Time to process but birds are sick

[Outhouser]

My birds have become sick, possibly bronchitis. It is time to process them as well. Just wondering if it is safe to do so still even though they are sick. They are not meat birds either, but a mix of heavy birds. Only one of my book resources states to not eat sick birds. The others don't say anything on the subject. Any help is appreciated.

 

[MetalSmitten]

the general rule is to not eat sick birds. i'm not sure specifically about whether or not poultry bronchitis can cause issues for people eating the meat, but it looks like you're not totally sure that it even is bronchitis, and the doubt about the cause is part of why the rule is generally just don't risk it. if you have the resources, it might be worth it to treat the ill birds and wait for them to be totally healthy (and also wait for the withdrawal period from whatever drugs you may use to be over), just to be safe. good luck

 

[RareBreedFancier]

If your not sure what they are sick with there is no way I'd eat them.

You could try posting the symptoms in the illnesses section and people might be able to help you work out what they most likely have. You may or may not be able to eat them now but you can't treat them till you know what it is either if you want to do that.

Given they aren't Cornish x you have the option of holding them longer till they get better but you really need to know what they have to get an idea of the options available.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

let's step back a moment here. What do you men by "heavy mix" how old and how heavy are these birds? I am suspecting that perhaps you are seeing signs of CHF which can "look like" bronchitis . . . which would mean butcher now.

 

[Outhouser]

Okay, stepping back, my heavy mix as I called it consists of Buff Orpingtons, RIR's, New Hampshires, White Orpingtons, Speckled Sussex's, Dark Cornish, Silver Laced Wyandottes, Barred and White Rocks. All of them 16 weeks.
The symptoms are wheezing, sneezing and coughing. Most noticeably at night on the roost when it's quiet you can hear the rattle in their throats. During the day they are fairly active and free range. The ones that show the most symptoms will nap quite a bit more than the others. I posted on Meat Birds ETC to see what folks would say about butchering while they are sick. I'm not trying to figure out why they are sick or from what at this point and I'm well aware of not eating sick animals, but to me what they have seems fairly mild and possibly contained in their respiratory system. I'm not a vet though. I can wait to butcher till they get better and I don't plan on medicating them. I have had chickens with these symptoms before and they came out of it after a week or two. I'm not sure what CHF stands for, possibly Congestive Heart Failure? I appreciate the responses!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

CHF is congestive heart failure and we do see that in CX and meat bird crosses that have CX in them. The reason I brought it up is that the wheezing that results from ascitis (fluid around the heart & lungs) produces wheezing - most heard at night or while resting - which they do a lot more of. With your breeds it's probably not that, but I wanted to rule it out because we see so much of it on here

If you have had the probelm before and it clears up in a week or two, I would suggest waiting a week or two to butcher . . . if you can't wait - my opinion is a bit of wheezing is probably no big deal, you don't eat the lungs. If you opened a bird and found something funky, well you could wait on the rest?

 

[Outhouser]

Thank you for clearing CHF up for me. I may take the one that seems the worst and see what I might find inside him, but I'll probably wait on the others. If I have one die on me then I'll really reconsider. I wouldn't think that CHF would happen to multiple birds all at once, but then again, I'm lacking the Vet quals.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

lol, I too am lacking a vet degree. Unfortunately if the conditions are right we can easily see 10 CX go down to CHF in a day. I agree with you though, I doubt that is your problem. Let us know what you find.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I will not butcher an animal while it is sick. I would get some antibiotic into them, cure them, and then wait out the withdrawal period for the anitbiotic.

Congestive heart failure does not cause sneezing or any sort of snot or sniffles or goopy eyes. The labored breathing is because the blood isn't carrying oxygen to where it is needed because the heart can't pump blood. not because the lungs are congested. The animal is breathing harder trying to get more oxygen into the bloodstream.

The breeds you list aren't known for congestive heart failure. If you had heart failure in your flock, it wouldn't strike all of them.

 

[Outhouser]

I'm not going to butcher any now. They all seem to be on the mend. None of them were lethargic today and a noticeable decrease in the congested sounds and sneezing. Thanks everyone.