Sanitizing Against Viruses

[BackAcre]

Hello chicken community, this new chicken lady is once again turning to you for answers and advice. I am only a few months into owning chickens, but it has been a rough road. I so far have experienced loss to both disease and predators - nothing like jumping in the deep end of chicken ownership!
My query is this: based on advice I have received on this forum and my own research, I have reason to believe that my first flock may have been exposed to Avian Leukosis before I got them, and that the stress of moving them from their previous home caused one hen to become very sick and die. I did not know at the time and therefore did not do a necropsy to diagnose, but I did take an Cray that confirmed the presence of a tumor, plus the other symptoms (weight loss, diarrhea, lethargy) I currently have one hen left of the original flock, and though I felt awhile ago that she may be going the same path as the first chicken who died (dirty, poopy bum, sudden weight loss, lack of energy, etc) she seems to have rallied and is now acting 100%, eating, laying, gaining weight back. However, expecting she was nearing the end, I had started collecting a new flock, and have some chicks being raised in the house and some older hens lined up. I felt that as much as I was not looking forward to culling the seemingly now-healthy last chicken, that the risk of avian leukosis was great enough to warrant it. We are also in the process of building a new coop, so I felt that between culling the last possibly virus carrying hen and having a new coop to put the new flock in, I was in a good spot to eliminate the virus. However, I am wondering if that is possible. Not only is the new run overlapping a portion of the ground the old coop used, the first flock of possibly virus carrying chickens also free ranged before I realized they may be carriers. Is there a way to clean the environment before I put chicks in the new coop and run when it is finished? Or is my property doomed to possibly always have avian leukosis virus on it? The coop build is just beginning, and the chicks are only 1-4 weeks old, so I have a few weeks before I will need to put chickens out, but I am just figuring out if I can clear it, or if there is no point in trying. I have yet to cull the last remaining chicken from the first flock that had the ill chicken who tipped me off, but if there is no way to clear the environment, maybe culling her is a moot point? I have a lot of questions, lol.

 

[Kathy Golla]

@azygous is our resident expert on leukosis.

 

[emmyn74]

What is the floor made of in the old coop?

 

[azygous]

There are several avian viruses and they all have different intervals of viability in the environment. Lymphotic leucosis has a very short lived presence in the environment, and even Marek's, which is long lived and has very similar symptoms to LL, can clean up with some effort and Oxine which can kill viruses.

If you plan on culling the last hen of the old flock, which if you can handle it emotionally, is the best thing to do if you wish to begin a new flock, it would be advisable to get a necropsy on her body so you know what virus you are dealing with. Here's why:

Diseases caused by Viruses

• Avian Influenza
• Avian Encephalomyelitis
• Big Liver and Spleen Disease
• Chicken Anaemia Virus Infection (or CAV)
• Egg drop syndrome (or EDS)
• Fowl Pox
• Inclusion Body Hepatitis (or Fowl adenovirus type 8 )
• Infectious Bronchitis
• Infectious Bursal Disease (or Gumboro)
• Infectious Laryngotracheitis
• Leucosis
• Lymphoid Leukosis
• Lympoid Tumour Disease (Reticuloendotheliosis)
• Marek’s Disease Virus or MDV
• Newcastle Disease
• Runting/stunting and malabsorption syndromes
• Viral Arthritis (Tenosynovitis)

 

[BackAcre]

Thank you for your responses. Azygous was the original person who tipped me off that a bird dying of a tumor was probably not the fluke I initially thought it was, and my further research lead me to discover that without a necropsy, based on symptoms it sounded like textbook Avian Leukosis Virus. Culling a seemingly healthy bird is no fun, but I can't expose her to 6 new ones in good conscience just knowing there is even a risk. So my understanding is that by taking and spraying the dirt floor of the chicken run with Virkon and using a brand new coop will help with the most concentrated areas, and that the broader area of the property where they free ranged should resolve itself over time? Lol, chickens are a lot of work. Sometimes a little knowledge is a bad thing! If I didn't take radiographs, I would have been none the wiser and had half the new flock in with her by now!