Thoughts?

redrooster99

Songster
9 Years
Jun 14, 2013
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georgia
We all know that sickness and disease is part of raising birds. Everything from MG to Fowl pox. So what about managing it?

I am a breeder, and I do sell stock. So I was wondering what everyone else’s thoughts were on this. I want to sell the healthiest most viable birds I can. So some of my practices can be quite violent and harsh in some people’s opinions. If I have a bird get sick, I isolate it of course because that is first thing first. Once I have identified what it is than I take action.

Now I hate respiratory diseases, I can’t even stand the thought of them, but it is one of the most common sicknesses in poultry today. I had an outbreak of MG when I first got started back in chickens, and instead of isolating birds I really just left them there and the whole flock got sick and I put them down. which I believe was the right choice. I’ve also had a fowl pox outbreak at the end of last year that is finally starting to go away. And of course stuff here and there. So how do you manage sickness without killing the whole flock like some say to do?

Well I’m gonna tell you how I do it. Since the birds I raise are unique it is really unethical to kill a whole flock because one bird gets sick. So what I do is just deal with the one bird. I breed for resistance! So if a bird comes down with something, I do these things:
1. I separate the bird.
2. I identify the cause of the problem.
3. I than take the precautions needed, and I do what I feel is best for the flock. Not that one bird.

This usually includes me dispatching the sick bird. A bird that gets sick is a bird with a weak immune system. So I don’t want to breed towards that. I do not treat birds. Them and there genetics just leave the flock completely. I do believe this method works as with every generation your birds should be healthier and have more resistance to disease than the last generation. I actually have two birds I need to get rid of tomorrow. Ones eye is swollen and another has a runny eye. This started about the time we had biting flies move in. So it could just be injury but I’m not taking any chances.

Just remember no matter how much bio security or testing you have done. Disease can get in your flock via: insects and even wild birds. So it’s just a part of raising birds.

What are yalls thoughts on this?
 
We all know that sickness and disease is part of raising birds. Everything from MG to Fowl pox. So what about managing it?

I am a breeder, and I do sell stock. So I was wondering what everyone else’s thoughts were on this. I want to sell the healthiest most viable birds I can. So some of my practices can be quite violent and harsh in some people’s opinions. If I have a bird get sick, I isolate it of course because that is first thing first. Once I have identified what it is than I take action.

Now I hate respiratory diseases, I can’t even stand the thought of them, but it is one of the most common sicknesses in poultry today. I had an outbreak of MG when I first got started back in chickens, and instead of isolating birds I really just left them there and the whole flock got sick and I put them down. which I believe was the right choice. I’ve also had a fowl pox outbreak at the end of last year that is finally starting to go away. And of course stuff here and there. So how do you manage sickness without killing the whole flock like some say to do?

Well I’m gonna tell you how I do it. Since the birds I raise are unique it is really unethical to kill a whole flock because one bird gets sick. So what I do is just deal with the one bird. I breed for resistance! So if a bird comes down with something, I do these things:
1. I separate the bird.
2. I identify the cause of the problem.
3. I than take the precautions needed, and I do what I feel is best for the flock. Not that one bird.

This usually includes me dispatching the sick bird. A bird that gets sick is a bird with a weak immune system. So I don’t want to breed towards that. I do not treat birds. Them and there genetics just leave the flock completely. I do believe this method works as with every generation your birds should be healthier and have more resistance to disease than the last generation. I actually have two birds I need to get rid of tomorrow. Ones eye is swollen and another has a runny eye. This started about the time we had biting flies move in. So it could just be injury but I’m not taking any chances.

Just remember no matter how much bio security or testing you have done. Disease can get in your flock via: insects and even wild birds. So it’s just a part of raising birds.

What are yalls thoughts on this?
@redrooster99 have you had any testing done to find out what you are dealing with?
https://vet.uga.edu/diagnostic-service-labs/veterinary-diagnostic-laboratory/
 
I believe that birds raised in a healthy environment (good food, clean environment) do not get get sick. A weak immune system is from lack of nutrition or some other factor..moldy, wet building, overcrowding, etc.

Edited to add...of course birds who have reached old age, will not have as strong of an immune system....
 
The reason respiratory diseases are so common in flocks is because a lot of people don't take proper precautions, like quarantine, and also don't educate themselves. They just decide their birds have 'a cold', which of course chickens don't get, then they throw antibiotics at it, and when the birds stop showing symptoms, they consider that 'the cold' is gone and that their birds are healthy. But they're not, they're carriers of that disease now. And they won't know which one, either, because more likely than not, they didn't get testing done.

But in their minds, because they did no research about these diseases, everything is hunky dory now, so they start selling birds and hatching eggs to other people, and there we go, there's another flock infected, because again, a lot of casual chicken keepers don't bother to do research on these diseases, so they have no idea they should be looking out for these things or quarantining new birds.

