State offered to test my flock for avian influenza!?! How to proceed?

[liberty76]

Hi everyone,

I am from Arizona, new to the forum, and hoping someone has advice on this strange situation!

I had a hen get sick yesterday and die last night. After doing some research, I think it might have been Marek's. I wanted to get a necropsy done for peace of mind and to help me know how to proceed, so I have been making some phone calls.

I finally got a hold of the Assistant State Veterinarian and he said that they could come test my backyard flock (now 11 hens) for avian influenza and also pick up the hen's carcass to test for Marek's. They would be doing a throat swab on the chickens.

This seemed very strange to me. I don't think I want the state visiting my backyard! We are in compliance with local codes, the chickens have plenty of room, we keep it clean, there are no other symptoms of illness, etc. However, I don't feel comfortable inviting them out for a visit!

Has anyone had experience with this? Any advice on what I should do?

Thanks!

 

[silkiechicken]

If the hen got sick in a few days and died... does not sound like Marek's, which usually affects young birds, is a slow paralysis and then death.

That said... I'm not a fan of big brother myself.

 

[liberty76]

Thanks for your response silkiechicken!

I think it was Marek's because we have a 2 1/2 year old Araucana who has something like splayed legs, but developed it much later than splayed legs would have occurred. She is a great layer and gets around fine, but now that I have done some reading, it looks like Marek's.

Then, last month, we had 2 3-year-old birds sicken and die. They both had been unhealthy for awhile and I probably should have culled them earlier, but didn't.

Last week, we had a 6-month-old Rhode Island Red that wasn't able to get on a perch and was unable to balance. She is mostly recovered now. After this 6-month-old Barred Rock got sick yesterday, I started doing the research and Marek's seemed to match what has been going on.

 

[silkiechicken]

Might need to get vaccinated chicks from now on if that's the case. I'd take them up on the [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]necropsy[/FONT], but not let them to your place. But that's just me. It's probably just fine, but I don't let others hang out with my flock or bring in any birds which have been exposed to adults of another flock as to keep a closed flock. Good luck on getting to the bottom of the issue!