soil contaminated?

[Ladobaze]

we recently got 4, 4 week old chickens at a swap meet. they have been quarantined in our little quarantine coop outside for the last two weeks (and will continue to be for the full 30 days) but two have dropped dead recently so im concerned. one day fine, eating drinking etc.., next day dead. im not sure what it might be BUT, we also have a bunch of chicks in a brooder inside our house. I was hoping when we moved the swap chickens to the normal coop with our flock, that we could move the chicks from the brooder to the "Quarantine coop" outside, becuase they will be fully feathers and we also have eggs that will hatch in 17 days or so that need to go in the brooder. ah! so... my question is, could whatever the chickens are dying from, be in the soil and hurt the brooder chicks when we move them? I have no idea how that sort of thing works.

 

[azygous]

The likely culprit could be coccidia in the soil that these chickens have no resistance for. There are nine different strains that target chickens, but most chickens become resistant to the local coccidia. The problem starts when you import chickens that aren't resistant to the strain in your local soil.

The best thing to do is immediately treat all the chickens with a coccidiostat. Liquid Corid is easy to find at feed stores and mixes 2 teaspoons of Corid to one gallon of water. Treat with a fresh batch each day for five days. Let a week pass and treat for another five days.

It might be a good idea to treat your existing flock as well. The imported chickens can bring coccidia to your soil that your present flock has no resistance to and they could become sick as well.

This is just a guess relying on the most common and obvious reason for this illness. But you should look for other symptoms that might indicate more serious avian disorders, respiratory or cancer causing.

 

[Brooks_]

If something is in the quarantine coop, it is most likely in the main coop as well. If the main flock is well, I would rule out a soil issue. Hope that helps.

 

[Brooks_]

The likely culprit could be coccidia in the soil that these chickens have no resistance for. There are nine different strains that target chickens, but most chickens become resistant to the local coccidia. The problem starts when you import chickens that aren't resistant to the strain in your local soil.

The best thing to do is immediately treat all the chickens with a coccidiostat. Liquid Corid is easy to find at feed stores and mixes 2 teaspoons of Corid to one gallon of water. Treat with a fresh batch each day for five days. Let a week pass and treat for another five days.

It might be a good idea to treat your existing flock as well. The imported chickens can bring coccidia to your soil that your present flock has no resistance to and they could become sick as well.

This is just a guess relying on the most common and obvious reason for this illness. But you should look for other symptoms that might indicate more serious avian disorders, respiratory or cancer causing.

Could the Cocci be that different locally? The swap meet tells me that it was local.

 

[azygous]

You can't possibly know what strain is local. You can borrow a rototiller from a friend who lives two miles away, bring it home and till your garden and thus import a different strain of coccidia that could make your chickens sick. You can bring another strain of coccidia onto your property on your shoes by visiting a friend several blocks away.

It can be transferred to your property by these new chickens simply pooping. Corid is not an antibiotic. All it does is block thiamine from being absorbed by the intestines, thus depriving the coccidia in a chicken of sustenance needed to complete their life cycle, in the process, killing your chickens. It's easy to use in their drinking water, no pills or injections to give. It's a no brainer to just go ahead and treat if you suspect coccidiosis.

 

[Ladobaze]

Thanks all, for the info. However, I am more questioning the fact of, once all the chickens leave the quarantine coop and it’s empty, is it going to be an issue bringing in new chickens to the quarantine coop? Do I need to somehow clean the ground or things along that line? Our quarantine coop is just a small store bought coop but we have an apron and such around it and it would be suuuuch a pain to move it etc. so that’s my question

 

[azygous]

You are quarantining to observe for symptoms of illness. That's all it's useful for. It won't stop parasites coming in with the birds unless you use this quarantine period to treat for them. That means administering a profilactic round of Corid in case they are carrying coccidia and administering a worming med in case they carry worms.

What quarantining does not do is to weed out birds carrying avian viruses unless they happen to be symptomatic at the time. It's possible for chickens to carry avian viruses and never show symptoms. This is how many viruses enter a flock.

You certainly can disinfect the quarantine coop after these birds have left it. It's prudent to do so. As for any soil that may be contaminated, if these new chickens carry something, it won't necessarily be left behind when they move out of quarantine.

To sum up, quarantine has its limitations. It's not to be relied on to screen out all avian disorders.