No as dawg said,it is not passed through the eggs. I hatch all mine new birds from eggs now. I have 12 in lockdown as of today!!!
Sorry i didnt mean to be debby downer with my other post but it really is quite a serious disease. I had no idea that it even existed until my flock was diagnosed by necropsy. We had expensive show birds too and we love ours like pets. It was devastating.
Thanks. It's kinda funny (not really) that I get more help from strangers on the internet than a vet and the University of Missouri. They told me that I could continue to show them, bring them to fairs, etc. Stupid people, huh?
So you keep your "carriers" in a seperate coop from the other birds? I really don't want to have to cull any (some survivors include my first few chickens that are over 15 years old...I love them almost as much as my dog!), but don't have a ton of options as to where I can move them permantly.
Currently, I have 3 Mille Fleur hens that had it the worst recovering in a large, unfinished bathroom in my basement. My most expensive show birds (4 of them) I moved into a stall in my barn when the others first started coughing, sneezing, etc. Now they are showing some symtoms. In my coop I have approx. 15 chickens and 4 Call Ducks. They all have shown some symtoms, except for the ducks.
Should I build a new coop farther away, move them all there, and then let the current coop sit for a while before introducing new birds? How far away should they be from eachother?
So, just clarifying: I can breed two infected birds, hatch the eggs, and the chicks won't be carriers?
Thanks for all your help.