Southern NY, Dutchess county and below

[JerseyHen]

Personally, and Roberta and I have pm'ed about this, is that this is far more widespread than most chicken folks want to admit and that not talking about it only makes it worse. I don't think it is fair to Roberta to single her out and put it on another thread. If she wants to put it out there, and she has, she will. The Marek's vaccine only protects against the tumors that the virus causes, not against contracting the disease. It stands to reason that this means that many birds have it. It also means that if we cull only birds that show signs, it has already spread during the latent phase of the disease. Those that cull still probably have it in their flocks (this is true for most of the viral diseases in any animal) and have kept the birds that didn't show outright signs of disease. Additionally, so many people lose birds to "unknown" causes. I have lost several after going to the NJ state fair show and I am convinced that my participation (I didn't show any birds, just helped with the show) is what brought something back to my flock, despite very careful attention to my biosecurity rules. So, now what? Never bring another bird in? Cull the flock and start over? Keep the survivors and hope for the best? Never let them out of the building for fear of wild bird droppings? It is an impossible dilemma for the average backyard owner. just my 2 cents.

 

[stoopid]

Yes, a friend bought 2 Cochins from Jamie Matts at that fair. A few days later, they had Coryza.
I personally feel that it had nothing to do with Jamie, that there was something there at the fair.
There is no way someone with his reputation would sell sick birds. NO WAY.

I had a very hard judgement to make. I brought the ones that I thought were infected to Cornell research lab in Eastport.

The Dr there said once they are taken, they cannot leave, even if they are not sick.
I left the worst one with her, and by the time I had driven home, she called to say my little Paint Silkie, Frankie, was positive,
We did not have to wait for lab results to come back, he had tumors all inside his body.

I turned around and drove back with the rest of the birds, and they destroyed them.

I spoke with Peter Brown, and explained what was going on.
He said it sounded like an isolated incident, none of my outside flock was sick.
I did this because I wanted to show my birds at the Sussex County show in October.
All the sick birds were inside the house. The special ones, my Showgirls.
I kept them separate from the flock outside because I didn't want anything to happen to them.

I decided against showing for everyone elses safety. Not too many other people would have done that.
I brought it up on a few facebook poultry groups, and alot of other people commended me for my decision.
And they also know alot of other breeders just don't talk about it.
These are these mysterious illnesses that chickens get.
From people not being truthful about this.

And now that my vet was not familiar with the disease, I had it for longer than I thought I did.
And now I have sick birds outside, also.

It's a horrible feeling knowing I would have to wait to kill them, so they could go out in the garbage on Monday.
You can't bury them on your property, it stays in the soil.

So anyone can say what they want about me.
I tell the truth. As much as it sucks, I would like to know the truth, so maybe this won't happen to someone else.

 

[stoopid]

And there is MORE to my story, I need to run and do some errands.
To be continued.....

 

[JerseyHen]

As you know, I had 5 that looked like Marek's and now I have what looks like Coryza going around (no necropsy, but one of my birds went lame and then had a giant lump on her side...). My flock is vaccinated for Marek's, but again it only protects against the tumor development, not the contracting of the disease and is not 100% effective. I will not be letting any birds leave this property because I must assume the worst. I also will not be attending any shows unless this clears up and then I am not sure if I want to risk bringing something in again. If it is Coryza I will never be able to get rid of it, what is the old saying "burn the barn"? Anyway, it is very irritating. I am taking the leave them alone and see who lives approach to in the hopes of breeding in resistence, but it is hard to look at them and do nothing. I am being very liberal with the Oxine and culling those that are suffering. So far, since August I have lost 3/5 that have shown symptoms of lameness. The lung junk seems to be coming and going, but the birds do not seem to be affected by it other than an occasional "cough". So far I have not let it diminish the enjoyment I get from these feathered companions, but it does threaten to do so.

 

[stoopid]

And... if you do vaccinate, and they show signs, then they ARE carriers and SHOULD be culled.
Who wants to do that?

 

[Dahlisgrams]

Yes, a friend bought 2 Cochins from Jamie Matts at that fair. A few days later, they had Coryza.
I personally feel that it had nothing to do with Jamie, that there was something there at the fair.
There is no way someone with his reputation would sell sick birds. NO WAY.

I had a very hard judgement to make. I brought the ones that I thought were infected to Cornell research lab in Eastport.

The Dr there said once they are taken, they cannot leave, even if they are not sick.
I left the worst one with her, and by the time I had driven home, she called to say my little Paint Silkie, Frankie, was positive,
We did not have to wait for lab results to come back, he had tumors all inside his body.

I turned around and drove back with the rest of the birds, and they destroyed them.

I spoke with Peter Brown, and explained what was going on.
He said it sounded like an isolated incident, none of my outside flock was sick.
I did this because I wanted to show my birds at the Sussex County show in October.
All the sick birds were inside the house. The special ones, my Showgirls.
I kept them separate from the flock outside because I didn't want anything to happen to them.

I decided against showing for everyone elses safety. Not too many other people would have done that.
I brought it up on a few facebook poultry groups, and alot of other people commended me for my decision.
And they also know alot of other breeders just don't talk about it.
These are these mysterious illnesses that chickens get.
From people not being truthful about this.

And now that my vet was not familiar with the disease, I had it for longer than I thought I did.
And now I have sick birds outside, also.

