cebella
Hatching
To make the back story as short as I can:
I had purchased a silkie for my daughter to join our small backyard flock. Kiki ended up being a roo so I contacted the breeder we got him from and let him know (he told me we could trade the bird out for any reason). So, I met him to to get our new silkie and he ended up sending me home with 4 at the original cost of the roo we had gotten (all hens supposedly). So, since they're new teen birds, I bathed them, looked their skin over for parasites, blow dried them, and put them in a large cage with a roost in the garage for quarantine. In the midst of all of this, I noticed that they had runny/foamy eyes, discharge from their nostrils, and were sneezing. Needless to say, I was upset. So, I called the vet, he recommended Tylan 50, gave me the run down on dosage and how to give the injections. Tomorrow (really today) is the last day of injections. I've also been putting apple cider vinegar, ice (since it's wicked hot), and electrolytes in their waterer. The first couple days they didn't really want to eat or drink, but now that's changed and they're eating and drinking fine. I notified the breeder of the sick birds. He was embarrassed and said he'd replace the birds for any reason. Now here's my question:
I've been reading that either way, these birds will forever be carriers of whatever this crud is and it has a risk of spreading to my main flock, even after it clears up. My other concern is that I've read these diseases can make the birds internal layers, which is pretty much a death sentence. What do I do? Should I just send the birds back now that I've nursed them back to health? Should I let them come into the main flock after their 4 week quarantine is up and no more signs of illness exist? Cull them? This has just turned into a hot mess. The birds were just supposed to be pets for my kids. I'm regretting this whole thing. Ugh.
I had purchased a silkie for my daughter to join our small backyard flock. Kiki ended up being a roo so I contacted the breeder we got him from and let him know (he told me we could trade the bird out for any reason). So, I met him to to get our new silkie and he ended up sending me home with 4 at the original cost of the roo we had gotten (all hens supposedly). So, since they're new teen birds, I bathed them, looked their skin over for parasites, blow dried them, and put them in a large cage with a roost in the garage for quarantine. In the midst of all of this, I noticed that they had runny/foamy eyes, discharge from their nostrils, and were sneezing. Needless to say, I was upset. So, I called the vet, he recommended Tylan 50, gave me the run down on dosage and how to give the injections. Tomorrow (really today) is the last day of injections. I've also been putting apple cider vinegar, ice (since it's wicked hot), and electrolytes in their waterer. The first couple days they didn't really want to eat or drink, but now that's changed and they're eating and drinking fine. I notified the breeder of the sick birds. He was embarrassed and said he'd replace the birds for any reason. Now here's my question:
I've been reading that either way, these birds will forever be carriers of whatever this crud is and it has a risk of spreading to my main flock, even after it clears up. My other concern is that I've read these diseases can make the birds internal layers, which is pretty much a death sentence. What do I do? Should I just send the birds back now that I've nursed them back to health? Should I let them come into the main flock after their 4 week quarantine is up and no more signs of illness exist? Cull them? This has just turned into a hot mess. The birds were just supposed to be pets for my kids. I'm regretting this whole thing. Ugh.