And then sometimes, quarantine fails. I brought home guineas from a place I thought would be safe; I even quizzed the seller on whether their birds had ever had 'cold' symptoms and they said no. I put the guineas in quarantine. Three days later, some of my birds in another coop started showing signs of illness. Before long, it was ripping through the rest of my flocks.

Testing showed it to be infectious coryza. I messaged the seller of the guineas and only then did she decide to tell me that, well, yes, she HAD bought a silkie from another woman and it started sneezing and had watery eyes, but she gave it some medicine and the symptoms went away, so it was fine, right? So she put it in with the rest of her birds.

I had to cull all of my chickens. I show my birds, and there was no way I was going to bring carriers like that to a show to get everyone else's flocks infected. Luckily, coryza doesn't affect waterfowl, and also doesn't pass through the egg, so I was able to collect a week's worth of eggs from my birds before putting them all down and I hatched those to start anew.

Research is what's very important. You have to know about these diseases and what to do if your birds catch them. The only thing to do is to either close the whole flock and never sell again, or cull them and start over. That's the only way to get rid of a respiratory disease like MG or Coryza. You can't isolate one bird showing symptoms, treat it until it's not, and then put it back with the other birds, because then all you've done is put a carrier with your flock and infected them.

So I agree, if you are lucky enough to catch one sick bird, which would likely only happen with new additions that you have in quarantine that are showing symptoms, then yes, for the rest of your flock, what you have to do is cull it before it spreads. Because once it spreads, it's too late.

And if you ever do end up with illness in your flock, you absolutely do need to test to see what's going on so you can try to make a plan to move forward. Often though, that plan will need to be culling the entire flock and starting over, or closing it so you avoid infecting the flocks of other people.

If you've done testing and know you have a disease in your flock and know what disease it is, breeding towards resistance is fine in your your own flock, but at that point, you can't sell your disease carriers to other people. They probably have not bred their own birds for resistance, so their birds would be weak to the disease. Or, they may have goals that cannot align with their birds being disease carriers - like me and showing my birds.

If your birds have a disease and you want to breed for resistance to keep your own flock going, then I see no problem with that, as long as you aren't selling or giving your birds to others and infecting their flocks. At the very least there has to be full disclosure that your birds are disease carriers and will infect their flocks. But most people aren't going to go for taking a bird like that, I would bet.
 
These are not the birds that were carriers those were culled. These birds that I have now have not been exposed to anything that ik of. I called a vet and they said it was more than likely just the flies. So I don’t see a reason in getting rid of my whole flock. I am going to cull the two birds that are effected by something just a precaution.
 
I actually have two birds I need to get rid of tomorrow. Ones eye is swollen and another has a runny eye. This started about the time we had biting flies move in.
These are not the birds that were carriers those were culled. These birds that I have now have not been exposed to anything that ik of. I called a vet and they said it was more than likely just the flies. So I don’t see a reason in getting rid of my whole flock. I am going to cull the two birds that are effected by something just a precaution.
When you cull, it would be a good idea to keep the bodies cool and send them for testing just for your peace of mind so you know for sure it's not respiratory disease and then you won't have to question yourself whether it's o.k. to continue with your goals of selling birds (or whatever your plans may be).
I understand you are taking precautions and that's admirable, you are wanting to do the right thing and I don't think you want to knowingly sell any birds that may be carriers of an illness.

I'm not necessarily sold on the whole "resistance" thing - yes, if you have a respiratory illness in your flock - let's say MG. Over time, I do believe that you would see less and less birds that are symptomatic. However, the disease still remains and birds are carriers. This is how a lot of these diseases are spread.
For example:
Your birds may not show any symptoms whatsoever. Mrs. Smith buys some birds from you and shortly thereafter, her existing flock becomes sick - the birds she got from you are still perfectly "fine". Mrs. Smith's flock had never been exposed to this particular illness so, now they are sick. Birds that recover/get better and those that were exposed would be carriers. If Mrs. Smith then gives away some hens now she's passed it on to someone else - you see how it can keep going? I'm not blasting you - you are mulling over what to do, I understand that. I can't imagine what it's like to face this.
 
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Breeding for resistance regarding poultry respiratory diseases is impossible due to the many different strains, MG (bacteria) and IB (virus) are prime examples.
These diseases have been around for a long time, all around the world and it's the diseases that are becoming resistant to treatments, not the other way around.
 
This seems to be a solid plan. i don’t know much (well, anything really) about breeding, but how can you be sure you’re breeding towards resistance, as opposed to breeding towards being better at hiding symptoms? I’ve only dealt with fowl pox and bumblefoot so far, and I hope to keep it that way. :fl
 

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