible. You will lose her, but you will know what she had. Then you can decide if its something worth culling or closing for. Many backyard chicken keepers are using denaguard monthly. you apparently dont have to throw eggs away when you use it.
If i were you I would try to get the new bird tested. Look up your stet agriculture vet and see if they are doing necropsies. Here in CT they pick up for free and then charge a nominal fee for doing up to 5 necropsies ($90 for 5). If the bird is alive they will put it down humanely. Once you know what youre dealing with you can decide about your flock. I am in CT and I use the state vet. The thing to remember with them also, is that they are set up for commercial farming answers so they cant answer all of your questions. Often the lab personell dont keep chickens or other animals and are just learning about these things themselves. You have to take all advice and do your own research. Anyone saying "tsk tsy, Im so sorry that you have to make this huge decison" based on no real hard facts, is just plain wrong.
If you cant use a lab, I would just watch them and see what happens. if they dont get sick, then maybe they didn't get it. Its unlikely that they wouldnt get something because these things are carried via aerosolized pathogen...they shake their heads and sneeze, in other words. You can treat with a series of meds but that will create carriers...its better to see if anyone gets sick first.

At the first sign of lethargy or swollen eye, remove the bird to a totally separate space in a dog crate and treat it depending on the symptoms. I usually use injectable tylan 50, denaguard, or even just vet rx dripped down the throat and into the nose for these things.

if you said that your whole flock was laying around dying suddenly it might warrant culling, but if nothing else happens its wrong to assume anything without lab tests.
One thing you can do after this has died down is to vaccinate your flock for coryza, LT, MG, or whatever is an issue in your area. MG is usually the common one. If you vaccinate the well birds will have a little reaction of illness and then recover. The ones that are carriers will become very sick and have to be put down. If you continue with boosters of the vaccines, you can be sure that you dont have that illness in your flock.
If you are interested in vaccinating, Peter Brown at First State Vet Supply can help you out with purchasing vaccines and figuring out what to give and how. You have to keep records and be organized about it, but its a good way to go. I wouldnt go crazy vaccinating for everything though, just figure out what you have. Peter knows quite a lot but also, not everything. The backyard chicken keeping scene is unfolding so much of it is on the individual to use their heads and to find good minds to run things past.
When I have an illness, I have a few people that I use as sounding boards and they usually help me to diagnose. We share information and learn in that way.

It sounds pretty benign if you didn't have a smell or lots of pus etc.
Again, people on these boards all have different ideas, and many will opt to tell everyone not to go beyond "natural" and "organic" remedies ( that usually dont really work, ) in service to an idea that is rendered moot by GMOs and the proliferation of chemicals in our ground water and air.... so mostly, my message is to do you research outside of backyard chickens and try to have the bird tested by your state lab extension.
Feel free also to email me via my group or direct outside of backyard chickens. I usually am only on here in response to a thread that I might have subscribed to long ago. I have had some scares and I do research on these boards; but I take em with a grain of salt.

Good luck