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thank you.. I know i knew that I just needed to be told.
.. if my neighbor wasn't such a jerk I would ask them if they have sick birds.? and now that you mention it mom was talking about black birds coming in and resting by the pond and some were very weak hopefully not sick but what you say makes so much sense.. wild birds could have gone next door then stopped at my birds water...
I have one of my little bitties in with Lafiat tonight. oh he is getting so spoiled. hah and sick of the amoxi drops.. but he's taking it and event hough outside the big kids have been mean to the little bitties. he has taken her right next to him and acting like a big daddy.. He really is amazing.. I dont know if he's show quality or what but I tell ya I am so impressed with his flock managment skills.. its like watching a good herd Stallion..
thanks again.. for telling me what I needed to hear... I feel soooo much better now...
hugs and smiles )O(
Pink
my take on this is a little different. New chickens stay in quarantine for a while. If they get a respiratory problem, they are euthanized. I have nice chickens and don't want to risk infecting my chickens because of some new ones I bring in. If you have chickens only for the eggs and don't care about selling chicks it probably does not matter. But if you are selling chicks to the public and know that you have chickens that have recovered from a respiratory problem, you may be passing on infections to your customers, which certainly is not fair to them either. I bought chicks that got sick the next day. That was certainly not fair to me at all because I am out the money they cost, plus the gas and time it took to go get them. Unless you have pathology done on the chick you have no idea if what he has is a contagious virus or something simple. I won't take that chance.
I have to say that I am a little unsettled on this issue. Alot of our breeds were in part created by crossing with "local stock", meaning they were adapted to the climate and problems associated with a particular area. I am all for birds with a strong immune system and I do not want to keep my birds in a bubble. They need to be able to handle my conditions. I enjoy the songbirds on my property, and there is a bit of risk involved. That is life. However, the majority of the problems I see people have is related to the trade of the birds.
By all means get your bird better and enjoy him. It sounds like they are pets. Enjoy your pets, but understand that it will not go away though the symptoms may. Your flock will be carriers. For that reason do not give away or sell birds from your flock. Consider the problems you have had. I personally cull sick birds. Fortunately I have only had to do it twice. If my entire flock became infected, then I would cull the entire flock. I see the flock as one organism. I feel more obligated to the flock as a whole than I do an individual. It is important for me to have a clean flock. You have to consider that I do raise my birds for meat and eggs and enjoyment. Culling is something I do every year, though i have never got used to it.
My position is different. I breed my birds, and the health of the flock down the road is related to what I do now. For example, I will not keep chicks with splayed legs or any disorder. I cannot and will not perpetuate the problem in the flock. I will help the birds, but they will be one year layers. If I kept a few birds as pets then my approach would be different. As it is, I like to hatch a bunch of cute chicks every spring. I believe that this is why you will get different views from different people.