It's a horrible feeling knowing I would have to wait to kill them, so they could go out in the garbage on Monday.
You can't bury them on your property, it stays in the soil.

So anyone can say what they want about me.
I tell the truth. As much as it sucks, I would like to know the truth, so maybe this won't happen to someone else.

What a nightmare, Roberta. As you know, I'm going through something similar that came in with sick birds that were shipped to me from GF in fl. They were sick out of the box complete with foul odor about the head and a clear runny nose and I put them into quarantine, hoping it was a crop issue and shipping stress. The necropsy done by Cornell said coryza. By then, the other birds in the pen closest to the quarantine pen were all infected and had to be destroyed. The problem with coryza is that even if a particular bird develops personal immunities to the bacteria, they will still shed it for life, possibly infecting countless other birds including wildlife and perhaps other flocks. I don't take chances like that and culled them all. It is shocking to me that big breeders will keep carriers in their flock and ship them all over the country. No wonder these diseases are so endemic!!!!! Luckily for me I managed to prevent the spread to my other birds but I lost more than a third to the mass cull. 23 in all. My other option was permanent, full time quarantine for them, IF they recovered, and I simply couldn't risk the infection of others. I am guessing that the winds from the hurricane blew the bacteria into the other pen, but don't know for sure. I do know the breeder has not accepted any responsibility whatsoever. I'm going to try to rebuild my flock with eggs. Never again will I bring in a started bird of any age. It just isn't worth the risks..... there won't be any showing for me either but I guess I can live with that.

I'm here simply telling the truth too. Hopefully others will not make the same mistake that I did in trusting a big breeder, who seems to me should know better but either doesn't know better or simply doesn't care.

I'm so sorry about your flock JH. I hope it isn't coryza..

 

[JerseyHen]

What a nightmare, Roberta. As you know, I'm going through something similar that came in with sick birds that were shipped to me from GF in fl. They were sick out of the box complete with foul odor about the head and a clear runny nose and I put them into quarantine, hoping it was a crop issue and shipping stress. The necropsy done by Cornell said coryza. By then, the other birds in the pen closest to the quarantine pen were all infected and had to be destroyed. The problem with coryza is that even if a particular bird develops personal immunities to the bacteria, they will still shed it for life, possibly infecting countless other birds including wildlife and perhaps other flocks. I don't take chances like that and culled them all. It is shocking to me that big breeders will keep carriers in their flock and ship them all over the country. No wonder these diseases are so endemic!!!!! Luckily for me I managed to prevent the spread to my other birds but I lost more than a third to the mass cull. 23 in all. My other option was permanent, full time quarantine for them, IF they recovered, and I simply couldn't risk the infection of others. I am guessing that the winds from the hurricane blew the bacteria into the other pen, but don't know for sure. I do know the breeder has not accepted any responsibility whatsoever. I'm going to try to rebuild my flock with eggs. Never again will I bring in a started bird of any age. It just isn't worth the risks..... there won't be any showing for me either but I guess I can live with that.

I'm here simply telling the truth too. Hopefully others will not make the same mistake that I did in trusting a big breeder, who seems to me should know better but either doesn't know better or simply doesn't care.

I'm so sorry about your flock JH. I hope it isn't coryza..

Well, it could be some other chronic repiratory thing in my flock since they have the lung junk and no smell or discharge of any type. I am keeping a close eye on them.

 

[vmdanielsen]

Firstly, my thought about telling other NYers is NOT to condemn anyone, but to put them on alert. If we are as diligent as Roberta(please may I call you Roberta too!! Stoopid is not a good a name for you....how about "deserves respect"!!)but to put everyone on alert as to be vigilant about the health of their flock. I give Roberta MY utmost respect for coming forth and telling the truth. This could happen to anyone just from the wild population. I sat here and cried for Roberta on her last posts because it could be me. It could be you! It is not about pointing a finger at ANTONE but to keep our flocks healthy. If anyone would like to read my post please read the NY thread. I did not mention anyone nor where I heard it. Frankly, the NY threads are basically what I read because I find that we are caring and non condemning. And very supportive and knowledgeable. I hope that I have not offended anyone else. Please accept my apologies if I have.

 

[Dahlisgrams]

Well, it could be some other chronic repiratory thing in my flock since they have the lung junk and no smell or discharge of any type. I am keeping a close eye on them.

Those symptoms don't sound like coryza to me, but there are some respiratory illnesses that aren't nearly as bad in my humble opinion.. Infectious bronchitis, for instance, is crazy contagious but once they're over it, they have immunity and aren't carriers beyond the first couple of weeks. I'm not an expert. Just have done a tremendous amount of research while waiting for the necropsy results.

In any event, I wish you the absolute best of luck with it. Having sick birds is extremely stressful, at least I found it to be. Best wishes to everyone, and may your flocks remain healthy and sound.

 

[smkchick]

All these posts about the mystery diseases makes me grateful for my so-far healthy flock, and worried about adding new birds in the spring. I may just stand pat for a while to be on the safe side.

CFG, my hat's off to you for sharing the facts about what's been going on. If people don't admit there's a problem, how can it be fixed?

On a different topic, I finally finished my "hurricane afghan". I've wanted to do this project for years, and it will be years before I do it again. What a crapload of work!

Here it is: