Sick birds

[loveourbirds]

My original plan was in fact to cull the flock , clean/ disinfect the coop and replenish flock with the exact type of birds that i want to serve my needs from a reputable breeder that are already vaccinated etc. i just need to find a hatchery near me in Caswell County NC

remember, if they are vaccinated they are (usually) carriers. keeping illness out of a flock is nearly impossible, for a home flock its usually better to build an immunity and do the vaccinations. but once you start, you cant stop - every new chicken has to be vaccinated too.

i do think you have the right plan for now, your flock has suffered enough loss and illness it may be best to start over. eventually some sort of illness will come into your flock again, just be prepared- have a quarantine area for new chickens and sick chickens. deal with issues as they come along, if your eating your eggs you wont want a flock that is always getting antibiotics.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have decided to cull the flock and eliminate the ongoing problem. I will start fresh with leghorns for eggs and cornish x or white broilers for meat. It will be better to start them as chicks and know their history

It is probably the best thing to do if you want eggs and meat, and don't always want to be treating sick birds. I would advise you to spend the extra $1 a piece to vaccinate against Mareks disease, since any of the sick birds you have had were carriers. That is one disease that you can't clean and disinfect for, and will always be in the soil. It is so much easier having healthy birds to start with. Meyer Hatchery in Polk, Ohio has sent me healthy chicks, and Mt. Healthy in Cincinnati is another well known hatchery. Meyer has an excellent website with info on all of their breeds.

 

[loveourbirds]

in Ohio i prefer Eagle's nest hatchery. the chicks i have gotten from them are always excellent. Mt. Healthy has been doing alot of contract breeding and has inherited some problems because of it, on the other hand; i have been impressed with the grown quality of their chickens. Meyer is ok, birds from them are usually healthy, but if your planning on showing you will have some issues in their lines.

i myself am a breeder in Ohio, but i dont do hybrids and i dont hatch in huge numbers like a hatchery. and because i dont buy 10,000 boxes at a time, im a little higher on shipping. the biggest issue with our farm is we usually only breed one or two trios of the best chickens we can find. if one group starts molting or has illness it really decreases the number of chicks we can send out. also some of our breeds are sold nearly a year in advance, but i encountered this with Meyer too.

regardless of who you use, make sure they are at least NPIP members. it doesn't gaurantee that their flock is disease free- but at least some testing is done. do your best to make sure wild birds cant gain access to your feed, or your chickens. try to set up where the floor of your coop stays dry - this helps with alot of issues.

 

[alb9202]

My flock was perfectly healthy raised from chicks from a reputable Hatchery (Murray McMurray Hatchery) I decided to add 2 pullets to the existing flock and quickly come to terms that it was a very Bad idea! The pullets were sick sounding and although quarantined (I must not have done so properly) as they all have been/are sick. I will NEVER buy from a local farm or any other private sales again for the fear of sickness spread. I highly recommend sticking to hatchery purchases only but that's just my opinion. Best of luck! FYI I was very pleased with McMurray Hatchery...

 

[loveourbirds]

My flock was perfectly healthy raised from chicks from a reputable Hatchery (Murray McMurray Hatchery) I decided to add 2 pullets to the existing flock and quickly come to terms that it was a very Bad idea! The pullets were sick sounding and although quarantined (I must not have done so properly) as they all have been/are sick. I will NEVER buy from a local farm or any other private sales again for the fear of sickness spread. I highly recommend sticking to hatchery purchases only but that's just my opinion. Best of luck! FYI I was very pleased with McMurray Hatchery...

im not 100% sure, but i think murray mcmurray vaccinates their parent stock, making potential carriers in offspring. if you had them vaccinated for mereks when you bought them, that could be your issue.

more illness comes from hatcheries than from backyard breeder flocks.

edited to add: i should have said "properly cared for backyard breeder flocks"

 

[alb9202]

loveourbirds. I had no idea if they are vaccinated they could be carriers. :/ it seems a majority of my flock has the sniffles, including those vaccinated. Do you think its because they were vaccinated ? I assumed that when i brought the new pullets into the flock that, that might have been the issue all along. maybe it isn't after all? I kept the pullets separate in the same coop and treated with water antibiotics, they did share the same air space at the other birds before introducing them to the rest of the flock about a month later. do you personally recommend vaccinating day old chicks through a hatchery? or no?

 

[loveourbirds]

sorry it took me so long to reply, i have alot going on right now. if i had to guess your illness problems are probably because of weather change. make sure to give them warm water, some Apple Cider Vinegar wont hurt anything. its a natural way of killing most respiratory illnesses. watch for swollen eyes, and mucus under the wings. mucus is one of the worst signs a chicken owner faces. (most diseases where mucus is present are not fully curable and any newcomers to your flock will have to be vaccinated.

for a backyard flock owner, i do recommend vaccinations. for someone who is selling hatching eggs or live chicks/chickens i dont think you should.